James Young (1 October 1887 – 16 July 1975) was a Scottish

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 politician. Young grew up in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and attended

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff ...

. He completed an apprenticeship as an engineer and draughtsman with Brown Brothers, working there until 1918, when he relocated to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. He joined the

Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen The Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section (TASS) was a British trade union. History The union was founded in 1913 by 200 draughtsmen, as the Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen (AESD). It expanded rapidly, and ...

(AESD), and served as its full-time assistant general secretary from 1920, also serving on the executive of the Labour Research Department. In 1929, he moved roles, becoming a divisional organiser.Young, James
, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' From 1932 until 1945, Young represented the AESD on the executive of the

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the National trade union center, 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 ...

, and he served as its president in 1935/6 and 1944/5. During

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 ...

, he served on the Regional Production Board for Scotland, while in 1944 he was appointed to the Advisory Council of Education for Scotland and elected to the executive of the

Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), often known as the Confed is a trade union confederation in the United Kingdom. History The confederation was founded in December 1890 as the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuil ...

. In 1945, Young was elected as general secretary of the AESD, and in 1947 he was additionally elected as president of the

International Federation of Commercial, Clerical and Technical Employees The International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET; french: Fédération internationale des employés, techniciens et cadres) was a global union federation bringing together workers representing cleri ...

. He stood down as general secretary of the union in 1952 to focus on his international post, relocating to London. In London, Young became active in the Labour Party, and he stood successfully for the Woolwich East seat on

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

in 1955. He held his seat until the council's abolition in 1965, winning the Greenwich seat on its successor, the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

. During this period, he chaired the education committee, in which role he acted as joint leader of the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corpor ...

. He retired in 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, James 1887 births 1975 deaths General Secretaries of the Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of the Greater London Council Members of London County Council People educated at George Heriot's School Trade unionists from Glasgow Trade unionists from Edinburgh