Union of Communication Workers
Encyclopedia
The Union of Communication Workers was a trade union
in the United Kingdom
for workers in the post office
and telecommunication
s industries. It was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers 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. 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.
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...
in the United Kingdom
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...
for workers in the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s industries. It was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers by the merger of the Postmen's Federation, Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association
Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association
The Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries...
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. Its longest strike was for 7 weeks in 1971
It changed its name in 1980, and merged with the National Communications Union
National Communications Union
The National Communications Union was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was founded in 1985 when the Post Office Engineering Union and the Postal and Telecommunications Group of the Civil and Public Services Association merged...
in 1995 to form the Communication Workers' Union.
General Secretaries
- 1920: Bill BowenBill BowenBill Bowen is a former member of the Ohio Senate, serving from 1970–1994, and a member of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission Hall of Fame. He also served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1967-1970.-References:...
- 1936: T. J. Hodgson
- 1944: Charles Geddes
- 1956: Ron SmithRon Smith (trade unionist)Ron Smith was a British trade unionist.Born in North London, Smith studied with the Workers' Educational Association, following his father into a job delivering mail, and also becoming active in the Labour Party and the Union of Post Office Workers...
- 1967: Thomas Jackson
- 1982: Alan Tuffin
- 1992: Alan JohnsonAlan JohnsonAlan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was...
See also
- Edgar HardcastleEdgar HardcastleEdgar Richard "Hardy" Hardcastle was a theoretician of Marxist economics.The son of a founder member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain, Hardcastle went to prison as a socialist conscientious objector in the First World War, formally joining his father's party in 1922...