The South Side Labour Protection League was a

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 ( ...

organising dock porters and

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

s in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Until the mid-1880s, dock porters in the docks on the south side of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

in London were represented by the

Labour Protection League The National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers (NASD), sometimes referred to as the National Amalgamated Stevedores' and Dockers' Society, was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1871 as the Labour Protection ...

. However, the union had increasingly come to focus its attention on

s, and when its executive changed the union's name to the "Amalgamated Stevedores' Labour Protection League", this led the remaining dock porters to leave. Inspired by the

London Dock Strike of 1889 The London dock strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of whi ...

, the former members of the Labour Protection League formed a new union, the South Side Labour Protection League, led by

Harry Quelch Henry Quelch (30 January, 1858 – 17 September, 1913) was one of the first Marxists and founders of the social democratic movement in Great Britain. He was a socialist activist, journalist and trade unionist. His brother, Lorenzo "Len" Quelc ...

. It was highly decentralised, allowing it to recruit general labourers and workers in a variety of dockside trades, while each trade was able to maintain its own conditions of entry and traditions. By 1912, the union's twenty branches included: * Corn Porters * Crane Drivers, Steam and Hydraulic Boiler Attendants * South Side * Thames Steamship Workers In later years, the union began admitting members working on the north bank of the Thames, particularly in Poplar, and it therefore shortened its name to the Labour Protection League. By 1920, it had 5,500 members, and it agreed to take part in the merger which formed the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

in 1922.Modern Records Centre
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General Secretaries

:1889:

:1890s: Arthur Harris :1920: Peter Hubbart

General Secretaries

Footnotes

See also