Constance Marie Patterson (1 April 1934 – 27 November 2021) 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 ...

. Patterson attended Pendleton High School,

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, and

Bedford College, London file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...

, before becoming active in the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

(TGWU). She was appointed as the union's women's officer in 1963, when she was also elected to the general council of 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), while in 1966 she was elected to the executive 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 ...

(CSEU).PATTERSON, (Constance) Marie (aka Mrs Barrie Devney)
In 1975, Patterson was the

President of the Trades Union Congress The President of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serve just for the d ...

, and she also filled the post in 1977, following the death of

Danny McGarvey Sir Daniel McGarvey, Order of the British Empire, CBE (16 September 1919 – 26 April 1977) was a British people, British trade unionist. McGarvey was born in Clydebank and attended Our Holy Redeemer School, then Our Lady & St Patrick's Hig ...

. During the 1960s, she served on the Press Council, while, in the 1970s, she served on the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Central Arbitration Committee. She stood down from her trade union posts in 1984, but remained a member of the Hotel and Catering Training Board and the board of

Remploy Remploy is an organisation in the United Kingdom which provides employment placement services for disabled people. It is a major welfare-to-work provider, delivering a range of contracts and employment programmes, for people with substantial barr ...

, and joined the council of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. She was a member of several other boards through the 1990s, but stood down from the last of her public positions in 2005. She was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in 1973 and

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginn ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Marie 1934 births 2021 deaths Alumni of Bedford College, London English trade unionists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Presidents of the Trades Union Congress English activists English women activists Transport and General Workers' Union