Owen O'Brien (22 June 1920 – 2 November 1987) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader. Born in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

, in the East End of London, O'Brien started work in the printing industry when he was fourteen years old. He completed an apprenticeship, during which period he was active in

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activity, taking part in the

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the East End of London, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march ...

. O'Brien served in the Merchant Navy and was on board the Rangatiki in the Jervis bay incident then the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he returned to printing, becoming active in the Labour Party and his union, the National Society of Operative Printers' Assistants (NATSOPA). In 1952, he was elected as secretary of the union's London Machine Branch, and then as secretary of the union's London Joint Branches group. He was elected as the union's assistant general secretary in 1964, and that year also became a governor of the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

, later chairing the organisation. In 1975, O'Brien was elected as general secretary of NATSOPA. He was succeeded as assistant general secretary by his brother, Edward. His time in office was marked by rapid change in the industry, with much industrial action taking place, including a major strike at ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. O'Brien opposed such strikes, and focused on negotiated settlements of disputes. ''The Times'' later wrote that "...of all the print union leaders he was the most ready to discuss options for co-operation with employers". O'Brien supported the merger of the various print unions. In 1976, NATSOPA passed a motion to this effect, and O'Brien forged a close working relationship with Bill Keys of the

Society of Graphical and Allied Trades The Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT) was a British trade union in the printing industry. History SOGAT was formed in 1966 by the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers and the National Society of Operative Pr ...

(SOGAT). In 1982, NATSOPA merged with SOGAT, forming SOGAT '82; O'Brien and Keys served as joint general secretaries of the new union until O'Brien retired at the end of 1983. O'Brien died while on holiday in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, four years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Owen 1920 births 1987 deaths British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II General secretaries of British trade unions People from Stepney Royal Air Force personnel of World War II