{{Use British English, date=January 2018 Glasgow Trades Council is an association of

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 ( ...

branches in

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The

trades council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

was founded in 1858 as the Glasgow United Trades Council.Archives Hub,
Records of Glasgow District Trades Council, trades council, Glasgow, Scotland
Future MP Alexander MacDonald of the miners played an important role, but did not hold any prominent post, and was able to attend only as an honorary member of the Flint Glass Makers' Sick and Friendly Society. As the trades council of a major industrial city, it began playing a national role, and in 1864 it hosted an early meeting of trade unions from across the UK. By this point, about two-thirds of the trade unions in the city had affiliated, with the important

Lanarkshire Miners' County Union The Lanarkshire Miners' County Union, later the Lanarkshire Mineworkers' Union, represented coal miners in the Lanarkshire district of Scotland. The union was founded in 1893 as the Lanarkshire Miners' Federation, bringing together local miners' un ...

following in the 1870s. The council also helped set up unions in areas where there was no appropriate body, organising unions for sailors, carters, and most importantly what became the

National Union of Dock Labourers The National Union of Dock Labourers (NUDL) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1889 and 1922. History It was formed in Glasgow in 1889 but moved its headquarters to Liverpool within a few years and was thereafter ...

. In 1884 the council ran four candidates for

Glasgow Town Council Glasgow City Council is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for the Glasgow, City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post ...

, without success. However, another attempt in 1888 led to the election of H. Tait, followed a year later by

James Millar Jack James Millar Jack (1847 or 1848 – 28 September 1912) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. Jack came to prominence as a member of the Associated Iron Moulders of Scotland (AIMS), and was elected as its general secretary in Novem ...

, and in 1890 by A. J. Hunter and

John Battersby John Battersby (1839–1922) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. Born in Glasgow, Battersby completed an apprenticeship as a compositor with the '' Glasgow Courier'' newspaper. He joined the Scottish Typographical Association, and in ...

. Harry McShane, ''Centenary brochure, 1858-1958: a hundred years of progress'' This experience led the council to support

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...

's candidature at the

Mid Lanarkshire by-election, 1888 The 1888 Mid Lanarkshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 April 1888 for the House of Commons constituency of Mid Lanarkshire in Scotland. Previous MP The seat had become vacant in April 1888. The constituency's Liberal ...

; it supported but did not affiliate to Hardie's

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

, and played a central role in establishing the Scottish United Trades Councils Labour Party. Both labour parties stood candidates in the city at the 1892 general election. The council played a key role in the creation of the

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists. The STUC is a separate organisation from the English and Welsh T ...

(STUC) in 1897, and held national meetings which established organisations including the National Labour Housing Council, the National Committee of Organised Labour for Promoting Old Age Pensions for All, and the Scottish section of the

Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

. It also undertook local campaigns, such as for the municipalisation of the trams. In 1904, the council shortened its name to "Glasgow Trades Council", but it soon became the "Glasgow Trades and Labour Council", also representing the local Labour Party, and its secretary served the two bodies jointly until 1942. This led to suspicion of the body on

Red Clydeside Red Clydeside was the era of political radicalism in Glasgow, Scotland, and areas around the city, on the banks of the River Clyde, such as Clydebank, Greenock, Dumbarton and Paisley, from the 1910s until the early 1930s. Red Clydeside is a ...

, and the

Clyde Workers' Committee The Clyde Workers Committee was formed to campaign against the Munitions Act. It was originally called the ''Labour Withholding Committee''. The leader of the CWC was Willie Gallacher, who was jailed under the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 to ...

did not engage with the council. However, following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 ...

became strong on the council, which affiliated to the

National Minority Movement The National Minority Movement was a British organisation, established in 1924 by the Communist Party of Great Britain, which attempted to organise a radical presence within the existing trade unions. The organization was headed by longtime unio ...

, leading some trade unions to withdraw.Alan Clinton, ''The Trade Union Rank and File: Trades Councils in Britain, 1900-40'', p.148 In 1951, the council refused to obey an STUC order not to support CPGB-led peace campaign. In response, the STUC ordered the council to dissolve. Eventually, a compromise was found, with the council reforming as the Glasgow District Trades Council, with new staff and premises.

Secretaries

:1858: Matthew Lawrence :1863: George Newton :1867: :1870s: John Lang :1870s: Duncan Kennedy :1880s: Archibald Jeffrey Hunter :1902: George Carson :1916: William Shaw :1937: Arthur Brady :1942: George Middleton :1949: John C. Hill :1953: John Johnston :1964: Hugh Wyper :1970: John Reidford :1980s: Jane McKay :2010s: Tricia Donnelly

References

Organisations based in Glasgow Politics of Glasgow Trade unions established in 1858 Trades councils