Back to index of Nerve 11 - Winter 2007 | Merseyside Resistance Calendar February

5th February 1889: National Union of Dock Labourers formed in Glasgow. First Merseyside branch opened in Bootle in June.

February 1889. The National Union of Dock Labourers in Great Britain and Ireland (NUDL) was formed in Glasgow by nine dock workers. Shortly afterwards Edward McHugh and Richard McGhee were invited to become general secretary and president respectively. Both were well-known radicals in Scotland who had been supportive of the crofters’ agitation. They were both devoted followers of Henry George, the American land reformer. Organisers were sent to different ports and four branches were established on Merseyside during 1889. The union proved to be an immense success on Merseyside with thousands of men joining.

For further information see: Eric Taplin , The Dockers’ Union. A Study of the National Union of Dock Labourers, 1889-1922 (Leicester University Press, 1985).

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