Harry Dack (1877–1954) 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 Loftus-by-Cleveland, Dack received a basic education at

Skinningrove Skinningrove is a village in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. Its name is of Old Norse etymology and is thought to mean ''skinners' grove or pit''. History The village had an agricultural and fishing economy until the opening ...

Council School but, while still a child, began working in the local ironstone mines. In 1902, Dack was elected as a checkweighman, and the following year, he was elected to the executive committee of the Cleveland Miners' and Quarrymen's Association. In 1911, he became the president and full-time agent of the union. He represented the union on various bodies, including serving on the executive of the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

, attending 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 ...

and Labour Party conferences, and three international conferences of miners: in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 1910, Carlsbad in 1913, and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1925. At the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

, Dack stood as the Labour Party candidate for

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, taking a close second place, with 35.3% of the vote. He stood again in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, but dropped back to third, with 29.5% of the votes cast. He continued political activity at a more local level, serving on both

North Riding County Council North Riding County Council (NRCC) was the county council of the administrative county of the North Riding of Yorkshire. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 31 March 1974. The council met at County Hall in Northallert ...

and the

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark i ...

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

from 1924. From 1930, he instead served on the county council as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

, and during the 1930s chaired the council's Agricultural Wages Committee and

Public Assistance Committee A Public Assistance Committee (PAC), in the UK, was a body locally created after the abolition of the boards of guardians in 1930 by the Local Government Act 1929, when their powers and responsibilities for poor relief were passed to county and co ...

. The miners' association became part of the

National Union of General and Municipal Workers The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 460,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...

in 1932, but retained significant autonomy even after the merger, with Dack continuing as a full-time agent until his retirement in 1936. In 1934, Dack was made an

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 ...

, while in the early 1950s, the Harry Dack Infants School in Loftus was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dack, Harry 1877 births 1954 deaths Members of North Riding County Council English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Loftus, North Yorkshire Presidents of British trade unions