The Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) is a

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

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 ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

. It was founded in 1946 and has a membership of 4200. The BIU is affiliated to the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...

, and

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 ...

History

The Bermuda Industrial Union was founded by

Edgar Fitzgerald Gordon Edgar Fitzgerald Gordon (20 March 1895 – 20 April 1955), born in Trinidad and Tobago, was a physician, parliamentarian, civil-rights activist and labour leader in Bermuda, and is regarded as the "father of trade unionism" there: "he championed ...

to facilitate collective bargaining of working class Bermudians at a time when the work force was predominantly composed of black Bermudians who were

disenfranchised Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...

because of property requirements that controlled the right to vote. Gordon served as its president until his 1955 death, and one of BIU's most influential leaders was Dr.

Barbara Ball Barbara Ball MRCS, LRCP, OBE (13 June 1924 – 13 March 2011) was a Bermudian physician, politician and social activist. She was the first woman physician to practice in Bermuda and took both black and white patients, an unusual event in the 1 ...

, who became the General Secretary of the organization in 1962. As a white woman, she spoke out against unequal labor and pay practices based on race, earning the respect of black Bermudians, and disdain from other whites. BIU became the largest and most influential trade union in the country, by centralizing its organization and branching to address the needs of various industry segments, like electricians, hospital staff, hotel workers, and street maintenance personnel. In its early days, between 1946 and 1960, multiple strike actions resulted in some gains for workers, but after 1960, when Ottiwell Simmons, a trained union organizer became president, BIU became a professional organization focusing on training organizers and functionaries. Until the 1981 general strike the labor negotiations of the BIU were able to maintain a calm during collective bargaining processes.

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* * * * {{Portal, Organized labour Trade unions in Bermuda International Trade Union Confederation Public Services International Trade unions established in 1946 1946 establishments in Bermuda