Allen Gee (6 September 1852 – 12 August 1939) 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 ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Professional background

Gee worked in the woolen industry in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

, and was involved in a major, but unsuccessful, strike in 1883. This experience inspired him to found what became the

General Union of Textile Workers The General Union of Textile Workers was a trade union representing textile workers in England, most of its members being weavers in the West Riding of Yorkshire. History The union was founded in 1881 following a strike at Newsome Mills in Hudd ...

, with membership from the wider district. In 1885, he was elected as the first president of the Huddersfield

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of trade union, labour unions or local union, union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, ...

. He was a strong supporter of the Weavers' campaign for an

eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated i ...

, launched in 1886, and was involved in the Manningham Mills Strike. In 1888, he was elected as General Secretary of the West Yorkshire Power-Loom Weavers Association (later to become the Textile Workers), a position which he held until 1922.

Hugh Armstrong Clegg Hugh Armstrong Clegg (22 May 1920 – 9 December 1995) was a British academic who was a founder of the " National Board for Prices and Incomes" (1965–71) and later presided over the " Standing Commission on Pay Comparability" set up by James Ca ...

, ''A History of British Trade Unions Since 1889: 1889-1910'', p.184

Unions

Gee attended the founding conference 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 ...

. He was soon elected as an independent labor member of Huddersfield Town Council, although the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

attempted to claim that he was a supporter of their group. In 1900, he was elected to the first Executive of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), and he was also appointed as one of the organization's first trustees. He served as the second Chairman of the National Executive Committee, in 1901, although he did not chair the annual conference. From 1910 until 1912, he was chairman of the General Federation of Trade Unions, while at the 1918 general election, he stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. In later life, Gee became a Justice of the Peace, and remained close to his fellow trade unionist Ben Turner. When the Huddersfield Trades Council celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, in 1935, Gee marched at the head of the celebratory parade.''Labour'', Vol. 2, p.280

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gee, Allen 1852 births 1939 deaths Trade unionists from Huddersfield Councillors in West Yorkshire General secretaries of British trade unions Presidents of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) Labour Party (UK) officials Textile workers Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates