Francis Joseph Lynch (15 March 1909[1] – 10 May 1980) was a British trade union leader and politician.
Lynch was active in the Labour Party from an early age, and served on the City of Salford council from 1934 until 1949.[2] In 1937, he found work as a night patrolman and stoker at the County Mental Hospital in Prestwich, and joined the Hospital and Welfare Services Union.[3] In 1946, this became part of the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE), and Lynch became a full-time organiser for the new union. In 1948, he was appointed as a regional secretary, then in 1954 he became a national officer, and in 1967 was elected as the union's assistant general secretary.[2]
Lynch was elected as general secretary of COHSE in 1969, and set himself a target of doubling the union's membership of 69,000. He achieved this; when he retired, in 1974, membership had risen to 230,000.[3]
References edit
- ^ 1939 England and Wales Register
- ^ a b Who's Who in Personnel and Industrial Relations. Gower Reference Publications. 1973. p. 254. ISBN 0716102056.
- ^ a b "News". Nursing Mirror. Vol. 150, no. 14. 1980.