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Transport and General Workers' Union

January 01, 1970

"T&G" and "TGWU" redirect here. For other uses, see T&G (disambiguation) and The George Washington University.

The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate itself from the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union – with 900,000 members (and was once the largest trade union in the world). It was founded in 1922 and Ernest Bevin served as its first general secretary.

T&G
Transport and General Workers' Union
Merged intoUnite
Founded1 January 1922
Dissolved1 May 2007
HeadquartersLondon, England
Location
Members
800,000 (2006)
Key people
Tony Woodley, general secretary
PublicationTGWU Record
AffiliationsTUC, ICTU, STUC, ITF, IUF, Labour
Websitetgwu.org.uk
Transport and General Workers' Union central office
Transport and General Workers' Union Bristol office

In 2007, it merged with Amicus to form Unite the Union.

History edit

At the time of its creation in 1922, the TGWU was the largest and most ambitious amalgamation brought about within trade unionism. Its structure combined regional organisation, based on Districts and Areas, with committee organisation by occupation, based on six broad Trade Groups. Trade groups were not closely linked to trades, but were elected by activists. Officials of the union were grouped by region, and could be asked to serve each or any trade group.

Docks Group edit

The Docks Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions:

The group originally had a subsection for coal shipping.[1] In 1928, it had 96,000 members, but over time, membership of the group declined along with employment on the docks, dropping to 56,000 in 1966, and had 51,153 in 1980.[1][2]

Waterways Group edit

The Waterways Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen and Bargemen. Always one of the smallest sections, it had only 8,000 members in 1928, and 16,000 in 1966.[2] In 1970, it was merged into the Docks Group.

Administrative, Clerical and Supervisory Group edit

The Administrative, Clerical and Supervisory Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions:

There was often ambiguity in the TGWU over the actual name of its white-collar section. From the 1960s it was generally known as ACTS (Administrative, Clerical, Technical and Supervisory) but also sometimes as the ACTSS (Association of Clerical, Technical and Supervisory Staff) and enamel union badges bearing both sets of initials were produced for members. It was noted for an enquiry by the Certification Office in 2006 into board members who had joined the union within six months of being elected to senior posts.

The group grew significantly over time, having only 5,000 members in 1928, but 62,000 by 1966, and 149,801 members in 1980.[1][2]

Road Transport (Passenger and Commercial) Groups edit

The Road Transport group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions:

Later in 1922, the group was split into Road Transport (Passenger) and Road Transport (Commercial) groups.[1] The Passenger group had 79,000 members in 1928 and 181,000 in 1966, but by 1980, the renamed Passenger Services group had dropped to only 44,501 members. The Commercial Services group rose from 37,000 members in 1928 to 219,000 in 1966, and 226,290 in 1980.[1][2]

General Workers Group edit

The General Workers Group was created in 1922 to cater for all workers in jobs which did not fall into another group. Initially, it had subsections for workers in metal and chemical trades. Once it was considered that a particular field had enough members to justify its own trade group, it was split out. These decisions were made at the Biennial Delegate Conference, and although there were many applications to form new trade groups, most were unsuccessful. The group had 68,000 members in 1928, and it then doubled in size when the Workers' Union merged into the TGWU.[1] By 1966, it had 338,000 members and, despite the splitting out of further groups in 1970, by 1980 it still had 269,845 members.[1][2]

The first groups to be split out were:

Later mergers edit

Main article: list of TGWU amalgamations

The Scottish Union of Dock Labourers and National Union of Dock, Riverside and General Workers in Great Britain and Ireland initially voted not to amalgamate, but a new voted changed their position, and they joined before the end of 1922, along with the Amalgamated Carters, Lurrymen and Motormen's Union, Greenock Sugar Porters' Union, Dundee Flax and Jute Stowers' Society, National Union of British Fishermen, and Belfast Breadservers' Association. Some of these unions retained a great deal of autonomy and in many ways effectively functioned as separate unions, even being registered separately with the Registrar of Friendly Societies. The biggest merger was with the Workers' Union in 1929, the union being fully integrated into the TGWU in 1931.[2]

Campaigns edit

The Transport and General Workers' Union spearheaded the campaign for the registration of Gangmasters in the UK, sponsoring an Act of Parliament which received the Royal Assent on 8 July 2004.[3]

Merger with Amicus edit

During 2005 discussions started between the TGWU, Amicus and the GMB about the possibility of merging the three unions into one organisation with potentially 2.5 million members covering almost every sector of the economy. On 14 June 2006 the GMB Conference voted not to continue with discussions although the other two unions are proceeding, with delegates approving the proposed 'Instrument of Amalgamation' at a special conference on 18 December 2006. The ballot of both unions' membership during February and early March 2007, also approved the merger. The result of the ballot was announced on 8 March 2007: 86.4 per cent of T&G members and 70.1 per cent of Amicus members voted to support the merger, from a turnout of 27% at a time of low membership consultation. The press release announced that the resulting union had the working title "New Union" and the name would be decided by a ballot of the membership.[4] However, on 2 April 2007, The Times reported that the name Unite had been chosen.[5] and that full merger of rule books and governing bodies may soon follow the existing merger of personnel and finance departments [6]

Affiliations edit

Regions – particularly which covered London, the South East and Eastern England, also had a tradition of donating to other causes, as did branch committees, which controlled a substantial proportion of membership income.

Officers edit

General Secretaries edit

1922: Ernest Bevin
1945: Arthur Deakin (acting from 1940)
1955: Jock Tiffin
1956: Frank Cousins
1964: Harry Nicholas (acting)
1969: Jack Jones
1978: Moss Evans
1985: Ron Todd
1992: Bill Morris
2003: Tony Woodley

Deputy General Secretaries edit

1974: Harry Urwin
1980: Alec Kitson
1986: Bill Morris
1992: Jack Adams
1999: Margaret Prosser
2002: Tony Woodley
2003: Jack Dromey

Assistant General Secretaries edit

1924: John Cliff
1935: Arthur Deakin
1945: Harold Clay
1948: Jock Tiffin
1955: Frank Cousins
1956: Harry Nicholas
1968: Harry Urwin
1974: Vacant
1985: Eddie Haigh and Larry Smith
1988: Eddie Haigh
1991: Vacant?
1999: Barry Camfield and Jimmy Elsby

Amalgamations edit

The list of TGWU amalgamations highlights the scale of the TGWU policy of mergers, amalgamations and transfers of engagements, which contributed to its membership growth and the spread of its membership base.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Eaton, Jack; Gill, Colin (1981). The Trade Union Directory. London: Pluto Press. pp. 54–68. ISBN 0861043502.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hyman, Richard (1971). The Workers' Union. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 170.
  3. ^ . Archived from the original on 19 March 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
  4. ^ . Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
  5. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1599614.ece [dead link]
  6. ^ http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article5119928.ece [dead link]

External links edit

  • Catalogue of the TGWU archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
  • Catalogue of the TGWU West Midlands Region archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
  • Catalogue of the TGWU Coventry District archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick

January 01, 1970
transport, general, workers, union, tgwu, redirect, here, other, uses, disambiguation, george, washington, university, tgwu, largest, general, trade, unions, united, kingdom, ireland, where, known, amalgamated, atgwu, differentiate, itself, from, irish, with, . T amp G and TGWU redirect here For other uses see T amp G disambiguation and The George Washington University The Transport and General Workers Union TGWU or T amp G was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union ATGWU to differentiate itself from the Irish Transport and General Workers Union with 900 000 members and was once the largest trade union in the world It was founded in 1922 and Ernest Bevin served as its first general secretary T amp GTransport and General Workers UnionMerged intoUniteFounded1 January 1922Dissolved1 May 2007HeadquartersLondon EnglandLocationUnited Kingdom IrelandMembers800 000 2006 Key peopleTony Woodley general secretaryPublicationTGWU RecordAffiliationsTUC ICTU STUC ITF IUF LabourWebsitetgwu wbr org wbr uk Transport and General Workers Union central office Transport and General Workers Union Bristol office In 2007 it merged with Amicus to form Unite the Union Contents 1 History 1 1 Docks Group 1 2 Waterways Group 1 3 Administrative Clerical and Supervisory Group 1 4 Road Transport Passenger and Commercial Groups 1 5 General Workers Group 1 6 Later mergers 2 Campaigns 3 Merger with Amicus 4 Affiliations 5 Officers 5 1 General Secretaries 5 2 Deputy General Secretaries 5 3 Assistant General Secretaries 6 Amalgamations 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksHistory editAt the time of its creation in 1922 the TGWU was the largest and most ambitious amalgamation brought about within trade unionism Its structure combined regional organisation based on Districts and Areas with committee organisation by occupation based on six broad Trade Groups Trade groups were not closely linked to trades but were elected by activists Officials of the union were grouped by region and could be asked to serve each or any trade group Docks Group edit The Docks Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions Dock Wharf Riverside and General Labourers Union of Great Britain and Ireland Labour Protection League London est 1889 National Amalgamated Coal Porters Union of Inland and Seaborne Coal Workers London est 1889 National Amalgamated Labourers Union of Great Britain and Ireland Cardiff est 1889 North of England Trimmers and Teemers Association est 1871 The group originally had a subsection for coal shipping 1 In 1928 it had 96 000 members but over time membership of the group declined along with employment on the docks dropping to 56 000 in 1966 and had 51 153 in 1980 1 2 Waterways Group edit The Waterways Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the Amalgamated Society of Watermen Lightermen and Bargemen Always one of the smallest sections it had only 8 000 members in 1928 and 16 000 in 1966 2 In 1970 it was merged into the Docks Group Administrative Clerical and Supervisory Group edit The Administrative Clerical and Supervisory Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions National Association of Ships Clerks Grain Weighers and Coalmeters National Union of Docks Wharves and Shipping Staffs There was often ambiguity in the TGWU over the actual name of its white collar section From the 1960s it was generally known as ACTS Administrative Clerical Technical and Supervisory but also sometimes as the ACTSS Association of Clerical Technical and Supervisory Staff and enamel union badges bearing both sets of initials were produced for members It was noted for an enquiry by the Certification Office in 2006 into board members who had joined the union within six months of being elected to senior posts The group grew significantly over time having only 5 000 members in 1928 but 62 000 by 1966 and 149 801 members in 1980 1 2 Road Transport Passenger and Commercial Groups edit The Road Transport group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions Amalgamated Association of Carters and Motormen Leeds est 1916 Amalgamated Carters Lurrymen and Motormen s Union Bolton est 1890 Associated Horsemen s Union Greenock est 1894 National Union of Vehicle Workers North of Scotland Horse and Motormen s Association Dundee 1911 United Vehicle Workers Later in 1922 the group was split into Road Transport Passenger and Road Transport Commercial groups 1 The Passenger group had 79 000 members in 1928 and 181 000 in 1966 but by 1980 the renamed Passenger Services group had dropped to only 44 501 members The Commercial Services group rose from 37 000 members in 1928 to 219 000 in 1966 and 226 290 in 1980 1 2 General Workers Group edit The General Workers Group was created in 1922 to cater for all workers in jobs which did not fall into another group Initially it had subsections for workers in metal and chemical trades Once it was considered that a particular field had enough members to justify its own trade group it was split out These decisions were made at the Biennial Delegate Conference and although there were many applications to form new trade groups most were unsuccessful The group had 68 000 members in 1928 and it then doubled in size when the Workers Union merged into the TGWU 1 By 1966 it had 338 000 members and despite the splitting out of further groups in 1970 by 1980 it still had 269 845 members 1 2 The first groups to be split out were Power Workers formed in 1926 from the National Amalgamated Union of Enginemen Firemen Mechanics Motormen and Electrical Workers It had 20 000 members in 1928 rising to 41 000 by 1966 2 Engineering formed in 1931 principally from members of the Workers Union By 1966 it had 269 000 members 2 Government formed in 1943 with 58 000 members by 1966 2 Municipal formed in 1945 with 44 000 members by 1966 2 Agricultural formed in 1945 with 13 000 members by 1966 2 Building formed in 1953 with 53 000 members by 1966 2 Chemical formed in 1953 with 61 000 members by 1966 2 Later mergers edit Main article list of TGWU amalgamations The Scottish Union of Dock Labourers and National Union of Dock Riverside and General Workers in Great Britain and Ireland initially voted not to amalgamate but a new voted changed their position and they joined before the end of 1922 along with the Amalgamated Carters Lurrymen and Motormen s Union Greenock Sugar Porters Union Dundee Flax and Jute Stowers Society National Union of British Fishermen and Belfast Breadservers Association Some of these unions retained a great deal of autonomy and in many ways effectively functioned as separate unions even being registered separately with the Registrar of Friendly Societies The biggest merger was with the Workers Union in 1929 the union being fully integrated into the TGWU in 1931 2 Campaigns editThe Transport and General Workers Union spearheaded the campaign for the registration of Gangmasters in the UK sponsoring an Act of Parliament which received the Royal Assent on 8 July 2004 3 Merger with Amicus editDuring 2005 discussions started between the TGWU Amicus and the GMB about the possibility of merging the three unions into one organisation with potentially 2 5 million members covering almost every sector of the economy On 14 June 2006 the GMB Conference voted not to continue with discussions although the other two unions are proceeding with delegates approving the proposed Instrument of Amalgamation at a special conference on 18 December 2006 The ballot of both unions membership during February and early March 2007 also approved the merger The result of the ballot was announced on 8 March 2007 86 4 per cent of T amp G members and 70 1 per cent of Amicus members voted to support the merger from a turnout of 27 at a time of low membership consultation The press release announced that the resulting union had the working title New Union and the name would be decided by a ballot of the membership 4 However on 2 April 2007 The Times reported that the name Unite had been chosen 5 and that full merger of rule books and governing bodies may soon follow the existing merger of personnel and finance departments 6 Affiliations editLabour Party UK Labour Party Republic of Ireland Trades Union Congress TUC Irish Congress of Trade Unions ICTU Scottish Trades Union Congress STUC International Transport Workers Federation ITF International Metalworkers Federation IMF Union Network International UNI International Union of Food Agricultural Hotel Restaurant Catering Tobacco and Allied Workers Association IUF Public Services International PSI International Federation of Building and Woodworkers IFBW International Textile Garment and Leather Workers Federation ITLGW International Federation of Chemical Energy Mine and General Workers Unions ICEM Regions particularly Region One which covered London the South East and Eastern England also had a tradition of donating to other causes as did branch committees which controlled a substantial proportion of membership income Officers editGeneral Secretaries edit 1922 Ernest Bevin 1945 Arthur Deakin acting from 1940 1955 Jock Tiffin 1956 Frank Cousins 1964 Harry Nicholas acting 1969 Jack Jones 1978 Moss Evans 1985 Ron Todd 1992 Bill Morris 2003 Tony Woodley Deputy General Secretaries edit 1974 Harry Urwin 1980 Alec Kitson 1986 Bill Morris 1992 Jack Adams 1999 Margaret Prosser 2002 Tony Woodley 2003 Jack Dromey Assistant General Secretaries edit 1924 John Cliff 1935 Arthur Deakin 1945 Harold Clay 1948 Jock Tiffin 1955 Frank Cousins 1956 Harry Nicholas 1968 Harry Urwin 1974 Vacant 1985 Eddie Haigh and Larry Smith 1988 Eddie Haigh 1991 Vacant 1999 Barry Camfield and Jimmy ElsbyAmalgamations editThe list of TGWU amalgamations highlights the scale of the TGWU policy of mergers amalgamations and transfers of engagements which contributed to its membership growth and the spread of its membership base See also edit nbsp Organised labour portal Bristol Bus Boycott 1963 TGWU amalgamations Transport HouseReferences edit a b c d e f g Eaton Jack Gill Colin 1981 The Trade Union Directory London Pluto Press pp 54 68 ISBN 0861043502 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hyman Richard 1971 The Workers Union Oxford Clarendon Press p 170 Gangmaster registration Archived from the original on 19 March 2007 Retrieved 11 August 2006 T amp G and amicus members back new union Archived from the original on 11 March 2007 Retrieved 12 March 2007 http www timesonline co uk tol news uk article1599614 ece dead link http business timesonline co uk tol business industry sectors support services article5119928 ece dead link External links editThe history of the T amp G Catalogue of the TGWU archives held at the Modern Records Centre University of Warwick Catalogue of the TGWU West Midlands Region archives held at the Modern Records Centre University of Warwick Catalogue of the TGWU Coventry District archives held at the Modern Records Centre University of Warwick T amp GWU website archived on 30 April 2007 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Transport and General Workers 27 Union amp oldid 1105544490, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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