The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) 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 ( ...

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 ...

for workers in the

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

and

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

s industries.

History

The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger of the

Postmen's Federation The Postmen's Federation was a trade union representing postal workers in the United Kingdom. In 1889, a "Postmen's Union" was founded in Clerkenwell by Tom Dredge and John Lincoln Mahon. This dissolved after many of its members were sacked, bu ...

Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association The Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association (PTCA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1881 as the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association, am ...

and the

Fawcett Association The Fawcett Association was a trade union representing postal clerks in London. History The union was founded in 1890. It was named after Henry Fawcett, who it considered had been sympathetic to workers when he was Postmaster General. For most o ...

. It achieved official recognition, and as a result, in 1920 the London Postal Porters' Association, Central London Postmen's Association, Tracers' Association, Tube Staff Association, Messengers' Association and Sorters' Association all merged with it.Arthur Ivor Marsh, ''Trade Union Handbook'', p. 401. It was banned legally from TUC membership from 1927 to 1946. Its longest strike was for 7 weeks in 1971. It changed its name in 1980, and merged with the

National Communications Union The National Communications Union (NCU) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1985 when the Post Office Engineering Union and the Postal and Telecommunications Group of the Civil and Public Services Association merge ...

in 1995 to form the Communication Workers' Union.

Election results

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in each Parliamentary election. From 1927 until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the union was legally barred from affiliating to the party, so its candidates in that period are omitted from many sources.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1919: William Bowen :1936: T. J. Hodgson :1944: Charles Geddes :1956: Ron Smith :1967: Thomas Jackson :1982:

Alan Tuffin Alan Tuffin (2 August 1933 – 10 November 2017) was a British trade union leader. Tuffin attended Eltham Secondary School, leaving at age 16 to work for the Post Office. He became active in the Union of Communication Workers, as its Londo ...

:1992:

Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chancel ...

Deputy General Secretaries

:1919: Walter Baker :1931: James Paterson :1941: Charles Geddes :1944: G. A. Stevens :1951: Richard Hayward :1956: L. V. Andrews :1967: Norman Stagg :1980:

:1982:

Tony Clarke Anthony or Tony Clarke may refer to: * Tony Clarke (British politician) (born 1963), English Labour Party politician, MP for Northampton South from 1997 to 2005 * Anthony Clarke (judoka) (born 1961), Australian athlete *Tony Clarke (activist) (born ...

:1993: Derek Hodgson

Treasurers

:1919:

Will Lockyer William Lockyer (1875 – 19 February 1959) was a British politician and trade unionist, who served on the London County Council. Born in Lambeth, Lockyer came to prominence as the chair of the Postmen's Federation from 1904. He supported ...

:1935: W. T. Leicester :1947: A. H. Wood :1953: Ron Smith :1956: E. R. Mercer :1962: Fred Moss :1981: Fred Binks :1988: Derek Walsh

References

External links

Catalogue of the UCW 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 ...

Trade unions established in 1919 Trade unions disestablished in 1995 Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Communications trade unions 1919 establishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-trade-union-stub