The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries.
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Merged into | Communication Workers' Union |
---|---|
Founded | 1 January 1920 |
Dissolved | 1995 |
Headquarters | UCW House, Crescent Lane, Clapham |
Location | |
Members | 203,000 (1990)[1] |
Publication | The Post[2] |
Affiliations | TUC, Labour, PTTI |
History
editThe union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger of the Postmen's Federation, Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association and the Fawcett Association. 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.[3] It was banned legally from TUC membership from 1927 to 1946.[4] Its longest strike was for 7 weeks in 1971.
It changed its name in 1980, and merged with the National Communications Union in 1995 to form the Communication Workers' Union.[3]
Election results
editThe union sponsored Labour Party candidates in each Parliamentary election. From 1927 until the end of World War II, the union was legally barred from affiliating to the party, so its candidates in that period are omitted from many sources.[5][6]
Leadership
editGeneral Secretaries
edit- 1919: William Bowen[7]
- 1936: T. J. Hodgson[7]
- 1944: Charles Geddes[7]
- 1956: Ron Smith[7]
- 1967: Thomas Jackson[7]
- 1982: Alan Tuffin[7]
- 1992: Alan Johnson[7]
Deputy General Secretaries
edit- 1919: Walter Baker[7]
- 1931: James Paterson[7]
- 1941: Charles Geddes[7]
- 1944: G. A. Stevens[7]
- 1951: Richard Hayward[7]
- 1956: L. V. Andrews[7]
- 1967: Norman Stagg[7]
- 1980: Alan Tuffin[7]
- 1982: Tony Clarke[7]
- 1993: Derek Hodgson[7]
Treasurers
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ David Farnham, Employee Relations in Context, p. 268.
- ^ Marsh, Arthur (1984). Trade Union Handbook (3 ed.). Aldershot: Gower. pp. 167–168. ISBN 0566024268.
- ^ a b Arthur Ivor Marsh, Trade Union Handbook, p. 401.
- ^ David Butler; Gareth Butler (1986). British political facts, 1900-1985. Macmillan. p. 366. ISBN 978-0-333-39948-4.
- ^ Clinton, Alan (1984). Post Office Workers: A Trade Union and Social History. London: George Allen and Unwin. pp. 672–676. ISBN 9780043310861.
- ^ Parker, James (2017). Trade unions and the political culture of the Labour Party, 1931-1940 (PDF). Exeter: University of Exeter.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Clinton, Alan (1984). Post Office Workers. George Allen and Unwin. p. 664. ISBN 0043310869.
External links
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