James Millar Jack (1847 or 1848 – 28 September 1912) was a Scottish

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 benefits (s ...

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 November 1879. He also represented the union at the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

(TUC), and was elected to the TUC's Parliamentary Committee in 1884. He chaired the committee in 1887, and was re-elected most years until 1896.''Annual Report of the 1913 Trades Union Congress'', p.164 Jack was also interested in the political representation of workers, and was appointed as a vice-president of the

Labour Electoral Association {{Short description, Political motive of the Labour Electoral Association The Labour Electoral Association was a political organisation in the United Kingdom which aimed to get working men elected to Parliament. Foundation The issue of political re ...

. In 1890, he was elected to Glasgow Town Council, with the backing of the

Glasgow Trades Council {{Use British English, date=January 2018 Glasgow Trades Council is an association of trade union branches in Glasgow in Scotland. The trades council was founded in 1858 as the Glasgow United Trades Council.Archives Hub,Records of Glasgow District ...

. He was only the second Liberal-Labour representative on the council. Harry McShane, ''Centenary brochure, 1858-1958: a hundred years of progress'' Under Jack, AIMS was a founding member of the

Federation of Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades 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 ...

, and Jack served as its president for many years until his unexpected death in 1912.

References

1840s births 1912 deaths Councillors in Glasgow British trade union leaders Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Scottish trade unionists {{Scotland-politician-stub