Peter Joseph Tevenan (20 June 1857 – 11 April 1943) was an Irish-British trade unionist and politician. Born in County Galway, Tevenan moved with his family to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

when he was a young child. The family then settled in Chesterfield, Derbyshire where he worked first making pottery, then spent time as a miner, before finding work on the railways. Initially, he was a porter, then plate-layer, before becoming a signalman, and finally a station-master. A supporter of

trade unionism 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 (su ...

, Tevenan became active in the

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal ** Pan am ...

, and served on its executive committee from 1891 to 1893. He was prominent in two strikes in

Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east o ...

, one in 1890 among goodsworkers, and one in 1892 involving dockers. He became secretary of the union's operations in Ireland, and in 1896 convinced the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little im ...

(ITUC) to convene a committee, chaired by himself, to consider whether a national federation of trade unions could be established. In 1900 and 1901, Tevenan served as treasurer of the ITUC. After spending a period as an insurance agent and running to become an elected auditor in Stockport, in 1905 he found work as joint organiser of the

Municipal Employees' Association The Municipal Employees' Association was a trade union representing local government workers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1888 as the London County Council Employees' Protection Association, to represent workers at the London ...

(MEA), later becoming the union's North East District Secretary. In 1906, Tevenan fell out with the MEA's general secretary,

Albin Taylor Albin Taylor (1866–1936)''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'' was a British trade union leader. Early life Born in Castle Cary in Somerset, Taylor began working as a half-timer when he was eight years old. He left ho ...

, who dismissed him. Tevenan felt that Taylor's action was unwarranted, and was able to convince a majority of the MEA's members of this. They voted to suspend Taylor and reinstate Tevenan. Taylor responded by resigning and setting up the rival

National Union of Corporation Workers The National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) was a British trade union which existed between 1908 and 1993. It represented public sector workers in local government, the Health Service, universities, and water authorities. History The union w ...

, while Tevenan was reinstated. Bernard Dix and Stephen Williams, ''Serving the Public: Building the Union'', pp.42-208 In 1913, Tevenan was elected as general secretary of the MEA. Membership grew rapidly under his leadership, reaching a peak of 70,000. He was also active in the

Public Services International Public Services International (PSI) is the global union federation for workers in public services, including those who work in social services, health care, municipal services, central government and public utilities. , PSI has 700 affiliated ...

, serving as its president for twelve years. He supported the merger of unions representing municipal workers; he took a leading role in the negotiations which formed the National Union of General and Municipal Workers in 1924. The MEA merged into the new union, and Tevenan served as one of its first two joint assistant general secretaries, and head of its municipal department. Tevenan was active in the Labour Party. At the 1918 United Kingdom general election, he stood as its candidate in Liverpool Edge Hill, taking second place with 36.2% of the vote. In 1924/25, he served on the party's

National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

. Tevenan retired in 1932 and died on 11 April 1943, at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tevenan, Peter 1857 births 1943 deaths Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Trade unionists from County Galway