The British Seafarers' Union (BSU) was a

trade union 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 benefits ( ...

which organised

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

s and

firemen A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

in the

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, ...

ports of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

between 1911/1912 and 1922. Although of considerable local importance, the organisation remained much smaller and less influential at a national level than the

National Sailors' and Firemen's Union The National Union of Seamen (NUS) was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, ...

, (NSFU). The BSU was formed in

on 6 October 1911, as a breakaway from the NSFU. In August 1912, a second breakaway took place in

, and a branch of the BSU was established in that port. The cause of the split was ostensibly the same in both ports: the rebels claimed that the NSFU was reckless and extravagant with its funds, that members had little control over the direction of the organisation, and that its leading officials were unaccountable. The NSFU itself vigorously denied these allegations. It accused the BSU of sectionalism, and of being the product of the political ambitions of its leading officials, Tommy Lewis and

Manny Shinwell Emanuel Shinwell, Baron Shinwell, (18 October 1884 – 8 May 1986) was a British politician who served as a government minister under Ramsay MacDonald and Clement Attlee. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) ...

. In June 1912, the BSU took part in the national dock strike of 1912. The NSFU, although affiliated to the body which had called the strike, the

National Transport Workers' Federation The National Transport Workers' Federation (NTWF) was an association of British trade unions. It was formed in 1910 to co-ordinate the activities of various organisations catering for dockers, seamen, tramwaymen and road transport workers. Histor ...

, refused to support the strike except in London. Unlike the NSFU, the BSU was not granted a role on the

National Maritime Board :''This is about the Maritime Board in the United Kingdom. For the Board in the Philippines, see National Seamen Board.'' The National Maritime Board (NMB) was a bilateral board governing wages and working practices in the British shipping industr ...

which was formed in 1917 to decide on working practices in the merchant shipping industry. In May 1921, the Board imposed wage reductions which were resisted by both the BSU and the

National Union of Ship's Stewards The National Union of Ship's Stewards, Cooks, Butchers and Bakers was the principal trade union for service personnel serving aboard British merchant ships between 1909 and 1921. It was formed in Liverpool in 1909 by Joe Cotter, a former Cunar ...

. Later that year, these two organisations were merged to form the

Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union The Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union (AMWU) was a trade union of sailors, firemen and ship-board service personnel which existed in the United Kingdom between 1922 and 1927. It was a merger of the British Seafarers' Union and the National U ...

, (AMWU).

Sources/further reading

*Arthur Marsh & Victoria Ryan, ''The Seamen - a history of the National Union of Seamen'', (Oxford, 1989). *Arthur Marsh & Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions:Vol 3'', (Aldershot, 1987). *Ken Coates & Tony Topham, ''The Making of the Labour Movement'', (Nottingham, 1994) *WB Jones, Bachelor dissertation "The Strike and the Split:The National Sailors’ and Firemen’s Union and the British Seafarers’ Union in Southampton, 1911-1913

External links

{{Portal, Organized labour
BSU Archive, Modern Records Centre
1911 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Seafarers' trade unions Breakaway trade unions Water transport in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1911