Bill Morris
Encyclopedia
For other people of this name, see William Morris (disambiguation)
William Morris (disambiguation)
William Morris was a British writer, designer and socialist.William Morris may also refer to:*William Placid Morris , British/Australian bishop*William Martin Morris , Bishop Emeritus of Toowoomba, Australia...

.

William Manuel Morris, Baron Morris of Handsworth, OJ
Order of Jamaica
The Order of Jamaica is the fourth of the five ranks in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and is considered the equivalent of knighthood in the British honours system....

 (born 19 October 1938), generally known as Bill Morris, was general secretary
General secretary
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...

 of the Transport and General Workers' Union
Transport and General Workers' Union
The Transport and General Workers' Union, also known as the TGWU and the T&G, was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland - where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union - with 900,000 members...

 from 1992 to 2003, and the first black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...

 leader of a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

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Early life and career

Bill Morris was born in Manchester, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

. After the death of his father, William, a part-time policeman, his mother, Una, emigrated to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 to find work settling in Handsworth
Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...

, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

. Morris joined her in the UK in 1954, finding work at a local car parts manufacturer, Hardy Spicer Engineering Ltd. Morris married Minetta in 1957. She died in 1990. They have two sons.

Morris joined the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1958, and became a shop steward in 1962. After serving on the TGWU General Executive Council (GEC) from 1972 to 1973, Bill Morris joined the union as a full-time official. He served as district officer of the Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

 District from 1973 to 1976 and district secretary of the Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

 District from 1976 to 1979. In 1979, he became national secretary of the Passenger Services Trade Group, which was responsible for staff working for bus and coach companies. He was elected deputy general secretary in 1986, working under general secretary Ron Todd
Ron Todd
Ronald Todd , generally known as Ron Todd, was the general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union , then the largest general trade union in the United Kingdom, from 1985 until 1992....

.

Morris was elected general secretary when Ron Todd retired in 1992. He was re-elected in 1995, ahead of Jack Dromey
Jack Dromey
Jack Dromey MP is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist, who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Erdington since 2010...

. He remained in the post until his retirement on his 65th birthday, 19 October 2003, when he was succeeded as general secretary by Tony Woodley
Tony Woodley
Anthony Woodley is a British trade unionist who was the Joint-General Secretary of the Unite union which was formed through the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union in 2007...

; Jack Dromey
Jack Dromey
Jack Dromey MP is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist, who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Erdington since 2010...

 was again a candidate. During his time as general secretary, Morris was generally regarded as a moderate and did not have a good relationship with the more radical elements of his union. He was also known as a supporter of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

, although the relationship cooled towards the end of Morris's tenure.

Morris was a member of the TUC
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...

 General Council and Executive Committee from 1988 to 2003. He was appointed a non-executive director
Non-executive director
A non-executive director or outside director is a member of the board of directors of a company who does not form part of the executive management team. He or she is not an employee of the company or affiliated with it in any other way...

 of the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

 in 1998. He was also a member of the Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords from 1999 to 2000. He is a member of the Board of Governors of London South Bank University
London South Bank University
London South Bank University is a university in south London. With over 25,000 students and 1,700 staff, it is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name...

, a Trustee of the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...

 Foundation, and the member of the Courts of the University of Northampton
University of Northampton
The University of Northampton is a university in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England.-History:In 1924, Northampton Technical College was opened at St George's Avenue, site of the current Avenue Campus. A new building for the college was formally opened by the then Duke and Duchess of York in 1932...

 and the University of Bedfordshire
University of Bedfordshire
The University of Bedfordshire is based in Luton and Bedford, the two largest towns in the English county of Bedfordshire. The university was created by the merger of the University of Luton and the Bedford campus of De Montfort University on 1 August 2006 following approval by the Privy Council...

. He was appointed as the first Chancellor of the University of Technology, Jamaica in 1999 and as Chancellor of Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...

 in 2004. He has been a member of the advisory councils of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 and IBA
IBA
-Iba:People*Clarence Iba , American basketball coach*Erol Iba , Indonesian footballer*Henry Iba , American basketball coach*Moe Iba , American basketball coach*Itsuki Iba, a fictional characterPlaces...

 and a Commissioner of the Commission for Racial Equality
Commission for Racial Equality
The Commission for Racial Equality was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality. Its work has been merged into the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.-History:...

. He chaired the Morris Inquiry into professional standards in the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...

 in 2004. He sits as a member of the Employment Appeal Tribunal
Employment Appeal Tribunal
The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal non-departmental public body in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales...

. He is also a patron of the Refugee Council
Refugee Council
The Refugee Council is the United Kingdom's leading organisation working with refugees and asylum seekers. The organisation provides support and advice to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as support for other refugee and asylum seeker organisations...

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Morris was awarded the Order of Jamaica
Order of Jamaica
The Order of Jamaica is the fourth of the five ranks in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and is considered the equivalent of knighthood in the British honours system....

 in 2002 and received a knighthood in the 2003 Queen's birthday honours list. On 11 April 2006, it was announced that Morris would take a seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 as a working life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...

, and he was gazetted as Baron Morris of Handsworth, of Handsworth in the County of West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

 in June 2006. He serves on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights
Joint Committee on Human Rights
The Joint Committee on Human Rights is a select committee of both the House of Commons and House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

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Morris is an independent non-executive Director of the England and Wales Cricket Board
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was created on 1 January 1997 combining the roles of the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council...

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External links

  • Biography from the T&G
  • Profile from BBC News
    BBC News
    BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...

    , 14 April 2000
  • Bill Morris Home Page
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