Robert Williams (1881 – 1 February 1936) 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 ...

organiser. He was born in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and began his working life as a

coal trimmer A coal trimmer or trimmer is a position within the engineering department of a coal-fired steamship that involves all coal handling duties. Their main task is to ensure that coal is evenly distributed within a ship to ensure it remains trim in ...

at the docks. He became active in his union, the

National Amalgamated Labourers' Union The National Amalgamated Labourers' Union (NALU) was a trade union representing unskilled labourers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1889, initially based in Cardiff, and later in Swansea. Its membership long varied between 3,00 ...

, at the age of 16 and eventually became its president. He also served as a Labour Party councillor in Swansea from 1910 to 1912. In 1912, Williams was elected as the first secretary of the

National Transport Workers' Federation The National Transport Workers' Federation (NTWF) was an association of British trade unions. It was formed in 1910 to co-ordinate the activities of various organisations catering for dockers, seamen, tramwaymen and road transport workers. History ...

. In this role, he unsuccessfully campaigned for its affiliates to amalgamate into a single union. He opposed

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was a leading member of the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British advocacy group, pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifism, pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World Wa ...

. An active member of the Labour Party, he stood in

Aberavon Aberavon () is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Por ...

at the 1918 general election, but as a supporter of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

in 1920.Williams, Robert
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' In 1920 he was part of a deputation of British trade unionists who travelled to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for talks on the founding of a new trade union international, which was formed the following year as the

Red International of Labour Unions The Red International of Labor Unions (, RILU), commonly known as the Profintern (), was an international body established by the Communist International (Comintern) with the aim of coordinating communist activities within trade unions. Formally ...

. That year, he was elected as President of the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership o ...

, and served five years in that position.General Secretaries and Presidents of the ITF 1896-2010
,

Although the Transport Workers were signatories to the

Triple Alliance Triple Alliance may refer to: * Aztec Triple Alliance (1428–1521), Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan and in central Mexico * Triple Alliance (1596), England, France, and the Dutch Republic to counter Spain * Triple Alliance (1668), England, the ...

, allying them with the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales, Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' ...

(MFGB) and the

National Union of Railwaymen The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. The largest railway workers' union in the country, it was influential in the national trade union movement. History The NUR was an industrial union ...

, on 15 April 1921 Williams decided not to support strike action in support of miners who had seen their wages cut, a decision which became known as " Black Friday". He was expelled from the Communist Party, and renewed his membership of the Labour Party the following year. Williams stood unsuccessfully for Labour in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

at the

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

and 1924 general elections, but was elected to the National Executive Committee of the party, serving as its chair in 1925. However, after criticising the attitude of the miners during the

1926 general strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government ...

, he was de-selected. He also stood down from his National Transport Workers' Federation post, the organisation having become increasingly irrelevant with the establishment of the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

. Williams also played a prominent role in establishing the

Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union The Amalgamated Marine Workers' Union (AMWU) was a trade union of sailors, Firefighter, firemen and ship-board service personnel which existed in the United Kingdom between 1922 and 1927. It was a merger of the British Seafarers' Union and th ...

in 1922 as an NTWF-sponsored rival to

Havelock Wilson Joseph Havelock Wilson (16 August 1859 – 16 April 1929), commonly known as Havelock Wilson or J. Havelock Wilson, was a British trade union leader, Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician, and campaigner for the rights of merchant seame ...

's shipowner-friendly

National Union of Seamen The National Union of Seamen (NUS) was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail, ...

. From 1922 until 1930, Williams was General Manager of the '' Daily Herald''. Following his removal from all his labour movement posts, Williams supported

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

's National Labour Party split. Unable to find regular work, he committed suicide in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert 1881 births 1936 deaths British politicians who died by suicide Communist Party of Great Britain members Councillors in Wales Trade unionists from Swansea Welsh trade unionists Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Suicides in the United Kingdom