The 60s and 70s weren't just a time of hippies, Bob Dylan and student protests. Workers in Australia went on the offensive, engaging in a series of spectacular strikes that shook the conservative nature of Australian society. In 1969, hundreds of thousands of workers took strike action to free the jailed trade union leader Clarrie O'Shea in a week of multiple general strikes. In the years that followed, metal workers, builders labourers, power workers and many others fought the bosses in workplaces across the country. Rank-and-file worker groups flourished, wildcat strikes erupted against the advice of conservative union officials and workers took action in support of broader social issues including the Vietnam War, racism and women’s rights. These years revealed that Australian workers were just as willing as their counterparts overseas to use their industrial might to challenge the power of bosses and governments.