Barbara Switzer (née McMinn; born 26 November 1940) is a former

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 ...

. She grew up in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, attending Chorlton Central School and Stretford Technical College, where she completed a

City & Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has bee ...

certificate as an electrical technician. After an engineering apprenticeship with

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

, she became a draughtsperson, initially with GEC at

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the metropolitan borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...

.Switzer, Barbara
, ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' She joined the Association of Engineering and Shipbuilding Draughtsmen, and became increasingly involved as she campaigned for equal pay with male colleagues. Although this challenge failed, she became the first woman to serve on the union's national executive, in 1973.Dorothy Wade, "The unlikely engineer fighting to change jobs for the boys", ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 7 April 1991 In 1976, Switzer became the first female full-time divisional officer for the union, by then known as the "Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section" (TASS). That year, she also received 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) Gold Badge. In 1979, she became the union's National Organiser then, in 1983, its Deputy General Secretary, a feat described by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' as "the first appointment to a senior union job of a woman who has risen through the ranks". Donald Macintyre, "Woman gets top union job", ''

'', 20 October 1982 During the 1980s, Switzer was associated with the left-wing of the Labour Party. She narrowly missed out on election to the women's section of the party's National Executive Committee (NEC), and from 1985 served on the management committee of the '' Morning Star''. As such, she worked closely with the union's general secretary, Ken Gill, who was a member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

. The TASS became part of the new MSF union in 1988, with Switzer serving as one of its five assistant general secretaries. In 1990, the union appointed her to the trade union section of the Labour NEC, the first woman ever to represent the section. With Gill's retirement imminent, she stood in the election to succeed him, but was defeated 42,209 to 73,158 by the more right-wing candidate,

Roger Lyons Roger Lyons (born 14 September 1942) was the General Secretary of the MSF trade union from 1992 and re-elected leader of the union in 1997. When the union merged with the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union to form Amicus in 2002 he su ...

.Seumas Milne, "Outcome of MSF union election pleases Labour leaders", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 17 May 1991 In 1993, Switzer joined the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trades Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

, and from 1995 she additionally served as president of the

Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), often known as the Confed is a trade union confederation in the United Kingdom. History The confederation was founded in December 1890 as the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuil ...

. She retired from her union posts in 1997, serving on the

Employment Appeal Tribunal The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales. It also hears appeals from decisions ...

, the

National Assembly of Women The National Assembly of Women (NAW) is a British women's rights organisation founded on 8 March 1952, at a meeting of almost 1,500 women from all across Great Britain. It campaigns for equal status for women and men in all aspects of life and als ...

and the council of the Women of the Year Lunch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Switzer, Barbara 1940 births Living people Trade unionists from Manchester Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Chorlton-cum-Hardy