Isaac Haig Mitchell (26 June 1867 – 15 March 1952) was the first general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), when it was founded in 1899, a post he held until 1907 when he took up a position with the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

of the British Government. Isaac Haig Mitchell was born on June 26, 1867, in

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at lea ...

, Roxburghshire, Scotland, the son of Isabella and Alexander. He had one daughter with Margaret Mitchell. He then married Avis Chatterley Baird in 1927, and died on 15 March 1952, in London, England, at the age of 84.

Early life

Isaac’s father, Alexander Mitchell (1816 – 1894) was a wool dyer and scourer, born in Eccles who lived all his life in the borders area between Scotland and England, and died in Hawick in 1894. Born in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

, Mitchell remained in school as a

pupil-teacher Pupil teacher was a training program in wide use before the twentieth century, as an apprentice system for teachers. With the emergence in the beginning of the nineteenth century of education for the masses, demand for teachers increased. By 1840, ...

after his classmates left to start work. He later completed an apprenticeship in engineering and in 1891 was living in Heaton which is a suburb of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. There, he joined the

Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Mi ...

(ASE), and was immediately elected as its delegate to Newcastle Trades Council. Through this, he worked with

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

in supporting a railway strike.Alice Prochaska, ''History of the General Federation of Trade Unions: 1899-1980'', pp.20-26

Industrial organisation

In about 1892, Michell moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he found work as a millwright, just six years after the Haymarket Affair in Chicago. He joined the young

Socialist Labor Party of America The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...

and the esoteric

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

. He moved back to

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

in Scotland in 1894, where he founded an early branch of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

, which was only five years old at the time. He then moved on to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, where he was the ASE's delegate to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

(TUC). He was elected to the Parliamentary Committee of the TUC in 1898. His profession was listed as 'Mechanical Engineer' on his marriage certificate in 1899 and as 'Trade Union Secretary' on his daughter's birth certificate in 1901.

General Federation of Trade Unions

In 1899 Mitchell became the first general secretary of the British General Federation of Trades Unions (GFTU). The GFTU were created by the TUC to bring all trade unions under one banner to act as an arbitration committee for industrial disputes and administrating a national strike fund. In 2024 the GFTU federation includes a joint membership of over 600,000 union members, ranging from 28 different union affiliates. In contrast to other leading figures in the GFTU, Mitchell focused on conciliation and attracting new member unions to affiliate. The Joint Board of the TUC, GFTU and Labour Representation Committee (LRC) was formed in 1905, and Mitchell became its joint secretary. Mitchell was also politically active. In 1904, he was elected as a Progressive Party

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

on the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, elected in March 1904 for a six-year term, he resigned in 1907. He also stood for member of parliament for the LRC in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

, and he wa
only narrowly defeated

Board of Trade

In 1907, Mitchell accepted an offer to work as an adviser to the

, resigning all his trade union and political offices. He became known as "Haig Mitchell", and also apparently drew a distinction with his past by growing a beard. In April 1927 the

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

lists him as 'Ministry of Labour: Principal Conciliation Officer', where he remained until his retirement in 1932, by which time he was the Chief Conciliator. He was notably supportive of increases in the salaries of trade union leaders, and led initial investigations into the

Clyde Workers' Committee The Clyde Workers Committee was formed to campaign against the Munitions Act. It was originally called the ''Labour Withholding Committee''. The leader of the CWC was Willie Gallacher (politician), Willie Gallacher, who was jailed under the Def ...

, informing

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

that the Socialist Labour Party was centrally involved.Bentley Gilbert, ''David Lloyd George: Organizer of victory, 1912-1916'', p.154

Later life

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Isaac 1867 births 1952 deaths Civil servants in the Board of Trade Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates General secretaries of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) Members of London County Council Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Members of the Socialist Labor Party of America People from the Scottish Borders Progressive Party (London) politicians Scottish Theosophists Scottish trade unionists