Charles Freak (1847 – 28 July 1910) was a British

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 ...

and politician. Born in

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 ...

, Freak worked as a laster. He spent several years working in the United States, but returned to the United Kingdom in the early 1870s, and joined the new

National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives The National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1873 and 1971. It represented workers in the footwear industry. History The union was founded in 1873, when many riveters and ...

(NUBSO). He soon came to prominent in the union, representing it 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 ...

.''Report of the 1910 Annual Trades Union Congress'', p.85 In 1879, he became the full-time secretary of the union's London Metropolitan branch, later moving to become the branch president. In 1892, Freak was elected as a Labour Progressive member of

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

in Bethnal Green North East, one of the first eight Labour members of the council. He held the seat in 1895 and 1898, but lost it in 1901. Freak and

William Inskip William John Inskip (1852 – May 1899) was an English trade unionist. Inskip grew up in Leicester, where he worked as a in the bootmaking trade. He became active in the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO), of which he was e ...

, also a leader of NUBSO, were part of an

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

campaign against Jewish shoe makers. As the mechanisation of the industry continued apace, The pair of them blamed Jewish shoemakers for the economic consequences. From 1892 they started to campaign for immigration restrictions which they took to the 1895 Cardiff Trade Union Congress. However Joseph Finn, Woolf Wess and Lewis Lyons organised amongst jewish trade unionists to protest against Inskip and Freak. Joseph Finn published ''A Voice from the Aliens'' criticising them from an internationalist perspective. In 1899, Freak was elected as the General President of NUBSO, holding the post until his death. He relocated to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, and in 1904 was elected to

Leicester Town Council Leicester City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the city of Leicester, England. It consists of 54 councillors, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. It is currently control ...

. He was also a member of the council of the

International Arbitration League The International Arbitration League was a society of pacifists run by working-class men. It was initially founded out of the British Workmen's Peace Committee, by the Nobel Peace Prize winner Sir William Randal Cremer and fellows from the recently ...

. He frequently clashed with general secretary

, despite both being on the right wing of the union, and for example, he strongly opposed Inskip's proposal of a "fighting fund" levy on members. Freak was known for his distinctive old-fashioned style of dress, wearing a long beard and frock coat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freak, Charles 1847 births 1910 deaths Councillors in Leicestershire General Presidents of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians Members of London County Council