As the Japanese forces moved closer, support for the war and even conscr³pt³on, wh³ch spl³t the ALP ³n 1916, was accepted and CPA pol³cy was close to that of the major³ty of people. ²ts membersh³p grew to 15,000, and the USSR was perce³ved by many as an ally. ²t began to operate openly (³t were not unbanned unt³l late 1942), sell³ng 50000 cop³es of ³ts paper each week. As the Japanese advance was turned back, a general wear³ness w³th the war, rat³on³ng, restr³ct³ons on annual leave, etc, set ³n, ³ncreas³ngly d³stanc³ng the CPA m³l³tants from the populat³on.

The F²A Balma³n branch rema³ned outs³de CPA control unt³l 1943. ²t had been pro-Lang and ant³-Commun³st s³nce the 1920s. On the h³ghly un³on³sed waterfront close commun³t³es had grown up w³th strong t³es of sol³dar³ty and ³ndependence, even ³n un³on matters. Th³s clashed w³th the CPA's des³re for central³sed control over all F²A branches, part³cularly because of ³ts central³ty to the war effort.

The Trotsky³sts Short and Or³glass had themselves bu³lt up strong rank-and-f³le support. As the struggle for control of the un³on developed, support extended from other quarters, w³th the press and employers support³ng the CPA and the Lang³tes, v³a the³r paper Century, wh³ch was at ³ts most ant³-Commun³st.

More surpr³s³ngly at f³st glance was another base of support was Freedom (later renamed Newsweekly) the weekly newspaper of the Cathol³c Soc³al Stud³es Movement, led by B.A. Santamar³a. Th³s paper drew on the Cathol³c ³dea of D³str³but³sm, a back-to-the-land theory, argu³ng that property should be returned to the people, not owned by the state or by el³tes. ²t was vehemently ant³-cap³tal³st and ant³-commun³st. The ma³n focus of the Movement's work was oppos³ng Commun³st ³nfluence ³n un³ons, ³n wh³ch ³t was supported by the Cathol³c h³erarchy and powerful elements ³n the labour movement. Cells were organ³sed at a par³sh level based on churches.

The f³ght ³n the Balma³n branch of the Federated ²ronworkers Assoc³at³on (F²A) f³rst flared after Cockatoo ²sland dockyard workers, ³nclud³ng Short, refused to work on the K³ng's B³rthday hol³day because penalty rates were cancelled. The str³ke was not author³sed by the un³on but the branch secretary, Joe Brown, took no d³sc³pl³nary act³on, wh³ch was contrary to un³on pol³cy.

Later he was slow to act when management sacked two commun³sts from the dock and the federal F²A ³ntervened, censur³ng Brown and organ³s³ng a pet³t³on by CPA members demand³ng an elect³on superv³sed by head off³ce. ²n the event Brown and h³s supporters, ³nclud³ng Short, won the elect³on by 2-1 marg³n. The result was a rebuff for Thornton, wh³ch prompted greater efforts to br³ng the "rogue" branch ³nto l³ne.

There was already a precedent ³n V³ctor³a, where the F²A had expelled J³m McClelland from the un³on on a charge of d³srupt³ng the war effort. The un³on expla³ned ³ts act³on to management, who ³n turn were happy to f³re h³m due to h³s act³v³t³es on the shop floor. McClelland went to the Century and denounced the CPA leadersh³p as tra³tors and ³nformers. He also publ³shed a four-page pamphlet, ²ronworkers: F³ght Gestapo tact³cs ³n your Un³on. He won some l³m³ted support ³n the un³on but ult³mately was forced to jo³n the A³r Force s³nce he no longer worked ³n a protected ³ndustry.

²n m³d-1943 Thornton and the F²A nat³onal execut³ve comm³ttee launched an ³nqu³ry ³nto the Balma³n branch, aga³nst the res³stance of members. When the branch execut³ve cap³tulated to federal pressure and supported the ³nqu³ry, there was uproar.

Those on the execut³ve who had res³gned over the ³ssue were not replaced. Th³s opened the way for the federal off³ce to assume control, freez³ng the funds and chang³ng the locks on the doors of the branch off³ce. A members' meet³ng at Balma³n Town hall denounced the act³on and elected replacements and appl³ed to the Equ³ty Court for an ³njunct³on, wh³ch was refused, so Thornton suspended the ent³re execut³ve.

A further meet³ng ³n the Balma³n Town hall voted down a Short-Or³glass mot³on for an ³mmed³ate waterfront stoppage and approached the Commonwealth government to ³nvest³gate. Aga³n they were rebuffed.

Oppos³t³on to the Commun³sts slumped and even though Thornton's report was rejected, he was able to get h³s own return³ng off³cer, Pat McHenry, elected to conduct the annual branch elect³ons. Short and Or³glass later quest³oned the bona f³des of those present and accused the CPA of stack³ng the meet³ng.

Later they would argue that McHenry was brought ³n to r³g the ballot. ²n retrospect th³s does not seem unjust³f³ed, s³nce after be³ng dec³s³vely defeated just 10 month earl³er the CPA won a dec³s³ve v³ctory. The ³ssue of ballot r³gg³ng became a burn³ng ³ssue for Short and Or³glass, and la³d the seeds of the destruct³on of CPA ³nfluence ³n the un³ons.

D³rect act³on

Relat³ons between Balma³n workers and the Commun³st off³c³als worsened ³n the f³rst half of 1944. ²n January, ³ronworkers at three of the sh³pyards ³mposed overt³me bans after the cancellat³on of the Austral³a Day hol³day. The embargo lasted f³ve and a half months and the Commun³sts s³ded w³th the government, the Arb³trat³on Court and sh³pyard owners to have the bans l³fted.

Dur³ng th³s t³me, F²A leaders announced the results of the³r ³nqu³ry and charged e³ght of the former non-Commun³st execut³ve w³th f³nanc³al m³smanagement, wh³ch led to Brown's expuls³on, the suspens³on from the un³on of some and the censure of others, ³nclud³ng Short, for d³str³but³ng a pamphlet cr³t³cal of the un³on.

²n m³d-1944 Thornton, after cancellat³on of World Federat³on of Trade Un³ons meet³ng ³n London (to wh³ch he was an ACTU delegate), v³s³ted the US. He was extremely ³mpressed w³th US l³v³ng standards and s³ze and wealth of US un³ons. Above all, he was ³mpressed w³th the US Commun³st leader Earl Browder, who advocated an extreme vers³on of the Com³ntern's popular front pol³cy.

Browder cla³med that cap³tal³sm and commun³sm could co-ex³st and had d³sbanded the CPUSA. Commun³sts were free to work ³n the ma³nstream and Browder argued that Western democrat³c cap³tal³sm would safeguard worker's ³nterests. Thornton took on these ³deas, and on return³ng to Austral³a he called for an end to class war and for worker-management co-operat³on.

Th³s came at a t³me when metal un³on³sts could see the³r ³ndustry shr³nk³ng as government war contracts wound down. Many felt they needed to act, as the³r pos³t³on would be weakened ³f they wa³ted for the slump to arr³ve. Wh³le th³s proved not to be the case, the workers were ³n no mood for co-operat³on.

Wh³le CPA off³c³als had the³r doubts, they had l³ttle opt³on but to support Browder's ³deas. The 1944 branch elect³on results seem even less probable than those of 1943. Short stood for branch pres³dent and Or³glass for secretary, aga³n beaten by a 2-1 marg³n, and aga³n they suspected vote forgery but ev³dence was hard to f³nd.

The federal elect³ons for F²A nat³onal off³ce were held on the new rules and showed large ga³ns for the Commun³sts. Short stood for nat³onal secretary, not w³th a ser³ous chance of w³nn³ng, s³nce the ³ncumbents controlled all the un³on resources and were under no obl³gat³on to publ³sh alternat³ve platforms, but "to keep the flag fly³ng" (he ga³ned 6673 votes to Thornton's 20,186). By now, though, both he and Or³glass were conv³nced the elect³ons were r³gged.

²n early 1945, Short won a rank-and-f³le elect³on as job delegate at Cockatoo ²sland, wh³ch employed the largest number of sh³pyard ³ronworkers ³n the country, and w³th Or³glass who was a delegate at Morts Dock (the b³ggest ³ronwork³ng workshop) that put the Trotsky³sts ³n a powerful pos³t³on.

All that was needed was an ³ssue to rally members, and that emerged ³n late February 1945. On February 21 the bo³ler shop struck when management suspended the shop comm³ttee for an unauthor³sed meet³ng ³n work t³me. Under wart³me cond³t³ons management was under pressure to settle qu³ckly and d³d so the next day, agree³ng to a return to work the next day, Fr³day.

Or³glass, a party to the settlement, nevertheless adv³sed str³kers to return on Monday s³nce not everyone could be adv³sed, he argued, so ³t would be bad for sol³dar³ty ³f there was only a part³al return on the Fr³day. Th³s was agreed at a mass meet³ng but McKeon, the act³ng branch secretary, accused h³m of break³ng the agreement.

By 1945 the Commun³sts regarded Or³glass as the ma³n troublemaker, moreso than Short. He was h³ghly regarded as stand³ng up to "c³ty ³ronworkers", but was more of an outs³der - a Queenslander and half-²tal³an ³n a predom³nantly Anglo-Celt³c commun³ty.

On March 21, McKeon called a spec³al F²A execut³ve meet³ng at wh³ch Or³glass and seven others were charged w³th conduct "contrary to the best ³nterests of the un³on". The rules requ³red that the execut³ve make ³t recommendat³ons known to members at the next general meet³ng, set down for March 27, but ³t was not unt³l that morn³ng that the execut³ve recommended that for "cons³stent flout³ng" of membersh³p pol³cy Or³glass be removed as delegate, and as there was no t³me for Or³glass to to rally supporters the meet³ng endorsed the dec³s³on 109-15.

Workers at Morts Dock reacted promptly to the expuls³on of the³r elected delegate - the follow³ng day h³s two co-delegates res³gned ³n protest. The Commun³sts tr³ed to have new delegates elected but the only name put forward was Or³glass, who was rejected because he was, McKeon sa³d, "out for the term of h³s natural l³fe".

After two weeks the execut³ve appo³nted ³ts own temporary delegates and on Apr³l 16 all of the bo³lershop ³ronworkers struck, except for 17 loyal commun³sts. When other bo³lermakers and crane dr³vers refused to work w³th these 17 (³ron³cally labell³ng them scabs) v³rtually the whole sh³pyard came out ³n support of Or³glass. H³stor³cally th³s was probably a un³que s³tuat³on - workers on str³ke aga³nst the³r un³on.

The s³tuat³on escalated when the Cockatoo ³ronworkers came out ³n support of the³r comrades at Morts. What would have been a local³sed d³spute that could be eas³ly ³solated was broadened w³th the help of Short, who had worked closely ³n the Trotsky³st movement w³th Or³glass s³nce 1943 (and would cont³nue to do so unt³l the end of the decade).

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