Professor Ralph Darlington analyses the momentous years of trade union militancy in Britain between 1910-14

Free Buffet reception 5pm

Lecture and Discussion 5.45pm – 7.00pm

(Student guides will be on hand to direct attendees to the lecture theatre)

The nearest public carparks are located at Walker Street (https://maps.app.goo.gl/uTWgqy97YbuC8vEKA) and also at St Mary's (https://maps.app.goo.gl/D7SVs6hjpTWdaU3B6)

Event Details: In this public lecture jointly organised by the History Department at the University of Lancashire and the Lancashire Unite Community Branch, leading labour historian PROFESSOR RALPH DARLINGTON analyses the momentous years of trade union militancy in Britain between 1910-14. Faced with steep rises in the cost of living, restrictive anti-trade union laws and increasing workplace automation, workers launched an intensive period of trade union organisation and strike action, described by a government report of the time as ‘The Great Unrest’. This lecture recasts the period as a “Labour Revolt”, distinguished by extraordinarily large scale and diverse strike action, involving a previously unprecedented mix of unskilled and semi-skilled workers, members of established trade union and hitherto unorganised workers. The legacy of the ‘Labour Revolt’ for today’s trade unions will also be reflected upon.

Ralph Darlington is Emeritus Professor of Employment Relations at Salford University, He is the author of The Political Trajectory of JT Murphy and Radical Unionism: The Rise and Fall of Revolutionary Syndicalism, and co-author of Glorious Summer: Class Struggle in Britain 1972, He is currently writing a political biography of the legendary British labour leader Tom Mann.

NEW TRADE UNION LIBRARY FOR RESEARCHERS AND ACTIVISTS

The LABOUR REVOLT IN BRITAIN lecture looks at a key period of working class history that shaped trade union organisation and strike tactics. Unite, Britain’s biggest union, is a successor to a movement that laid the basis for enduring and effective workplace organisation to this day.

If you’re interested in finding out more about trade union and socialist history, Lancashire Unite Community Branch along with other Unite Branch members have established a library and archive of working class literature at the Unite offices in Ferry Road, Preston.

The Library and archive, with its growing collection of books, pamphlets, newspapers and original trade union documents spanning the last century, is a resource for trade union activists, students and independent researchers.

If you wish to learn more, especially about the formation of the First Shop Stewards Movement in Britain and the key role played by trade unionists in the history of Lancashire, the Library is for you.

The Library also hosts regular topical discussions of interest to trade unionists and socialists.

It is open, by appointment - contact: unite11500@gmail.com

Description supplied by the event organiser.