Peter Joseph Tevenan (20 June 1857 – 11 April 1943) was an Irish-British trade unionist and politician. Born in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Tevenan moved with his family to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

when he was a young child. The family then settled in Chesterfield, Derbyshire where he worked first making pottery, then spent time as a miner, before finding work on the railways. Initially, he was a porter, then plate-layer, before becoming a signalman, and finally a station-master. A supporter of

trade unionism 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 ...

, Tevenan became active in the

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants The Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS) was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom from 1872 until 1913. History The ASRS was an industrial union founded in 1871 with the support of the Liberal MP Michael Thomas Bas ...

, and served on its executive committee from 1891 to 1893. He was prominent in two strikes in

Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

, one in 1890 among goodsworkers, and one in 1892 involving dockers. He became secretary of the union's operations in Ireland, and in 1896 convinced the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little i ...

(ITUC) to convene a committee, chaired by himself, to consider whether a national federation of trade unions could be established. In 1900 and 1901, Tevenan served as treasurer of the ITUC. After spending a period as an insurance agent and running to become an elected auditor in

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, in 1905 he found work as joint organiser of the Municipal Employees' Association (MEA), later becoming the union's North East District Secretary. In 1906, Tevenan fell out with the MEA's general secretary, Albin Taylor, who dismissed him. Tevenan felt that Taylor's action was unwarranted, and was able to convince a majority of the MEA's members of this. They voted to suspend Taylor and reinstate Tevenan. Taylor responded by resigning and setting up the rival

National Union of Corporation Workers The National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) was a British trade union which existed between 1908 and 1993. It represented public sector workers in local government, the Health Service, universities, and water authorities. History The union w ...

, while Tevenan was reinstated. Bernard Dix and Stephen Williams, ''Serving the Public: Building the Union'', pp.42-208 In 1913, Tevenan was elected as general secretary of the MEA. Membership grew rapidly under his leadership, reaching a peak of 70,000. He was also active in the

Public Services International Public Services International (PSI) is the global union federation for workers in public services, including those who work in social services, health care, municipal services, central government and public utilities. , PSI has 700 affiliated ...

, serving as its president for twelve years. He supported the merger of unions representing municipal workers; he took a leading role in the negotiations which formed 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 ...

in 1924. The MEA merged into the new union, and Tevenan served as one of its first two joint assistant general secretaries, and head of its municipal department. Tevenan was active in the Labour Party. At the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sen ...

, he stood as its candidate in

Liverpool Edge Hill Liverpool Edge Hill was a borough constituency within the city and metropolitan borough of Liverpool, in the English county of Merseyside, centred on Edge Hill. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliame ...

, taking second place with 36.2% of the vote. In 1924/25, he served on the party's National Executive Committee. Tevenan retired in 1932 and died on 11 April 1943, at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tevenan, Peter 1857 births 1943 deaths Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Trade unionists from County Galway