Ray Gietzelt

Ray Gietzelt AO (29 September 192212 October 2012) was a major figure in the Australian union movement in the latter part of the 20th century. He led the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union of Australia (FMWU; later known as United Voice) from 1955 to 1984. Ray Gietzelt exerted major influence in the careers of Bob Hawke, Neville Wran and Lionel Murphy, and he was made a Life Member of the Australian Labor Party.

The former Australian senator and Sutherland Shire mayor Arthur Gietzelt was his elder brother.

Early life Ray Gietzelt was born in Sydney in 1922. His father owned a tyre business in Newtown that collapsed during the Great Depression as his clients found themselves unable to pay their bills. As a consequence, the family had to move a number of times in search of cheaper rents. He remained in that post until his retirement in 1984. They also won the highly publicised Arthur Murray dispute in 1959, in which the union took up the cause of dance instructors and ran the first ever successful prosecution of a company for a lock-out in NSW. Bob Hawke credited him with being the single most significant figure in helping him gain the leadership of the ACTU. He served on the board of Qantas and as a Member of the Automotive Industry Authority. He was awarded life membership of the Australian Labor Party in 2003. He published his memoirs, Worth Fighting For in 2004.

Ray Gietzelt died on 12 October 2012, aged 90.