The National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees (NATTKE) was a

trade union 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 ( ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

which existed between 1890 and 1984. It represented employees who worked in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

s, cinemas and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

History

The union was founded in the aftermath of a strike at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in London in 1890, as the United Kingdom Theatrical and Music Hall Operatives' Union. By the turn of the century, it had become a national organisation, and in 1901 renamed itself the National Union of Theatrical Stage Employees. In 1902, it affiliated to the

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 ...

. In 1904, the union began recruiting workers in

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

s, and renamed itself the National Association of Theatrical Employees, not crediting its cinema staff in the union name until 1936, when it became the National Association of Theatrical and Kine Employees. In 1932, Tom O'Brien was elected General Secretary, a post he was to hold until 1970 - including fourteen years during which he was a Labour Party

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. The union began organising some

workers, and in 1970 changed its name under its then General Secretary Robert Keenan to reflect this as NATTKE (the National Association of Theatrical, Television and Kine Employees). It began organising among

bingo hall Bingo is a game of probability in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers. Bingo, also previously known in the UK as Housey-Housey, ...

staff, and in 1983 it merged with the National Association of Executives Managers and Staffs. In 1984, the NATTKE merged with the

Association of Broadcasting Staff The Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staffs (ABS) was a British broadcasting trade union. The organisation was founded in 1945 with the merger of the BBC Staff (Wartime) Association and the Association of BBC Engineers to form the BBC St ...

to form the

Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance The Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance (BETA) was a short-lived British entertainment trade union. It was founded in 1984 with the merger of the Association of Broadcasting Staff and the National Association of Theatrical Televisio ...

. The merged union created by NATTKE and the ABS was briefly known as ETA before becoming BETA.

General Secretaries

:c.1890: T. Elvidge :c.1900: William Johnson :1923: Hugh Roberts :1932: Tom O'Brien :1970: Robert Keenan :1975: John Wilson

References

Entertainment industry unions Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Organisations based in the London Borough of Lambeth 1890 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1890 Trade unions disestablished in 1984 Trade unions based in London {{UK-trade-union-stub