Debbie Coulter

Last updated

Debbie Coulter (born 1960 or 1961) is a former British trade union leader.

Born in Egremont as Debbie Allen, she attended St Mary's Comprehensive School in Wallasey, then worked in office administration for various companies. When she was 18, she was sacked for encouraging colleagues to join a trade union. She married, but her husband died before 1991. [1]

Coulter found work at a tailors in Barnsley, and while there studied trade unionism at college. In 1987, she began working full-time for the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers (NUTGW). In 1991, the NUTGW merged into the GMB union, and Coulter worked as an organiser in Sheffield, then in the regional office in Leeds, before becoming a senior organiser in Wakefield. [1]

In 2003, Coulter was elected as deputy general secretary of the GMB, the most senior role any woman had held in the union. [1] She ran on a joint ticket with Kevin Curran, who became general secretary. Breaches of the election rules emerged, and Coulter complied with the investigation. She was re-elected in a re-run election, in 2004. [2] Curran chose to resign, and Coulter became acting general secretary. Coulter was initially considered the front-runner to replace Curran, but later in the year, Paul Kenny replaced her as acting general secretary, and he ultimately won election to the post. [3] [4] [5]

Coulter served on the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party from 2003 until 2008, and chaired the party conference in 2005. [4] In the 2007 New Year Honours, she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. [6] She left the GMB in 2008, at which point she was praised for her work on equalities, and with retired members. [7] She began working for the Ethical Trading Initiative, and was also appointed to the council of Acas. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

Debbie Stabenow American politician (born 1950)

Deborah Ann Stabenow is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female U.S. senator after defeating Republican incumbent Spencer Abraham in the 2000 election. Before her election to the Senate, she was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 8th congressional district from 1997 to 2001. Previously she served on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners and in the Michigan State Legislature.

GMB (trade union) General trade union in the United Kingdom

The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 460,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (NHS), ambulance service and local government.

Mick Rix is a British trade unionist and politician.

Sir Paul Stephen Kenny is the former General Secretary of the GMB, Britain's third biggest union.

Sharan Burrow

Sharan Leslie Burrow is the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and a former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) (2000–2010). She is the first woman to become General Secretary of the ITUC since its foundation in 2006, and was the second woman to become President of the ACTU.

International Trade Union Confederation Global trade union federation

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is the world's largest trade union federation.

Anne Loughlin British activist

Dame Anne Loughlin, DBE was a British labour activist and organiser.

Mary Macarthur

Mary Reid Anderson was a Scottish suffragist and was a leading trades unionist. She was the general secretary of the Women's Trade Union League and was involved in the formation of the National Federation of Women Workers and National Anti-Sweating League. In 1910, Macarthur led the women chain makers of Cradley Heath to victory in their fight for a minimum wage and led a strike to force employers to implement the rise. About 1901, Macarthur became a trade unionist after hearing a speech made by John Turner about how badly some workers were being treated by their employers. Mary became secretary of the Ayr branch of the Shop Assistants' Union, and her interest in this union led to her work for the improvement of women's labour conditions. In 1902 Mary became friends with Margaret Bondfield who encouraged her to attend the union's national conference where Macarthur became the first woman to be elected to the union's national executive.

Natalie Hutchins Australian politician

Natalie Maree Hutchins, also known as Natalie Sykes-Hutchins, is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2010, representing the electorates of Keilor (2010–2014) and Sydenham (2014–present).

Frances OGrady British trade unionist; General Secretary of the TUC

Frances Lorraine O'Grady is the General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress (TUC), the first woman to hold the position.

Samuel Alexander Barr was a British shipyard worker, trade unionist, and Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS) work-in veteran. Barr was an "inspiring speaker" and organiser who was a "widely respected shop steward" of the Boilermakers' Society at the time of the "historic work-in" at the UCS in 1971. Barr was credited with coming up with the idea for a work-in, which gained a lot of publicity and forced the UK Government into a reversal, saving 6,000 jobs at the shipyard. Barr was a lifelong friend to fellow UCS activists Jimmy Airlie and Sammy Gilmore. Throughout his life he displayed "considerable political commitment" to the right to work, and protection for the rights of young working people, and also particularly to the protection of the Clyde shipyards.

Paul Nowak (trade unionist) British trade union official

Paul Nowak is a British trade union official.

John Edward Newton was a British trade unionist.

Marian Barry was an Irish trade unionist.

Sarah Wesker was a trade unionist active in the garment industry in the East End of London in the 1920s and 1930s.

Kevin Barry Curran is a former British trade unionist.

Mary Josephine Turner was an Irish trade union and political activist.

Bradford Trades Council brings together trade unionists in and around Bradford, in West Yorkshire in England.

Jacob Lewis Fine was a Russian trade union leader, active in the United Kingdom.

Lauren Underwood American politician

Lauren Ashley Underwood is an American politician and registered nurse who is a U.S. representative from Illinois's 14th congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party. Her district, once represented by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, includes the outer western suburbs of Chicago, including Crystal Lake, Geneva, Oswego, Woodstock, and Yorkville.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Doing her bit for a fairer working life". North Wales Live. 25 April 2003. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  2. ↑ Wigham, Ross (30 March 2004). "GMB union gets its woman". Personnel Today. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "Coulter set to succeed Curran as GMB general secretary". Public Finance. 14 April 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  4. 1 2 Hencke, David. "Leaked GMB report makes bribery claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Barrie, Clement (7 March 2006). "Election of GMB leader 'was tarnished by fraud'". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  6. ↑ "MBE for 80-year-old shoe shiner". BBC News. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
  7. ↑ "GMB Annual Congress 2008" (PDF). GMB. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "New Acas Council Members appointed". Wired.gov. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Trustees". THIRST. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
Trade union offices
Preceded by
Steve Pickering
 Deputy General Secretary of the GMB
2003–2008		Succeeded by
Position vacant
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.