Rachel Devine (1875–1960) was a jute weaver and trade unionist. A founder member of the

Dundee and District Union of Jute and Flax Workers The Union of Jute, Flax and Kindred Textile Operatives was a trade union representing workers in the textile trades in and around Dundee in Scotland. The union was founded after a major strike in the industry in Dundee. The strikers had no offic ...

who later became its president, she often went to the

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the National trade union center, national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists. The STUC is a separate organisation ...

as her union's delegate.

Early life

Blackley was born on 13 February 1875 in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

to Rachel McClellan and John Blackley, a yarn dresser. At the age of eleven she started work as a "half timer", dividing her working week between textile mill and school.'Official Inquiry Hears Of Millgirls' Tastes And Dress', ''Dundee Courier'', 25 May 1939, p5 (The school leaving age was then 14.) She progressed from being a "shifter", whose job was to change the

bobbin A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measure ...

s on the

loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

s, to becoming a fully-fledged

jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...

weaver in around 1892. She married John Devine, a cabinet-maker, in 1898.Statutory Register of Marriages, Scotland

Activism

She was at the inaugural meeting of the Dundee and District Union of Jute and Flax Workers in 1906 and was elected to represent workers at her mill, Heathfield Works, in 1909.Graham R. Smith, ‘Devine , Rachel (1875–1960)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004
/ref> The jute industry employed large numbers of women and girls and the

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

reflected this with a rule that at least half of its executive should be women, unlike many other unions.E. Ewan, S. Innes, S. Reynolds, R. Pipes eds., ''The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women'', Edinburgh University Press 2004, p95
/ref> For over thirty years Devine held a number of different union management posts, with a short break after tensions with the full-time union secretary, John F. Sime. She returned in 1915 and actively encouraged union support for rent strikers in Dundee following the Glasgow example. In 1923 a large popular vote made her vice-president of the union. One year later she was elected president, and continued in that role for the next six years. This involved negotiations with the employers' Association of Jute Spinners and Manufacturers where she proved herself capable and forceful. Devine was known as a blunt speaker and was prepared to be combative with employers. After once more becoming vice-president of the union she left when she went to work in a different mill but was back in 1938 as a trustee for the union, its delegate to the

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

and also to the Labour Party. In 1939 she opened evidence for the union at an enquiry about conditions for employees under sixteen years old. It was conducted by Harold Morris on behalf of the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

in response to a request, ultimately unsuccessful, from Dundee jute manufacturers to exempt them from a new law limiting the working week for under-16s to 44 hours. At a retirement presentation for J.F. Sime in 1940, Devine spoke about the progress made since 1914 in improving conditions for local mill workers. She died in Dundee on 13 April 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, Rachel British trade union leaders People from Dundee Scottish women trade unionists 1875 births 1960 deaths