Richard Pickering (22 September 1942 – 10 October 1996) was a British

trade union 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 ...

leader. Born 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 ...

on 22 September 1942, Pickering became active in the local Labour Party and in the

National Union of General and Municipal Workers The GMB is a general union, 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 He ...

.Keith Harper, "Dick Pickering: International union man", ''

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 ...

'', 12 October 1996 He began working for

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

in 1967, and soon became

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a trades/labour union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the un ...

for the city's refuse workers,

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 ...

, "Obituary: Dick Pickering", ''Annual Report of the 1996 Trades Union Congress'' then later was elected as secretary of the union's Manchester branch. In 1982, he became the chair of the union's executive, and he was subsequently also elected to 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 ...

(TUC).Peter Hetherington, "Union leader quits over policy clash", ''

'', 25 March 1987 In 1987, Pickering resigned as chair of the union, by then known as the GMB, in protest at increases in membership fees and reductions in shop stewards' commission for collecting these dues. In a surprise move, he stood for the post again when a new election was held but was defeated by Olga Mean,David Gow, "AEU chief urges unions to work with ministers," ''

'', 25 March 1987 and only won the post back in 1992. This post, which was subsequently renamed "president" of the union, brought him prominence in the trade union movement; he chaired a TUC investigation into

repetitive strain injury A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an injury to part of the musculoskeletal or nervous system caused by repetitive use, vibrations, compression or long periods in a fixed position. Other common names include repetitive stress injury, repetitiv ...

, and he also represented the TUC to the

European Economic and Social Committee The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union (EU) established in 1958. It is an advisory assembly composed of representatives from employers' organization, employers' associations, workers' unio ...

. Pickering devoted much of his spare time to supporting the

Anti-Apartheid Movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-white population who were oppressed by the policies ...

, and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

recognized his support when the two met in 1993. Pickering also enjoyed playing and watching cricket. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1996, shortly before he was due to become President of the TUC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickering, Dick 1942 births 1996 deaths Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Manchester Presidents of the GMB (trade union)