Robert Openshaw (3 September 1891 – 6 November 1962) 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

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, Openshaw was a keen cricketer, and once took all ten wickets in a Bolton Cricket League match. He moved to

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

to find work, and became an engineer in the railway workshops there. He joined the

Amalgamated Engineering Union The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major United Kingdom, British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History ...

and in 1930 was one of the youngest members to be elected to the union's executive council."Mr R. Openshaw", ''

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 ...

'', 8 November 1962

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: Robert Openshaw", ''Annual Report of the 1963 Trades Union Congress'', pp.303-304 Openshaw represented the AEU on the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party from 1940 to 1948, and at the

(TUC). He served as the TUC's representative to the American Federation of Labour in 1947, and was also elected to the

General Council of the TUC 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 ...

in 1948. In 1954, Openshaw was elected as the President of the AEU. In the first ballot, he led the field of seven candidates with 23,592 votes (29.2%) out of the 80,841 votes cast. In the second ballot, Openshaw received 49,804 votes (60%) compared to the 33,137 polled by his left wing opponent Claude Berridge, who was a member of the Communist Party. Openshaw served as AEU President from May 1954 until his retirement in September 1956.''Daily Express'', 24 February 1954; ''Crewe Chronicle'', 24 November 1956..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Openshaw, Robert 1891 births 1962 deaths Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Bolton Presidents of the Amalgamated Engineering Union