Edwin Coulson (1828 – 25 June 1893) 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 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, Coulson came to prominence in 1861, when he took a leading role in a strike on the Great Northern Railway, representing the workers in meetings with employers. This proved successful, and the workers won the right to not be docked pay if they missed work for reasons outside their control.James Filkins, "Coulson, Edwin", in: Coulson joined the

Operative Bricklayers' Society The Operative Bricklayers' Society (OBS) was a British New Model Trade Union based in London. History The society was founded in 1818 as the London Bricklayers' Society, but by 1829 had developed into a national operative union. By the 1840s ...

(OBS) in 1852 and soon moved to London, winning election as the union's general secretary in 1860. He immediately affiliated the union to the

London Trades Council The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades (Union) Councils History Leading figures in the London trade union mov ...

, and became known for his strong administrative skills. He led the union through a largely unsuccessful strike in 1861/2. Initially, he worked with George Howell, making his editor of the union journal, the ''OBS Monthly Trade Circular'', but the two fell out, and in 1862 Howell tried to get Coulson removed from office. He was unsuccessful, but tried again repeatedly until 1870, when he resigned from the union. As a leading figure on the London Trades Council, Coulson becamee known as a member of the "

Junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

", alongside

Robert Applegarth Robert Applegarth (26 January 1834 – 13 July 1924) was a prominent British trade unionist and proponent of working class causes. Biography Robert Applegarth was born in Hull in England. His father was the captain of a whaling brig. He spent a ...

, William Allan,

Daniel Guile Daniel Guile (21 October 1814 – 7 December 1882) was a British trade unionist. Born in Liverpool, Guile was the son of William and Elizabeth. His father worked as a shoemaker but struggled to find work during the mid-1820s. Daniel, there ...

and

George Odger George Odger (1813–4 March 1877) was a pioneer British trade unionist and radical politician. He is best remembered as the head of the London Trades Council during the period of formation of the Trades Union Congress and as the first President ...

. This consisted of a small committee which aimed to cautiously advance the cause of trade unionism. Of the leaders, Coulson was the most reluctant to take industrial action, and he led opposition to

's more militant approach. Although Coulson was a

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

, and encouraged his union to support candidates in elections who were in favour of Parliamentary reform or represented the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

, he was opposed to any formal political involvement by trade unions. Coulson did pledge his union's support for the

Reform League The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the success ...

, and the repeal of the

Master and Servant Act Master and Servant Acts or Masters and Servants Acts were laws designed to regulate relations between employers and employees during the 18th and 19th centuries. An 1823 United Kingdom Act described its purpose as "the better regulations of servan ...

, and even served on the council of the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

in 1865/6. Coulson devoted much of his time to running his trade union. When the treasurer of the

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

branch absconded with its funds, he organised a search for the individual, and once he was captured, Coulson placed adverts informing the public of the prison sentence he had received. The union frequently came into conflict with the

Manchester Unity of Bricklayers The Manchester Unity of Bricklayers, also known as the Manchester Unity of Operative Bricklayers Society (MUOBS) and the United Operative Bricklayers' Trade Protection Society, was a trade union representing bricklayers in the United Kingdom. The ...

, and in 1869 when that union went on strike, he even endorsed the formation of an OBS branch of

strikebreakers A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the str ...

in the city. This only intensified after Howell joined the Manchester union, but eventually Coulson prevailed, the membership of the OBS greatly exceeding that of the other union. While Coulson boycotted early meetings 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), partly in protest at Howell's involvement, he recognised its growing importance and served as President of the TUC in 1881. He used his presidential address to denounce protectionism, Parliamentary involvement in trade matters, and wars resulting from

British imperialism The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

.''Histoire Sociale'', nos.23-24, p.131 This proved the high point of his career, and he became increasingly authoritarian, promoting policies with which his union executive disagreed. Under pressure, he resigned in 1891, and retired to Cambridge, dying two years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulson, Edwin 1828 births 1893 deaths British trade union leaders Members of the International Workingmen's Association People from Cambridge Presidents of the Trades Union Congress