Benjamin Barnett Rubner (30 September 1921 – 21 September 1998) 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 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 ...

. Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, Rubner undertook an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker. He joined the

National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association The National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association (NAFTA) was a trade union representing workers involved in making furniture in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1902 from the merger of the Alliance Cabinet Makers' Assoc ...

(NAFTA), and also 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 ...

, of which he remained a member until at least the 1960s.Graham Stevenson,
Rubner, Ben
, ''Compendium of Communist Biography'' During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served with the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

.Rubner, Benjamin Barnett (Ben)
, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' After the war, Rubner became a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

, coming to prominence in the London Furniture Workers Shop Stewards' Council, serving as its chairman and convener from 1947 to 1952. By this time, NAFTA had become part of the

National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives The National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives (NUFTO) was a trade union in the United Kingdom representing furniture makers. The union was founded in 1947 by the merger of the National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association and the Amalga ...

(NUFTO), and was elected to its London District Committee in 1954, and its General Executive Council four years later. In 1959, he became its full-time London District Organiser, then National Trade Organiser in 1963. In 1964, Rubner visited

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and his experience led him to become involved in

opposition to the Vietnam War Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War (before) or anti-Vietnam War movement (present) began with demonstrations in 1965 against the escalating role of the United States in the Vietnam War and grew into a broad social move ...

. Subsequently, he was also a prominent campaigner against

apartheid in South Africa Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

.Phil Davies,
Obituary: Ben Rubner
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 9 October 1998 In 1971, NUFTO became part of the

Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union The Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union (FTAT) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1971 by the merger of the National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives (NUFTO) and the Amalgamated Society of Woodcu ...

(FTAT), and Rubner was elected as its assistant general secretary two years later. In 1978, he was elected as general secretary, and from 1977 he served on the Central Arbitration Committee of

ACAS The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong ...

. As leader, he campaigned for improved

health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...

, such as the replacement of toxic foam furniture fillings. He was also very active at 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 ...

until his retirement in 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubner, Ben 1921 births 1998 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Communist Party of Great Britain members English Jews Jewish socialists General Secretaries of the Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union People from Bethnal Green Royal Corps of Signals soldiers