Arthur Williams (born 1899) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade unionist. Williams worked in

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

as a driller in a shipyard. He joined the

Ship Constructive and Shipwrights' Association The Shipconstructors' and Shipwrights' Association (SSA) was a trade union representing shipbuilders in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1882 as the Associated Society of Shipwrights, by eleven local unions in Scotland and No ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1940, he began working full-time for the union, and also won election to its executive committee. In 1948, the union's assistant general secretary, John Willcocks, was elected as general secretary, and Williams won the election to become his assistant. In 1957, when Willcocks retired, Williams overwhelmingly won the election to replace him, taking 3,997 votes, while his four opponents took fewer than 1,000 votes between them. As general secretary, Williams immediately led the union in a

Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), often known as the Confed is a trade union confederation in the United Kingdom. History The confederation was founded in December 1890 as the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuil ...

strike, calling for an increase in wages. This was successful, although the increase was smaller than requested. Employment in the shipyards was in decline, and the union's membership also fell. This led Williams to agree to agree to a

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

proposal that the union merge into the

United Society of Boilermakers, Shipbuilders and Structural Workers The Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers (ASB) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Many of its members worked in shipbuilding, in which industry it was the leading trade union, while over tim ...

. He remained secretary of the union's new shipwrights section until his retirement, at the end of 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Arthur 1899 births Year of death missing English trade unionists General secretaries of British trade unions People from Wallsend Trade unionists from Tyne and Wear