Peter Shorrocks (8 April 1834 – 9 January 1886) was an early

British 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, ...

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

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Shorrocks attended the

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

Blue Coat School before following his father into the

tailoring A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

trade. Influenced by

Chartism Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, w ...

in his youth, Shorrocks was always involved in trade union activity, and in 1860 he joined the recently founded Manchester Society of Journeymen Tailors. The society suffered from low membership and a lack of funds; Shorrocks was elected as its secretary in 1863, and attempted to increase its activity.Barbara Nield and John Saville, "Shorrocks, Peter (1834-86)", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.VI, pp.242-245 In 1865, the Manchester Society tried to negotiate an agreed price list with employers, but faced hostility and was unable to reach agreement. Shorrocks organised a strike which quickly achieved most of the union's aims. Enthused by this, he called a national conference of local tailors' societies, held in Manchester in March 1866. The conference attracted a large number of delegates from around the UK, and the large majority formed the

Amalgamated Society of Journeymen Tailors The Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses (AST&T) was a trade union representing tailors in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1866 when Peter Shorrocks convened a conference in Manchester of local societies of tailors. The c ...

(ASJT), with Shorrocks as General Secretary. Shorrocks also negotiated an agreement to work in co-ordination with the rival London Operative Tailors' Association. He led the ASJT through a

lock-out A lockout is a work stoppage or denial of employment initiated by the management of a company during a labour dispute. In contrast to a strike, in which employees refuse to work, a lockout is initiated by employers or industry owners. Lockouts a ...

in Manchester in 1868, during which he was charged with conspiracy under the Combination of Workmen Act 1859, but was found not guilty. In 1866, Shorrocks was a founder of the

Manchester and Salford Trades Council The Manchester Trades Union Council brings together trade union branches in Manchester in England. History Efforts to bring trade unionists together across Manchester go back to the eighteenth century. In 1818 the cotton spinners persuaded othe ...

(MSTC), and he supported W. H. Wood in calling the first

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 ...

(TUC), held in Manchester in 1868. He acted as the secretary of this first congress, also playing a prominent role in the 1869 congress, after which he was elected to the committee organised to put together a public statement of the TUC's resolutions. He attended most congresses until 1881, and served on the

Parliamentary Committee of the TUC A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

in 1873, the Standing Orders Committee from 1877 to 1879 and in 1881, and as vice-president in 1880. During the late 1860s, Shorrocks was a supporter of the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

, and was prominent in its Manchester and Salford branches, although neither existed long. He subsequently became associated with more mainstream Liberal-Labour positions. Shorrocks was elected as secretary of the MSTC in 1877, serving until 1883, by which point he was in poor health. Despite this, he remained secretary of the ASJT until his death, early in 1886. One of his daughters later married T. A. Flynn, who served as General Secretary of the Tailors in the early 20th-century.Anne J. Kershen, ''Uniting the Tailors''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shorrocks, Peter 1834 births 1886 deaths British trade union leaders Members of the International Workingmen's Association Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Manchester