Arthur Shaw (trade unionist)

Arthur Shaw (1880 – 21 February 1939) was a British trade union leader.

Shaw worked as a dyer and was active in the National Society of Dyers and Finishers from his teenage years. He was elected as general secretary of the union in 1910. In the role, he promoted mergers with other craft unions in the field, which produced the National Union of Textile Workers and ultimately the National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers, Shaw remaining general secretary.[1]

Shaw was appointed to various government committees, including the Advisory Committee of the Board of Trade, and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[1]

Shaw was also active at the Trades Union Congress (TUC), serving on the General Council of the TUC, and in 1930 was its delegate to the American Federation of Labour. He was also prominent in the International Federation of Textile Workers, and in 1938, when Tom Shaw died, Shaw was appointed as acting secretary of the International Federation. However, he himself caught pneumonia early in 1939 and died unexpectedly.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Trades Union Congress, "Obituary: Mr Arthur Shaw", Annual Report of the 1939 Trades Union Congress, p.273
  2. ^ "Obituary: Mr Arthur Shaw", Manchester Guardian, 22 February 1939
Trade union offices
Preceded by
Alfred Heaton
General Secretary of the National Society of Dyers and Finishers
1910–1922
Succeeded by
Position abolished
Preceded by Textiles representative on the General Council of the Trades Union Congress
1929 – 1939
Succeeded by
Preceded by Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour
1930
With: Allan Findlay
Succeeded by
Preceded by
New position
General Secretary of the National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers
1936 – 1939
Succeeded by
Preceded by Acting General Secretary of the International Federation of Textile Workers' Associations
1938–1939
Succeeded by