Owen O'Brien (22 June 1920 – 2 November 1987) was a

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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 ( ...

leader. Born in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

, in the

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, O'Brien started work in the printing industry when he was fourteen years old. He completed an apprenticeship, during which period he was active in

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

activity, taking part in the

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the inner East End, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march by mem ...

. O'Brien served in the Merchant Navy and was on board the Rangatiki in the Jervis bay incident then the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, he returned to printing, becoming active in the Labour Party and his union, the National Society of Operative Printers' Assistants (NATSOPA). In 1952, he was elected as secretary of the union's London Machine Branch, and then as secretary of the union's London Joint Branches group. He was elected as the union's assistant general secretary in 1964, and that year also became a governor of the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

, later chairing the organisation. In 1975, O'Brien was elected as general secretary of NATSOPA. He was succeeded as assistant general secretary by his brother, Edward. His time in office was marked by rapid change in the industry, with much industrial action taking place, including a major strike at ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. O'Brien opposed such strikes, and focused on negotiated settlements of disputes. ''The Times'' later wrote that "...of all the print union leaders he was the most ready to discuss options for co-operation with employers". O'Brien supported the merger of the various print unions. In 1976, NATSOPA passed a motion to this effect, and O'Brien forged a close working relationship with Bill Keys of the

Society of Graphical and Allied Trades The Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT) was a British trade union in the printing industry. History SOGAT was formed in 1966 by the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers and the National Society of Operative Pr ...

(SOGAT). In 1982, NATSOPA merged with SOGAT, forming SOGAT '82; O'Brien and Keys served as joint general secretaries of the new union until O'Brien retired at the end of 1983. O'Brien died while on holiday in

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, four years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Owen 1920 births 1987 deaths British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II General secretaries of British trade unions People from Stepney Royal Air Force personnel of World War II