Joseph O'Hagan (18 March 1900 – 22 December 1978), often known as Joe O'Hagan, was a British trade union leader. Born in

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Locat ...

, O'Hagan started work at the age of fourteen for the

United Steel Companies The United Steel Companies was a steelmaking, engineering, coal mining and coal by-product group based in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, England. History The company was registered in 1918 and the following year saw a joining together of ste ...

,''AEU Monthly Journal'' (March 1969), pp.7-8 and immediately joined the

National Federation of Blastfurnacemen, Ore Miners and Kindred Trades The National Union of Blastfurnacemen, Ore Miners, Coke Workers and Kindred Trades (NUB) was a trade union in England and Wales which existed between 1888 and 1985. It represented process workers in the British iron and steel industry. History ...

(NUB).''6th Constitutional Convention of the Canadian Labour Congress'', p.58 He was successful, becoming a blastfurnace keeper before he took up full-time union work in 1939. O'Hagan took on a succession of roles in the union, becoming General President in 1948, and then, in 1953, General Secretary, serving until his retirement in 1968. In 1958, he was made an officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. O'Hagan served on the Iron and Steel Industrial Training Board and the National Safety Committee, and was a delegate to the International Labour Conference. He was also elected to the General Council of 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) in 1954, and served as the President of the TUC in 1966. After leaving his union duties, O'Hagan served as a director of

British Steel Corporation 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, ...

's General Steels section until his final retirement in 1971.''Metal Construction and British Welding Journal'', Vol.3, No.2, p.296

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OHagan, Joseph 1900 births 1978 deaths British trade union leaders Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Workington Presidents of the Trades Union Congress