Thomas Driver (9 September 1912 – 4 November 1988) 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

Kexborough Kexbrough is a village in the Barnsley district, in the county of South Yorkshire, England, on the border with West Yorkshire. The village falls within the Darton West ward of Barnsley MBC. It is located west of the M1 motorway, just south of J ...

near

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, Driver studied at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

, where he edited the student newspaper, ran the Socialist Club, and 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 ...

(CPGB). After university, he returned to Kexborough, where he picked potatoes and ran the local Labour Party.Driver Tom
, ''Compendium of Communist Biography'' In 1936, he married Thora Senior, the couple having two children. Driver became a French teacher in 1937, initially at Barnsley Central School, then at Keighley Junior Technical School. He also became active in the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

(NUT). In 1947, Driver moved to work at the new Doncaster Technical College. He joined the Association of Teachers in Technical Institutes (ATTI), and was elected as its national president in 1961, also remaining a member of the NUT, and winning election to its national executive. At the time, no teachers' unions were affiliated to 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 ...

(TUC), but Driver consistently spoke in favour of their affiliation. He persuaded the NUT to join the TUC in 1969, and it was gradually followed by the other main unions of teachers. In 1969, Driver was elected as general secretary of the ATTI. He believed that there should be one union representing college lecturers, and in 1976 he completed a merger with the Association of Teachers in Colleges and Departments of Education, forming the

National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education The National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) was the British trade union and professional association for people working with those above statutory school age, and primarily concerned with providing education, tr ...

. Teacher training colleges at the time were suffering from job losses, and Driver therefore spent much of the next couple of years supporting redundant lecturers in teacher training. Following his retirement in 1978, Driver was active in the pensioners' movement and sided with the ''

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

'' during the CPGB split of the 1980s. In 1977, Driver was made a Fellow of the

Educational Institute of Scotland The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is the oldest teachers' trade union in the world, having been founded in 1847 when dominies became concerned about the effect of changes to the system of education in Scotland on their professional s ...

. He was also made an honorary fellow of the

Sheffield City Polytechnic Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate C ...

and of the

North East London Polytechnic University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford and Docklands, following the opening of University Square Stratford in September 2013. The ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driver, Tom 1912 births 1988 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members General secretaries of British trade unions People from Barnsley Alumni of the University of Sheffield