Union of Communication Workers
- United Kingdom
The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries.
History
The 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
The 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]
Election | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1922 general election | Bury | Harry Wallace | 9,643 | 36.7 | 2 |
Camberwell North | Charles Ammon | 8,320 | 50.8 | 1 | |
Carlisle | George Middleton | 7,870 | 37.6 | 1 | |
Harborough | Walter Baker | 6,205 | 28.2 | 3 | |
Newport (Monmouthshire) | John William Bowen | 16,000 | 45.7 | 2 | |
Stockton-on-Tees | Frederick Fox Riley | 11,183 | 34.3 | 2 | |
1923 general election | Bristol East | Walter Baker | 14,824 | 53.7 | 1 |
Bury | Harry Wallace | 9,568 | 36.1 | 2 | |
Camberwell North | Charles Ammon | 10,620 | 64.2 | 1 | |
Carlisle | George Middleton | 9,120 | 40.5 | 1 | |
Newport | John William Bowen | 14,100 | 38.6 | 2 | |
Stockton-on-Tees | Frederick Fox Riley | 10,619 | 31.2 | 3 | |
1924 general election | Bristol East | Walter Baker | 16,920 | 58.2 | 1 |
Bury | Harry Wallace | 10,286 | 36.1 | 2 | |
Camberwell North | Charles Ammon | 11,300 | 54.9 | 1 | |
Carlisle | George Middleton | 10,676 | 45.5 | 2 | |
Newport | John William Bowen | 18,263 | 47.2 | 2 | |
Stockton-on-Tees | Frederick Fox Riley | 11,948 | 33.1 | 2 | |
1929 general election | Bristol East | Walter Baker | 24,197 | 65.8 | 1 |
Camberwell North | Charles Ammon | 13,051 | 57.9 | 1 | |
Carlisle | George Middleton | 12,779 | 40.4 | 1 | |
Crewe | John William Bowen | 20,948 | 50.2 | 1 | |
Stockton-on-Tees | Frederick Fox Riley | 18,961 | 41.2 | 1 | |
Walthamstow East | Harry Wallace | 11,039 | 39.6 | 1 | |
1931 general election | Camberwell North | Charles Ammon | 9,869 | 48.1 | 2 |
Carlisle | George Middleton | 13,445 | 42.7 | 2 | |
Crewe | John William Bowen | 18,351 | 42.2 | 2 | |
Stockton-on-Tees | Frederick Fox Riley | 18,168 | 38.4 | 2 | |
Walthamstow East | Harry Wallace | 9,983 | 31.2 | 2 | |
1935 general election | Camberwell North | Charles Ammon | 11,701 | 64.7 | 1 |
Crewe | John William Bowen | 20,620 | 48.7 | 2 | |
Walthamstow East | Harry Wallace | 14,378 | 46.0 | 2 | |
1945 general election | Clitheroe | Harry Randall | 19,443 | 53.7 | 1 |
Heston and Isleworth | William Williams | 29,192 | 54.3 | 1 | |
Walthamstow East | Harry Wallace | 15,650 | 51.1 | 1 | |
1950 general election | Clitheroe | Harry Randall | 18,359 | 43.8 | 2 |
Heston and Isleworth | William Williams | 29,013 | 43.6 | 2 | |
Walthamstow East | Harry Wallace | 18,478 | 47.0 | 1 | |
1951 general election | Droylsden | William Williams | 26,829 | 51.8 | 1 |
Dumfriesshire | George Douglas | 16,669 | 38.7 | 2 | |
Mitcham | Harry Randall | 28,187 | 45.3 | 2 | |
Walthamstow East | Harry Wallace | 19,036 | 47.5 | 1 | |
1955 general election | Manchester Openshaw | William Williams | 24,638 | 59.7 | 1 |
Walthamstow East | Harry Wallace | 15,744 | 43.1 | 2 | |
1955 by-election | Gateshead West | Harry Randall | 13,196 | 66.5 | 1 |
1959 general election | Manchester Openshaw | William Williams | 24,975 | 60.2 | 1 |
Gateshead West | Harry Randall | 21,277 | 64.9 | 1 | |
1963 by-election | Manchester Openshaw | Charles Morris | 16,101 | 65.9 | 1 |
1964 general election | Bristol North East | Raymond Dobson | 21,212 | 44.2 | 2 |
Gateshead West | Harry Randall | 21,390 | 69.0 | 1 | |
Manchester Openshaw | Charles Morris | 22,589 | 59.6 | 1 | |
1966 general election | Brighton Kemptown | Dennis Hobden | 24,936 | 50.8 | 1 |
Bristol North East | Raymond Dobson | 25,699 | 54.2 | 1 | |
Gateshead West | Harry Randall | 20,381 | 74.8 | 1 | |
Manchester Openshaw | Charles Morris | 22,103 | 64.9 | 1 | |
1970 general election | Brighton Kemptown | Dennis Hobden | 21,105 | 42.9 | 2 |
Bristol North East | Raymond Dobson | 22,792 | 49.5 | 2 | |
Manchester Openshaw | Charles Morris | 19,397 | 60.2 | 1 | |
1971 by-election | Stirling and Falkirk | Harry Ewing | 17,536 | 46.5 | 1 |
Feb 1974 general election | Brighton Kemptown | Dennis Hobden | 19,484 | 38.1 | 2 |
Hampstead | Tony Clarke | 17,279 | 38.3 | 2 | |
Manchester Openshaw | Charles Morris | 16,478 | 53.5 | 1 | |
Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth | Harry Ewing | 21,685 | 41.9 | 1 | |
Western Isles | Andrew Wilson | 2,879 | 19.2 | 2 | |
Oct 1974 general election | Brighton Kemptown | Dennis Hobden | 19,060 | 40.3 | 2 |
Hampstead | Tony Clarke | 16,414 | 40.6 | 2 | |
Manchester Openshaw | Charles Morris | 16,109 | 57.6 | 1 | |
Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth | Harry Ewing | 22,090 | 43.3 | 1 | |
1979 general election | Manchester Openshaw | Charles Morris | 17,099 | 62.1 | 1 |
Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth | Harry Ewing | 29,499 | 56.5 | 1 | |
1983 general election | Falkirk East | Harry Ewing | 17,956 | 47.7 | 1 |
1987 general election | Falkirk East | Harry Ewing | 21,379 | 54.2 | 1 |
1992 general election | Falkirk East | Michael Connarty | 18,423 | 46.1 | 1 |
Leadership
General Secretaries
- 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
- 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
- 1919: Will Lockyer[7]
- 1935: W. T. Leicester[7]
- 1947: A. H. Wood[7]
- 1953: Ron Smith[7]
- 1956: E. R. Mercer[7]
- 1962: Fred Moss[7]
- 1981: Fred Binks[7]
- 1988: Derek Walsh[7]
See also
References
- ^ 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
- Catalogue of the UCW archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
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