Gurney Rowlerson (10 July 1862 – 29 July 1944) 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 ...

. Rowlerson was born in

Veryan Veryan ( Cornish: ''Elerghi'') is a coastal civil parish and village on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village has been described as one of Cornwall's loveliest inland villages and as ′a mild tropic garden� ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, to wool agent George Walter Rowlerson and Catherine Isabella Rowlerson (''née'' Walker).''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975'' He worked as a tailor and became active in the

Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses The Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses (AST&T) was a trade union representing tailors in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1866 when Peter Shorrocks convened a conference in Manchester of local societies of tailors. The c ...

(ASTT). He was elected to its executive council in 1900, soon becoming a full-time employee of the union, and was elected as its general secretary in 1925.

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: Mr. Gurney Rowlerson", ''Annual Report of the 1944 Trades Union Congress'', p.192 Rowlerson was consistently critical of the formation of rival unions in the tailoring industry, many of which organised Jewish workers. In 1908, he opposed the formation of the London Ladies' Tailors' Union, saying that "...most of the ladies' tailors' are foreigners". In 1915, he tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade the General Federation of Trade Unions to get various small affiliates to become branches of the ASTT rather than form the

United Garment Workers' Trade Union The United Garment Workers' Trade Union (UGWTU) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1915, with the merger of the Amalgamated Union of Clothiers Operatives with the Amalgamated Jewish Tailors, Machinists and Press ...

(UGWTU). He was sometimes critical of Jewish people in general, claiming that Jewish branch secretaries in the ASTT were inefficient and mismanaged finances. However, by the 1920s, he moderated his positions and tried to encourage Jewish workers to join the ASTT.Anne J. Kershan, ''Uniting the Tailors'', pp.147-190 In 1932, Rowlerson led the ASTT into 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 ...

, becoming the union's general president. He retired in 1937, although he continued to serve as the union's representative on the Retail Bespoke Tailoring Trade Board.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlerson, Gurney 1862 births 1944 deaths British trade union leaders People from Veryan