Joseph Harris (born 1866) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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. Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Harris became a cabinet maker, and moved to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

to find work. He joined the

Amalgamated Union of Upholsterers The Amalgamated Union of Upholsterers (AUU) was a trade union representing upholstery workers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in Liverpool in 1891, with the merger of local trade unions based in Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, ...

, and became prominent in the local trade union movement. In 1907,

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

from the British-based

Workers' Union The Workers' Union was a general union based in the United Kingdom, but with some branches in other countries. During the 1910s, it was the largest general union in the UK, but it entered a rapid decline in the 1920s, and eventually became part ...

came to speak in the city, and while he was present, a major strike occurred. This enabled him to recruit two local branches of factory workers, and Harris was appointed as the union's full-time Irish Organiser. Initially, he proved successful, recruiting heavily among chemical workers and builders' labourers', giving a total membership of more than 500. Although many of these workers soon left, Harris began recruiting among linen workers in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

, and worked with

James Larkin James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and Willia ...

to establish branches of the union in Derry, Dundalk, Lisburn and Limerick. In 1908, he tried to establish a branch in Dublin, but due to disputes with other unions, he offered to transfer the branches to the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin in January 1909 as a general union. Initially drawing its mem ...

. Larkin declined the offer and, annoyed by this, Harris became an opponent of Larkin. He worked with

James Sexton Sir James Sexton CBE (13 April 1856 – 27 December 1938) was a British trade unionist and politician. Sexton was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 13 April 1856 to an Irish-born family of market traders, who soon moved to St Helens, Lancashire. ...

to get Larkin removed from the Parliamentary Committee of the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little im ...

. The union's branches across Ireland did not prove lasting, and by 1911 Harris was described as the union's organiser for the Belfast District. During the early 1910s, the Workers' Union grew substantially in Britain, but Harris struggled to match this. Several local strikes ended in defeat, with many members leaving, though Harris claimed that his difficulties resulted from employers exploiting religious differences among workers. Early in 1913, he was transferred to

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

, to become assistant organiser to Matt Giles. Membership in the region was increasing rapidly, and by the end of the year, Devon and Cornwall was split off as a new region, with Harris as its organiser. He served on the Cornwall Agricultural Wages Committee, and soon chaired the Joint Industrial Committee for the

china clay Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...

industry. The union sponsored Harris as a candidate in Penryn and Falmouth at the

1922 United Kingdom general election The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party. ...

, and then in Plymouth Devonport at the

1923 United Kingdom general election The 1923 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 December 1923. The Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour Party (UK), Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's re ...

, taking third place on each occasion. Labour Party, ''Report of the Twenty-second Annual Conference of the Labour Party'', pp.255-272

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Joseph 1866 births Year of death missing Trade unionists from Dublin (city) Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates