Alexander Smith (6 February 1930 – July 2021) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. Smith studied with the Clothing Institute in 1958, before becoming prominent in the

National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers The National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers (NUTGW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded as the Tailors and Garment Workers' Union (T&GWU) in 1920 with the merger of the Scottish Operative Tailors and T ...

(NUTGW). In 1974, he was elected Assistant Secretary of the union, then in 1979, he was elected as General Secretary. In 1991, Smith led the union into a merger with the

GMB Union The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 560,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...

. He then became National Officer of the GMB, and served a term as

President of the Trades Union Congress The president of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in United Kingdom, British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serv ...

.''Phoenix: The Journal of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation'', No.18–23, p.82 He died in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Alec 1930 births 2021 deaths General secretaries of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Presidents of the Trades Union Congress