Robert Saul Shube (born Solomon Shube; 15 October 1904 – 20 October 1978) was a

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 unionist 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 Employee ben ...

and cabinetmaker. Shube was 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 ...

to Russian Jewish immigrants. He worked in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. He joined the

National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association The National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association (NAFTA) was a trade union representing workers involved in making furniture in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1902 from the merger of the Alliance Cabinet Makers' Assoc ...

(NAFTA), soon winning election to its executive committee, and in 1929 also joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

. He visited Moscow twice in the early 1930s, and was also an organiser of the

National Hunger March National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. In 1932, he was a founder of the British Anti-War Council, serving as its national secretary. The NAFTA merged into the

National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives The National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives (NUFTO) was a trade union in the United Kingdom representing furniture makers. The union was founded in 1947 by the merger of the National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association and the Amalga ...

(NUFTO), and Shube was appointed as its national convener for

Co-operative Wholesale Society A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of co-operative federation (that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. According to co-operative economi ...

furniture and bedding workers, also serving as the union's president from 1947. In 1952, Shube was elected as one of NUFTO's two full-time assistant general secretaries, focusing his time on the union's finances and administration. In 1971, it amalgamated into the

Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union The Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union (FTAT) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1971 by the merger of the National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives (NUFTO) and the Amalgamated Society of Woodcu ...

(FTAT), Shube continuing as assistant general secretary until 1975, when he was elected as its general secretary. He died in office, in 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shube, Robert 1904 births 1978 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members General Secretaries of the Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union English Jews