Barbara Switzer (née McMinn; born 26 November 1940) is a former

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 A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. She grew up in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, attending Chorlton Central School and Stretford Technical College, where she completed a

City & Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

certificate as an electrical technician. After an engineering apprenticeship with

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

, she became a draughtsperson, initially with GEC at

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...

.Switzer, Barbara
, ''

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'' She joined the

Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen The Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section (TASS) was a British trade union. History The union was founded in 1913 by 200 draughtsmen, as the Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen (AESD). It expanded rapidly, and ...

, and became increasingly involved as she campaigned for equal pay with male colleagues. Although this challenge failed, she became the first woman to serve on the union's national executive, in 1973.Dorothy Wade, "The unlikely engineer fighting to change jobs for the boys", ''

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'', 7 April 1991 In 1976, Switzer became the first female full-time divisional officer for the union, by then known as the "Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section" (TASS). That year, she also received the

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 ...

(TUC) Gold Badge. In 1979, she became the union's National Organiser then, in 1983, its Deputy General Secretary, a feat described by ''

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'' as "the first appointment to a senior union job of a woman who has risen through the ranks". Donald Macintyre, "Woman gets top union job", ''

'', 20 October 1982 During the 1980s, Switzer was associated with the left-wing of the Labour Party. She narrowly missed out on election to the women's section of the party's

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(NEC), and from 1985 served on the management committee of the ''

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''. As such, she worked closely with the union's general secretary,

Ken Gill Ken Gill (30 August 1927 – 23 May 2009) was a British trade union leader. He was the General Secretary of the Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section (TASS), from 1974 to 1988, when it merged with ASTMS to form the Manufacturing, Sc ...

, who was a member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

. The TASS became part of the new MSF union in 1988, with Switzer serving as one of its five assistant general secretaries. In 1990, the union appointed her to the trade union section of the Labour NEC, the first woman ever to represent the section. With Gill's retirement imminent, she stood in the election to succeed him, but was defeated 42,209 to 73,158 by the more right-wing candidate,

Roger Lyons Roger Lyons (born 14 September 1942) was the General Secretary of the MSF trade union from 1992 and re-elected leader of the union in 1997. When the union merged with the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union to form Amicus in 2002 he sub ...

.Seumas Milne, "Outcome of MSF union election pleases Labour leaders", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 17 May 1991 In 1993, Switzer joined the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

, and from 1995 she additionally served as president of the

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 ...

. She retired from her union posts in 1997, serving on the

Employment Appeal Tribunal The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales. It also hears appeals from decisions o ...

, the

National Assembly of Women The National Assembly of Women (NAW) is a British women's rights organisation founded on 8 March 1952, at a meeting of almost 1,500 women from all across Great Britain. It campaigns for equal status for women and men in all aspects of life and als ...

and the council of the

Women of the Year Lunch The Women of the Year Lunch, later known as the Women of the Year Lunch and Awards (WOYLA), is an annual charity lunch for women achievers. The inaugural lunch was held on 29 September 1955 at the Savoy Hotel, and raised money for the Greater L ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Switzer, Barbara 1940 births Living people Trade unionists from Manchester Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Chorlton-cum-Hardy