United Vehicle Workers

Last updated
United Vehicle Workers
Founded1919
Date dissolved1922
Merged into Transport and General Workers' Union
Members115,897 (1921)
Affiliation TUC
Key people Stanley Hirst, general secretary
Office locationTransport House, Emperor's Gate, South Kensington
Country United Kingdom

The United Vehicle Workers was a trade union representing drivers in the United Kingdom.

The union was founded in 1919 when the London and Provincial Union of Licensed Vehicle Workers merged with the Amalgamated Association of Tramway and Vehicle Workers. These were known as the "red" and "blue" unions, based on the colour of the unions' respective badges, and the supposed political inclinations of their members. It represented drivers of a wide range of vehicles, from buses and trams to cabs and horse-drawn carts. It also recruited related workers, such as conductors, cleaners and farriers. By 1921, the union had 115,897 members. [1]

Within the union, members of its predecessors were reluctant to merge their branches, with the tram and bus drivers coming into particular conflict. Two branches of the union, dominated by bus drivers, broke away in 1921 to form the Trams, Omnibus and Tube Workers union, but Ernest Bevin persuaded them to rejoin later in the year, shortly before the entire union became part of the new Transport and General Workers' Union. [1]

General Secretaries

1919: Stanley Hirst [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Arthur Marsh and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.244-245