Once the heartland of British labour history, trade unionism has been marginalised in much recent scholarship. In a critical survey from the earliest times to the nineteenth century, this book argues for its reinstatement. Trade unionism is shown to be both intrinsically important and to provide a window onto the broader historical landscape; the evolution of trade union principles and practices is traced from the seventeenth century to mid-Victorian times. Underpinning this survey is an explanation of labour organisation that reaches back to the fourteenth century. Throughout, the emphasis is on trade union mentality and ideology, rather than on institutional history. There is a critical focus on the politics of gender, on the demarcation of skill and on the role of the state in labour issues. New insight is provided on the long-debated question of trade unions’ contribution to social and political unrest from the era of the French Revolution through to Chartism.

Historical study of trade unionism in the UK with particular reference to labour movements in the early stages of industrialization - covers interest groups, government policy, labour legislation, labour relations and includes legal aspects, political aspects, social implications, economic implications, etc. Bibliography pp. 271 to 278 and statistical tables pp. 267 to 270.

Why every worker should join a union In this short and accessible book, Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite the Union, presents the case for joining a union. Drawing on anecdotes from his own long involvement in unions, he looks at the history of trade unions, what they do and how they give a voice to working people, as democratic organisations. He considers the changing world of work, the challenges and opportunities of automation and why being trade unionists can enable us to help shape the future. He sets out why being a trade unionist is as much a political as it is an industrial role and why the historic links between the labour movement and the Labour Party matter. Ultimately, McCluskey explains how being a trade unionist means putting equality at work and in society front and centre-stage, fighting for an end to discrimination, and to inequality in wages and power.