Walter Greendale (10 December 1930 – 12 September 2012) was a British

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 ...

and politician. Born 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 ...

, Greendale became a docker, and took evening classes with the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

. He joined 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 ...

(TGWU), and sat on the unofficial Joint Shop Stewards' Committee, through which he became an ally of Jack Jones.Walter Greendale: Trade unionist who successfully sued 'The Sun'
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 28 November 2012 In 1970, Greendale was elected to the National Executive of the TGWU, in which role he sought to help the union keep pace with industrial developments, such as

containerisation Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is the process of uni ...

, expand the National Dock Labour Scheme to include all ports, and build solidarity with unions in other industrial sectors. In 1982, he was elected as chairman of the union. Greendale served on the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress 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 ...

(TUC) from 1978 to 1986, one of the few members at the time not to hold a full-time union post. Despite this, he was able to represent the TUC on the

Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in Great B ...

and to the

Workers' Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

. In 1986, ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' newspaper ran a campaign against Greendale, publishing a front-page story with the headline "The Commie Grip Inside Britain's Biggest Union", alleging that he manipulated the results of union elections. Greendale, a member of the Labour Party and prominent supporter of

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

, successfully sued the newspaper for defamation, but he lost re-election as chairman, and in 1988 also lost his seat on the executive. The National Dock Labour Scheme was abolished in 1989, and Greendale took part in a brief national strike. However, a majority of Hull dockers soon voted to abandon the strike and return to work. Greendale alone remained on the picket line, accompanied by dockers from Liverpool. He expected to lose his job as a result but, after the national strike was called off, his fellow shop stewards secured his continued employment, by threatening a walk-out if he was not kept on. Greendale was re-elected to the union's national executive in 1990,Keith Harper, "Left gains in rerun TGWU postal ballot", ''

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 ...

'', 27 March 1990 but by this time was focusing on local politics. He was elected to

Hull City Council Hull City Council, or Kingston upon Hull City Council, is the local authority for the city of Kingston upon Hull (generally known as Hull) in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull has had a council since 1299, whic ...

, representing the Labour Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greendale, Walter 1930 births 2012 deaths Councillors in the East Riding of Yorkshire Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Kingston upon Hull