John Valentine Stevens (13 March 1852 – 14 August 1925) 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 benefits (s ...

and Lib-Lab politician. Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Stevens completed an apprenticeship as a

tinplate Tinplate consists of sheets of steel coated with a thin layer of tin to impede rusting. Before the advent of cheap milled steel, the backing metal was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the manufacture ...

worker before moving to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. In 1874, he joined the Amalgamated Tin Plate Workers of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and District, and was elected as its president in 1880, and then as Secretary in 1886. In this role, he persuaded the various local associations of tinplate workers to unite, forming the National Amalgamated Association of Tin-Plate Workers in 1894. He was elected Secretary of the new union, dominating it until his retirement in 1919.Ted Brake, ''Men of good character: a history of the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers, Coppersmiths, Heating and Domestic Engineers'', p.361 Stevens was elected to

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

on its formation in 1889, defeating

Austen Chamberlain Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (16 October 1863 – 16 March 1937) was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (twice) and was briefly ...

, retaining his seat as a Liberal-Labour member until 1907. At the 1900 general election, he stood in Birmingham East, but lost heavily,Peter T. Marsh, ''Joseph Chamberlain: Entrepreneur in Politics'', pp.499-500 and was again defeated in December 1910. In 1897, the annual

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 ...

was held in Birmingham, and Stevens served as its

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

. He also held various prominent roles on the Birmingham Trades Council, was the first President of the National Committee of Organised Labour for Promoting Old Age Pensions for All, and was prominent in the Ancient Order of Foresters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, John Valentine 1852 births 1925 deaths Councillors in Birmingham, West Midlands British trade union leaders Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians Trade unionists from Bristol Presidents of the Trades Union Congress