Leslie William Buck (30 May 1915 – 23 December 1984) was a
British trade unionist.
Buck grew up in
Middlesex and attended Willesden County Grammar School. He completed an
apprenticeship as a
panel beater, and joined the
National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Braziers.
[Buck, Leslie William]
, '' Who Was Who''
Buck gradually rose to prominence in the Sheet Metal Workers, becoming a district officer in 1957, then district secretary in 1960, and general secretary of the union in 1962. In 1964, he was also elected to the executive of the
Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, serving as its president in 1975/6, and from 1971 he served on the
General Council of the Trades Union Congress.
In 1973, the
Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union
The Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union, known as the EETPU, was a British trade union formed in 1968 as a union for electricians and plumbers, which went through three mergers from 1992 to now be part of Unite the Un ...
opened talks with the Sheet Metal Workers regarding a possible merger, and in exchange offered Buck the post of general secretary, but the merger did not go ahead.
[David Wilson, "Sparks fly as 'old pal' union leaders fall out", '' The Observer'', 16 September 1973]
Buck retired from his trade union posts in 1977, joining the board of
British Aerospace until his final retirement in 1982.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Les
1915 births
1984 deaths
General Secretaries of the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers, Coppersmiths, Heating and Domestic Engineers
Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress
People educated at Willesden County Grammar School