Jim Gardner (3 August 1893 – 20 July 1976) 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 Employee ben ...

. Born near

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 ...

, Gardner worked in a brass foundry at the age of fourteen. Two years later, he joined the

Associated Iron Moulders of Scotland The Associated Iron Moulders of Scotland (AIMS) was a trade union representing foundry workers in Scotland. The union was created in 1831 as the Scottish Iron Moulders' Union. Its founder was James Dunn, a former cotton worker who had been blac ...

trade union, and around this time also joined the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

(ILP). Gardner was highly active in the ILP during

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 ...

, but then joined 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 ...

(CPGB) on its formation in 1920."Jim Gardner", ''

Labour Monthly ''Labour Monthly'' was a magazine associated with the Communist Party of Great Britain. It was not technically published by the Party, and, particularly in its later period, it carried articles by left-wing trade unionists from outside the Party. ...

'', vol.58, p.407 The Associated Iron Moulders eventually became part of the

National Union of Foundry Workers The National Union of Foundry Workers (NUFW) was a trade union representing workers in foundries in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1920 with the merger of the Associated Iron Moulders of Scotland, the Amalgamated Society of ...

, and Gardner was elected as its Scottish district secretary in 1941, succeeding Jock McBain. He stood in the election to become general secretary of the Foundry Workers in 1943 and, despite the opposition of the union's executive, lost to the incumbent Albert Wilkie by only 7,044 votes to 8,024. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he also served on the Petroleum Board. In 1944, Wilkie died and Gardner stood again for the general secretary post, this time beating Tom Colvin in another close vote. He led the union into a merger in 1946 which formed the

Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers __NOTOC__ The Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers (AUFW) was a trade union representing workers in foundries in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1946 with the merger of the National Union of Foundry Workers, the Ironfounding Workers' ...

, and served as general secretary of the new union until his retirement in 1958. He was known for his focus on health and safety in foundries. Around the 1950s, Gardner also served on the executive of the CPGB.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Jim 1893 births 1976 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members British trade union leaders Trade unionists from Glasgow