James Macpherson (died 1932) 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 ...

. Born in Bernain, near

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

in Scotland, Macpherson completed an apprenticeship as a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

s' assistant in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

before moving to London in 1879. He worked in a variety of retail positions and became a founder member of the National Union of Shop Assistants.''The Reformers' Year Book'' (1906), p.38 In 1891, Macpherson joined the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

and was a founder of its branch in

Bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

. He was elected as general secretary of the soon-renamed

National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks The National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks (NAUSAWC, often known as the Shop Assistants' Union) was a trade union representing retail workers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1891 with the merger of t ...

in 1894, holding the post until 1912. Through this, he attended 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 ...

and became involved in the Labour Representation Committee.

Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a priv ...

was inspired to join the union after reading a letter from Macpherson in a newspaper. Macpherson was an acquaintance of her brother, and she became assistant general secretary to Macpherson from 1898.Kenneth E. Hendrickson III, ''The Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in World History, Volume 3'', p.116 Macpherson stood as a Labour candidate in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting e ...

, although he took only 16.2% of the vote and was not elected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, James Year of birth missing 1932 deaths General secretaries of the National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks British trade union leaders People from Perth and Kinross Social Democratic Federation members