UNITE History Volume 2 (1932-1945): The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU): 'No turning back', the road to war and welfare

The Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) was a large union that struggled to hold its activists together and split politically between communists and their allies and the right-wing labour leadership of Bevin. By the late 1930s, it was able to negotiate industry-wide formal agreements in its strongholds, but these deals favoured the weak and held back the strong. The union grew and large numbers of women joined, forming their own groups and playing an increasing role in union affairs. It also supported rearmament and the war, and backed the welfare reforms of the Beveridge report and the election of a Labour Government.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 184 pages
Publication date: 15 August 2022
Publisher: Liverpool University Press

This is the second volume in a series on the history of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), covering the period from 1932 to 1945. In 1931, when the economic slump caused widespread unemployment, the TGWU was a large, disorganized union. The union lost members, struggled to keep its activists together, and split politically between communists and their allies on the one hand and the right-wing labor leadership of Bevin on the other. This spilled over into the struggle of the unemployed, the role of the state, and attitudes toward the growth of fascism at home and abroad. By the late 1930s, an arms-inspired boom allowed the TGWU to negotiate industry-wide formal agreements in many of its strongholds, including docks, passenger and commercial road transport, and general laborers. These deals favored the weak but held back the strong, such as the London bus workers who staged strikes based on rank-and-file organization. These were matched by local strikes against a range of speed-up initiatives. The TGWU supported rearmament and the war when it came. The leadership put aside its anti-communism for the duration, and communist-inspired shop stewards played major roles in improving war-time productivity. The union grew, and large numbers of women joined, forming their own groups and playing an increasing role in union affairs. At the same time, the TGWU hesitantly supported liberation in the colonies. As the war ended, the union supported the welfare reforms of the Beveridge Report and backed the election of a Labour government.

Weight: 294g
Dimension: 153 x 233 x 12 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781802076981