Working for Ford : The Historical Context

This article explores the paradox of the two large ‘general’ workers’ unions - the former Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) and the National Union of General and Municipal Workers (NUGMW) - which from their militant origins to within a comparatively few years were seen as undemocratic, moderate in industrial tactics and right-wing in labour politics - ‘pillars of conservatism’. In due time they moved from the fringes to centre stage, acquiring one in four of all trade-unionists, and dominating with their block votes the decisions of the Trades Union Congress and the Labour Party conference. Even more dramatic was the apparent overnight conversion to left-wing views within the TGWU when Frank Cousins became general secretary in 1956. Then under his successor, Jack Jones, responding to the dynamic of shop-floor organization, the TGWU radically changed its ethos and government. The NUGMW, with David Basnett as general secretary from 1973, also moved away from its long-standing positions but its government remained unchanged. But in 1979 the economic and political environments within which the unions were operating completely changed.

This short article details the little known links between the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) and the Warwickshire town of Leamington Spa, from its formation in 1921 to the post-war activities of its future General Secretary, Jack Jones.

This chapter analyses a traditional union, the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers’ Union of Uganda (ATGWU), that has successfully revitalised by crossing the divide and organising the new workers – boda boda riders – emerging in the informal economy. It shifts the narrative on trade unions as ‘victims of globalisation’, and instead shows their agency and power. The union has been transformed into a hybrid organisation – something between a traditional trade union and an informal association of micro-businesses. From 2,000 members 15 years ago, it now has nearly 100,000 members. Part I gives an historical account of the role of trade unions, particularly in Africa, and the distinctive nature of the African labour market. Part II turns to an examination of the move to cross the divide between formal and informal workers by focusing on the ATGWU as an example of the successful integration of formal and informal transport workers.

The docks are one of the most academically scrutinised sectors of the British economy and, due to the industry’s historical reputation for strike-proneness, episodes of workplace conflict are generally popular sources for research. Nevertheless, one dispute remains curiously under-examined – the 1970 national dock strike. This is particularly remarkable since it constituted the first national strike in the industry for nearly half a century, lasted almost three weeks, led to the declaration of a State of Emergency and required a government-sponsored inquiry to reach a resolution. On the surface, it was provoked by disagreement between the national employers’ association and the union over basic weekly wage bargaining. Behind the scenes, however, the course, nature and outcome of the dispute is best understood in the context of the relationship between the membership and officialdom of the union, which was rooted in a history of antagonism, and the revolutionary technological changes taking place in cargo handling at this time. What follows is a detailed account of the 1970 national dock strike and the events surrounding it, considered in the context of the literature relating to hierarchical divisions in trade union organisations. Abbreviations LMC: Local Modernisation Committee NAPE: National Association of Port Employers NASDU: National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers Union NDLB: National Dock Labour Board NDLS: National Dock Labour Scheme NJC: National Joint Council for the Port Transport Industry NPSSC: National Ports Shop Steward Committee TGWU: Transport and General Workers’ Union TUC: Trades Union Congress TUR: Temporary Unattached Register

Ron Todd, my predecessor as general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, once told the British TUC conference that Europe is the only card game in town. I shared that view then and I share it now. However, only a radically recharged vision can secure the backing of the people and give 'Europe' the momentum to fulfil its mission.

Before assessing the process for the renewal of the Lib-Lab Agreement it is important to place it in the context of the wider political events of summer 1977. National Archives records for this period show the Cabinet grappling with a congested legislative programme. Meanwhile, it was attempting to maintain a credible economic policy in the face of trade union agitation. In response to the threat of the collapse of the Government’s pay policy, following the actions of the Transport and General Workers’ Union and National Union of Miners noted in the previous chapter, Callaghan concluded that a White Paper to be entitled The Attack on Inflation was to be produced and presented on 31 July 1977. In the event, the document was never published; nevertheless, for the period May–July 1977, much of Whitehall and the Parliamentary Labour Party was focused on the protracted discussions which took place, all of which took precedence over the Lib-Lab renewal. Indeed, it is important to remember when examining the Lib-Lab Pact that for Callaghan, as he later commented in his autobiography Time and Chance (1989), it was economic issues, and specifically trade union negotiations, which took up most of his energy, and not discussions with the Liberal Party.1

The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union and Labour Unrest in Ireland, 1911

As a member of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) 10/156 Road Transport Commercial branch, Fred Beach was a key activist in the hire and reward haulage strike, January–February 1979. Looking back in an interview on 21 November 1996, Beach reflected on the origins of the dispute, in particular the role of rank-and-file networks in driving the TGWU to call a strike to challenge the 5% pay increase imposed by the Labour government in the 1978–79 pay round. He outlined the role and nature of picketing and the support from other workers, especially Hull dockers, in closing down much of haulage distribution in the area. He explained the work of the branch’s dispensation committee, which supervised the movement of goods. This provoked anger among representatives of local haulage firms, which lasted many years. Beach argued that though a significant pay increase was won, other issues such as holiday leave and pay should have been agreed. Since the mid-1980s, pay and conditions have deteriorated.

This Note is concerned with the problem of how to distribute votes in an assembly so that all interested groups are ‘fairly’ represented. It is clear that in many cases present arrangements are open to criticism. For example, in the United Nations General Assembly both China (population 732 million) and Norway (4 million) are represented by one vote. The situation at the British Labour Party annual conference is in direct contrast to this. Here votes are allocated to the individual unions and constituency Labour parties in proportion to their membership (rounded up to the nearest thousand), so that the Transport and General Workers' Union (membership 1,000,000) exercises 1,000 votes, whereas the 25,000 members of the National Union of Seamen are represented by only twenty-five votes. Since the total number of votes at the conference is about 6,000, it might be felt that the large unions exercise a disproportionate amount of influence.

Turner, Peter William, (died 20 Nov. 2012), District Secretary, Hereford and Worcester, Transport and General Workers’ Union, 1969–91

The aim of this paper is to trace two processes, interconnected in a large measure, in the labour relations of the British shipping industry from 1911 to 1929. One is the gradual transformation of the policy of the Sailors' and Firemen's Union under Havelock Wilson from aggressive militancy to one of accommodation to the shipowners' point of view. The other process to be considered is the rise and fall of four rival organisations: the Cooks' and Stewards' Union, the British Seafarers' Union, the Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union, and finally the seamen's section of the Transport and General Workers' Union.

This paper reviews academic journal articles and scholarly books focusing on organizational creativity and constructs a schematic representation of the antecedents of organizational creativity, i.e. of the associated drivers and barriers. The literature on organizational creativity is reviewed using a traditional review technique. The focus is especially on more recent developments of the discourse, and therefore this work can be labeled as a state-of-the-art review. The review shows that drivers have clearly been studied more extensively than barriers. It was also recognized that the predominant approach among organizational creativity scholars is to dichotomize the factors influencing organizational creativity, more specifically to discuss the antecedents of creativity mostly from the viewpoint of drivers. In some cases, the antecedents are discussed from the perspective of barriers, but only rarely has it been recognized that the very same factor may either enhance or inhibit creativity. In this paper, such factors are called ‘either-or factors’. The paper suggests that the organizational creativity discourse should acknowledge that it is not enough to understand what enhances organizational creativity but also which kind of issues inhibit it and, especially, which factors may work either against or toward creativity under different circumstances. The review suggests that the majority of factors are most likely either-or by nature, although it has been overlooked in the discourse due to the dichotomizing tendency.

This paper provides evidence from empirical case‐study research into the impact of compulsory competitive tendering on workplace union organization among the baggage‐handling workforce at Manchester Airport. It documents the main processes of development within an historical context, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of workplace unionism during the 1980s, the recent challenge posed by managerial restructuring in the early 1990s, and the wider implications for debates about the ‘state’ of workplace unionism in Britain today.Compared with the union resilience displayed by the baggage handlers during the 1980s, the nature of shop‐stewards' organization appears to have changed drastically to managemenťs advantage during the last few years. However, continuing underlying tensions in worker‐management relations suggest that this situation may not necessarily amount to a fundamental and irreversible transformation in the nature of workplace unionism in the manner in which those who use the vocabulary of the ‘New Industrial Relations’ would suggest.

The historical analysis of the research conducted during the 1980s - early 1990s by the staff of the USSR Academy of Sciences / Russian Academy of Sciences in relation to the problems of industrial development of the Arctic regions of Yakutia is presented. At the same time, the main attention is paid to those materials that allow the most representative to show the changes that have occurred in the assessment by scientists of the practices and consequences of intensive industrial development of the region during the Soviet period, as well as the prospects for industrial development in new socio-economic realities. The source basis for the development of the topic was the materials identified by the author in the archives of Yakutsk, published documents and data from scientific literature. The work carried out made it possible for the first time in Russian historiography to show that during the period under review, there was actually a profound shift in the paradigm and the problems of studying the issues of industrial development of the Arctic regions of Yakutia. If at its initial stage industry was viewed through the prism of its contribution to the positive development of the region, then at the turn of the late 1980s - early 1990s, the focus of research shifted to assessing the negative consequences of forced industrial development of the Arctic regions of Yakutia during the Soviet period. Radical changes in the socio-economic situation and socio-political attitudes in the country have led to the emergence of new research issues related to the cessation of the development of a significant part of mineral deposits and the liquidation of a number of industrial settlements in this regard.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the process of industrial and social infrastructure facilities reconstruction in rural areas of Sumy Oblast during the post-war economy recovery in 1945-1950. Characteristic features and peculiarities of setting up and carrying out construction works in the Sumy region are highlighted. It was found that the industrial and social infrastructure was restored both by the economic method by the own forces of enterprises and institutions, and by specialized construction organizations during the post-war period. The organizational structure formation and development of the trusts focused on the construction of various profiles objects in the villages of Sumy land were studied. The level of enterprises financing and the state of their provision of construction materials and qualified personnel are characterized. An assessment of the activities of vocational training institutions for young builders in the city of Sumy is given. It was revealed that the process of the rural infrastructure rebuilding was affected by a lag in pace, non-fulfilment of plans, violation of the order and unevenness of work in the districts of the region. The main cause of these phenomena was the ineffectiveness of the process organization system at both the state and regional levels, manifested by insufficient funding, shortage of qualified personnel, lack of construction materials, poor logistics and transportation problems. Sometimes the negative impact on the productivity of construction organizations was caused by a subjective factor - negligence and corruption on the part of managers. The research is based on materials from the construction organizations funds of the State Archive of Sumy Region and information from the regional newspaper "Bilshovytska Zbroia" issued in the middle 1940s – early 1950s.