John Brown (1880 or 1881 – 10 March 1961) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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. Brown first joined the

National Amalgamated Society of Enginemen, Cranemen, Boilermen and Firemen The Amalgamated Society of Enginemen, Cranemen and Firemen was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It represented stationary engine drivers and cranemen in a wide variety of industries. The union was founded in 1889, and within three years i ...

in 1905, and four years later was appointed as a full-time organiser for the union. Three years later, he instead became an organiser for the

British Steel Smelters' Association The British Steel Smelters' Association (BSSA) was a trade union representing steel smelters and workers in related trades in Britain. History The union was founded in after a strike at the David Colville and Sons Works in Motherwell in 1885. T ...

(BSSA). In 1917, this became part of the

Iron and Steel Trades Confederation The Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) was a British trade union for metal-workers and allied groups, being the largest union in these fields. It was formed on 1 January 1917 as a merger of existing steel-workers' unions and it is now pa ...

(ISTC), and he was appointed as a divisional officer.

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 ...

, ''Report of the 1961 Annual Trades Union Congress'', p.289 Brown was also active in the Labour Party, and was elected to

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

. In 1935, with the ISTC's general secretary

Arthur Pugh Sir Arthur Pugh (19 January 1870 – 2 August 1955) was a British trade unionist. Born in Ross-on-Wye, Pugh was apprenticed to a farmer who also worked as a butcher, but soon moved to Neath to work in the steel industry, where he became active in ...

about to retire, Brown was appointed as his assistant for six months and moved to

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 ...

, where he was elected to

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...

. Pugh retired at the end of 1935, and Brown was chosen as his replacement. He was also elected to the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

(TUC). In 1944, he represented the TUC to the

American Federation of Labour The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutual ...

. He retired from his union posts in 1946, and sat on various government committees.

References

1880s births 1961 deaths Year of birth uncertain Councillors in Glasgow Councillors in Manchester General Secretaries of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation Labour Party (UK) councillors British trade union leaders Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub