Transport and General Workers Union Central Office 1

Transport and General Workers' Union office, Bristol

The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

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 ( ...

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 ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

– where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate itself from the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin in January 1909 as a general union. Initially drawing its mem ...

– with 900,000 members (and was once the largest trade union in the world). It was founded in 1922 and

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader, and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union in the years 1922–19 ...

served as its first

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

. In 2007, it merged with Amicus to form

Unite the Union Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union which was formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Unite is the second largest trade union in the UK (after ...

History

At the time of its creation in 1922, the TGWU was the largest and most ambitious amalgamation brought about within trade unionism. Its structure combined regional organisation, based on Districts and Areas, with committee organisation by occupation, based on six broad Trade Groups. Trade groups were not closely linked to trades, but were elected by activists. Officials of the union were grouped by region, and could be asked to serve each or any trade group.

Docks Group

The Docks Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions: * Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union of Great Britain and Ireland *

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 ...

(London, est. 1889) *

National Amalgamated Coal Porters' Union of Inland and Seaborne Coal Workers The National Amalgamated Coal Workers' Union was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1889 and 1922. It represented coal porters and carmen. History The union was formed as the National Amalgamated Coal Porters Union of I ...

(London, est. 1889) *

National Amalgamated Labourers' Union of Great Britain and Ireland The National Amalgamated Labourers' Union (NALU) was a trade union representing unskilled labourers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1889, initially based in Cardiff, and later in Swansea. Its membership long varied between 3,00 ...

(Cardiff, est. 1889) *

North of England Trimmers' and Teemers' Association The North of England Trimmers' and Teemers Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was formed in 1871 and merged with the Tyne and Blyth association in 1902. It had 1,500 members in 1908, increasing to 1,913 in 1915. Tri ...

(est. 1871) The group originally had a subsection for coal shipping. In 1928, it had 96,000 members, but over time, membership of the group declined along with employment on the docks, dropping to 56,000 in 1966, and had 51,153 in 1980.

Waterways Group

The Waterways Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the

Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen and Bargemen The Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen and Bargemen was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1889 as the Amalgamated Society of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames. In 1901, it merged with the Watchm ...

. Always one of the smallest sections, it had only 8,000 members in 1928, and 16,000 in 1966. In 1970, it was merged into the Docks Group.

Administrative, Clerical and Supervisory Group

The Administrative, Clerical and Supervisory Group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions: * National Association of Ships' Clerks, Grain Weighers and Coalmeters *

National Union of Docks, Wharves and Shipping Staffs The National Union of Docks, Wharves and Shipping Staffs (NUDWSS) was a trade union representing administrative staff working in shipping and related industries in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1909 as the Port of London Staff Asso ...

There was often ambiguity in the TGWU over the actual name of its white-collar section. From the 1960s it was generally known as ACTS (Administrative, Clerical, Technical and Supervisory) but also sometimes as the ACTSS (Association of Clerical, Technical and Supervisory Staff) and enamel union badges bearing both sets of initials were produced for members. It was noted for an enquiry by the Certification Office in 2006 into board members who had joined the union within six months of being elected to senior posts. The group grew significantly over time, having only 5,000 members in 1928, but 62,000 by 1966, and 149,801 members in 1980.

Road Transport (Passenger and Commercial) Groups

The Road Transport group was created in 1922 to represent former members of the following unions: *

Amalgamated Association of Carters and Motormen 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 ama ...

(Leeds, est. 1916) *

Amalgamated Carters, Lurrymen and Motormen's Union The Amalgamated Carters, Lurrymen and Motormen's Union was a trade union representing commercial road transport workers in the north of England. History The union was founded in Bolton in 1890, as the Bolton and District Carters and Lurrymen's U ...

(Bolton, est. 1890) *

Associated Horsemen's Union Associated may refer to: *Associated, former name of Avon, Contra Costa County, California * Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, a school in Canada *Associated Newspapers, former name of DMG Media, a British publishing company See also *Associati ...

(Greenock, est. 1894) * National Union of Vehicle Workers *

North of Scotland Horse and Motormen's Association North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

(Dundee, 1911) *

United Vehicle Workers The United Vehicle Workers was a trade union representing drivers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1919 when the London and Provincial Union of Licensed Vehicle Workers merged with the Amalgamated Association of Tramway and Vehicl ...

Later in 1922, the group was split into Road Transport (Passenger) and Road Transport (Commercial) groups. The Passenger group had 79,000 members in 1928 and 181,000 in 1966, but by 1980, the renamed Passenger Services group had dropped to only 44,501 members. The Commercial Services group rose from 37,000 members in 1928 to 219,000 in 1966, and 226,290 in 1980.

General Workers Group

The General Workers Group was created in 1922 to cater for all workers in jobs which did not fall into another group. Initially, it had subsections for workers in metal and chemical trades. Once it was considered that a particular field had enough members to justify its own trade group, it was split out. These decisions were made at the Biennial Delegate Conference, and although there were many applications to form new trade groups, most were unsuccessful. The group had 68,000 members in 1928, and it then doubled in size when the

Workers' Union The Workers' Union was a general union based in the United Kingdom, but with some branches in other countries. During the 1910s, it was the largest general union in the UK, but it entered a rapid decline in the 1920s, and eventually became part ...

merged into the TGWU. By 1966, it had 338,000 members and, despite the splitting out of further groups in 1970, by 1980 it still had 269,845 members. The first groups to be split out were: * Power Workers, formed in 1926 from the

National Amalgamated Union of Enginemen, Firemen, Mechanics, Motormen and Electrical Workers The National Amalgamated Union of Enginemen, Firemen, Mechanics, Motormen and Electrical Workers was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It represented stationary engine drivers and cranemen in a wide variety of industries, as well as less sk ...

. It had 20,000 members in 1928, rising to 41,000 by 1966. * Engineering, formed in 1931, principally from members of the

. By 1966, it had 269,000 members. * Government, formed in 1943, with 58,000 members by 1966. * Municipal, formed in 1945, with 44,000 members by 1966. * Agricultural, formed in 1945, with 13,000 members by 1966. * Building, formed in 1953, with 53,000 members by 1966. * Chemical, formed in 1953, with 61,000 members by 1966.

Later mergers

The

Scottish Union of Dock Labourers The Scottish Union of Dock Labourers was a Glasgow-based trade union for waterfront workers. It was formed during the seamen's and dockers' strikes of June–July 1911. Locally, it replaced the National Union of Dock Labourers, which had been ...

and National Union of Dock, Riverside and General Workers in Great Britain and Ireland initially voted not to amalgamate, but a new voted changed their position, and they joined before the end of 1922, along with the

, Greenock Sugar Porters' Union, Dundee Flax and Jute Stowers' Society,

National Union of British Fishermen The National Union of British Fishermen was a trade union representing fishermen in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1917 in Grimsby by Captain Bingham, a retired fishing skipper. It was originally known as the Grimsby Fishermen' ...

, and

Belfast Breadservers' Association The Belfast Breadservers' Trade Union represents people working in retail bakers in Northern Ireland. The union was founded in 1896. Its membership varied dramatically over time, from 150 in 1897 to only 15 in 1899, then 340 in 1911. It merged w ...

. Some of these unions retained a great deal of autonomy and in many ways effectively functioned as separate unions, even being registered separately with the Registrar of Friendly Societies. The biggest merger was with the

in 1929, the union being fully integrated into the TGWU in 1931.

Campaigns

The Transport and General Workers' Union spearheaded the campaign for the registration of Gangmasters in the UK, sponsoring an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

which received the

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

on 8 July 2004.

Merger with Amicus

During 2005 discussions started between the TGWU, Amicus and the GMB about the possibility of merging the three unions into one organisation with potentially 2.5 million members covering almost every sector of the economy. On 14 June 2006 the GMB Conference voted not to continue with discussions although the other two unions are proceeding, with delegates approving the proposed 'Instrument of Amalgamation' at a special conference on 18 December 2006. The ballot of both unions' membership during February and early March 2007, also approved the merger. The result of the ballot was announced on 8 March 2007: 86.4 per cent of T&G members and 70.1 per cent of Amicus members voted to support the merger, from a turnout of 27% at a time o
low membership consultation
The press release announced that the resulting union had the working title "New Union" and the name would be decided by a ballot of the membership. However, on 2 April 2007, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' reported that the name

Unite Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...

had been chosen. and that full merger of rule books and governing bodies may soon follow the existing merger of personnel and finance departments http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article5119928.ece

Affiliations

* Labour Party (UK) * Labour Party (Republic of Ireland) *

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) *

Irish Congress of Trade Unions The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union centr ...

(ICTU) *

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the 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 from the English and Welsh T ...

(STUC) *

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

(ITF) *

International Metalworkers' Federation The International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) was a global union federation of metalworkers' trade unions, founded in Zürich, Switzerland in August 1893. the IMF had more than 200 member organisations in 100 countries, representing a combine ...

(IMF) *

Union Network International UNI Global Union, formerly Union Network International (UNI), is a global union federation for the skills and services sectors, gathering national and regional trade union. It has affiliated unions in 150 countries representing 20 million workers ...

(UNI) *

International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) is a global union federation of trade unions with members in a variety of industries, many of which relate to food processi ...

(IUF) *

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 ...

(PSI) *

International Federation of Building and Woodworkers The International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW) was a global union federation of trade unions in the building industry, building, building materials, wood industry, wood, forestry and allied industries. History The federation ...

(IFBW) *

International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) was a global union federation. In 2005 it had 217 member organizations in 110 countries, representing a combined membership of over 10 million workers. History The ITGLW ...

(ITLGW) *

International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) was a global union federation of trade unions. As of November 2007, ICEM represented 467 industrial trade unions in 132 countries, claiming a membership of o ...

(ICEM) Regions – particularl
Region One
which covered London, the South East and Eastern England, also had a tradition of donating to other causes, as did branch committees, which controlled a substantial proportion of membership income.

Officers

General Secretaries

:1922:

:1945:

Arthur Deakin Arthur Deakin (11 November 1890 – 1 May 1955) was a prominent British trade unionist who was acting general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union from 1940 and then general secretary from 1945 to 1955. Background Arthur ...

(acting from 1940) :1955:

Jock Tiffin Arthur Ernest Tiffin OBE (11 February 1896 – 27 December 1955), commonly known as Jock Tiffin or A. E. Tiffin, was the third general secretary of the British Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). He served for only a few months in 19 ...

:1956:

Frank Cousins Frank Cousins may refer to: * Frank Cousins (British politician) (1904–1986), British trade union leader and Labour politician * Frank Cousins (American politician) (born 1958), American politician who served as the Essex County, Massachusetts Sh ...

:1964:

Harry Nicholas Sir Herbert Richard Nicholas OBE (13 March 1905 – 15 April 1997) was a trade unionist and political organiser. Early life Born in Bristol, Nicholas worked for the Port of Bristol Authority until 1936, when he took a full-time post in the T ...

(acting) :1969: Jack Jones :1978:

Moss Evans Arthur Mostyn Evans (13 July 1925 – 12 January 2002) was the general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), then the largest general trade union in the United Kingdom, from 1978 until 1985. Biography Moss Evans was bor ...

:1985: Ron Todd :1992: Bill Morris :2003:

Tony Woodley Anthony Woodley, Baron Woodley (born 2 January 1948) is a British trade unionist who was the Joint- General Secretary of Unite, a union formed through the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union, from 2007 to 2011. Despite ...

Deputy General Secretaries

:1974:

Harry Urwin Charles Henry Urwin (24 February 1915 – 10 February 1996) was a British trade unionist. Born in Witton Gilbert, County Durham, Urwin began work at a local coal mine at the age of fourteen, but left three years later, moving to Coventry to ...

:1980:

Alec Kitson Alexander Harper Kitson (21 October 1921 – 2 August 1997) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party official. Kitson grew up in Kirknewton, from where he undertook milk deliveries to Morningside alongside Sean Connery. Tam Dalyell,Obit ...

:1986: Bill Morris :1992:

Jack Adams John James Adams (June 14, 1894 – May 1, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League and Pacific Coast Hockey Association. He played for the Toronto Arenas, Vancouver Millionair ...

:1999:

Margaret Prosser Margaret Theresa Prosser, Baroness Prosser, (born 22 August 1937) is a Labour life peer and former trade unionist. Prosser was born on 22 August 1937 in Tooting, London, the daughter of Frederick James and Lillian (née Barry) Prosser. She wa ...

:2002:

:2003:

Jack Dromey John Eugene Joseph Dromey (29 September 1948 – 7 January 2022) was a British politician and trade unionist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Erdington from 2010 until his death. A member of the Labour Party, he was depu ...

Assistant General Secretaries

:1924:

John Cliff John Cliff (7 March 1883 – 18 October 1977) was the first Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union and later a prominent London Transport board member. Cliff was born in Leeds in 1883, the son of John Cliff and ...

:1935:

:1945:

Harold Clay Harold Ewart Clay (1886 – September 1961) was a British trade union leader, also known for his political and educational activities. Born in Leeds, Clay worked as a tram driver."Mr Harold Ewart Clay", ''The Guardian'', 22 September 1961 H ...

:1948:

:1955:

:1956:

:1968:

:1974: ''Vacant'' :1985:

Eddie Haigh Edward Haigh (7 November 1935 – 17 February 2016) was a British people, British trade unionist. Haigh grew up in Birstall, West Yorkshire, Birstall, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and was educated at St Mary's Roman Catholic School in Ba ...

and Larry Smith :1988:

:1991: ''Vacant''? :1999: Barry Camfield and

Jimmy Elsby Jimmy Elsby was Treasurer of the Labour Party in Great Britain during 2001–04. He was also an assistant general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of t ...

Amalgamations

The list of

TGWU amalgamations The Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) was created in 1922 from a merger of fourteen unions and continued to grow through a series of mergers, amalgamations and transfers of engagements. This process, which is recorded below in chronologi ...

highlights the scale of the TGWU policy of mergers, amalgamations and transfers of engagements, which contributed to its membership growth and the spread of its membership base.

References

External links

The history of the T&G

Catalogue of the TGWU archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

Catalogue of the TGWU West Midlands Region archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Catalogue of the TGWU Coventry District archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
T&GWU website archived on 30 April 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport And General Workers' Union Unite the Union Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Transport trade unions in the United Kingdom Transport trade unions in Ireland Defunct trade unions of Ireland International Transport Workers' Federation International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations Trade unions established in 1922 1922 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions disestablished in 2007 2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct transport organisations based in the United Kingdom Trade unions based in London