John E. Smith (1862 or 1863 – 16 May 1912) 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 political activist. Smith came to prominence as the

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

District Secretary of the

National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) was an early general union in the United Kingdom, the most important general union of its era. History The union was founded in 1889 as the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers by Will ...

. Under his leadership, membership in the city grew rapidly. He served on the Leeds Trades and Labour Council, including a period as its president, and on numerous local committees. He was considered to be on the right-wing of the union, suspicious of the Independent Labour Party, and avoiding industrial action. Smith was a supporter of the Labour Party, and stood unsuccessfully for

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

in the West ward. He came from an Irish Catholic background, and was also a member of the Irish Nationalist League. At the 1906 UK general election, he was credited with gaining the backing of Irish immigrants for James O'Grady in

Leeds East Leeds East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Richard Burgon of the Labour Party. The constituency is notable for having been represented by Denis Healey who was the MP from 1955 to 1992. ...

. 1910 saw the death of

Pete Curran Peter Francis Curran (28 March 1860 – 14 February 1910) was a British people, British trade unionist and politician. Born Patrick Francis Curran in Glasgow, to a Catholic family of Irish people, Irish origin, Curran became known as "Pete" at ...

, president of the Gasworkers' Union, and Smith was elected as his replacement. He also replaced Curran on the Management Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions. In addition, he represented the union 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 ...

, and was elected for several years in a row to its standing orders committee. Smith became seriously ill early in 1912. He underwent two operations, but died in May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, J. E. 1860s births 1912 deaths Trade unionists from Leeds Presidents of British trade unions