was a key dockers' leader, one charged at the Old Bailey in 1951 for leading an unofficial In the mid-1950s he was a full-time official with the Blue Union, in regular contact with militants on the Hull docks. How the Blue Union came to Hull docks, by Keith Sinclair. £1.30 inc postage from Keith Sinclair, 27 Strathmore Ave, Hull HU67JH Reviewad by HARRY CONSTABLE THIS is not just another pamphlet, but is worth of being recogmised as an important document. Its description of the Hull port workers' grim struggle against the ship owners and also, at that time, the inability of the Transport and General Workers Union to safeguard its members interests is brought out very clearly. I lived the historic period There are those who throughout the years from would have us believe that 1944 to 1959 and travelled after Arthur Deakin, the the ports helping to form a TGWU became a leftward national Ports Committee. If looking union. Deakin's re- the TGWU had been doing placement Tiffin died soon their job, port workers after taking office and Frank would have ignored our efCousins then took over as forts. General Secretary. The idea of a National After about three years, Port Workers Committee in they used their block vote at 1945 was to create a presLabour Party conference to sure group to force the support the motion for unilat- TGWU to come out of its eral disarmament. This in it- shelf and become the fightself was a leftward move. ing force it originally was However as far as the port meant to be. worker was concerned he It has been suggested by could so no sign of any left- Al Richardson that dockers ward move: he felt betrayed. were not told about the This feeling was the great- Bridlington Agreement est on the Merseyside, Hull [which prevents TUC unions and Manchester and to a "poaching' each other's lesser in London and else- members] when considering where. Keith Sinclair has ob- a move to the Blue Union. viously done a thorough job Before Hull and other in researching his facts. Northern ports applied to join the NASDU, I always made it clear there was a "Bridlington" Agreement, but was of the opinion that if it was not rescinded it should be broken: it was a ball and chain on the Blue I voiced my opinions on the NASDU Docks Section on frequent occasions. Finally this opinion was voiced at the historic meeting at Canning Town Hall, where the whole meeting endorsed the recommendation to accept Hull and the other ports.
Those Hull workers who lived through the period that Keith Sinclair writes about will find it in every way very refreshing - and the later generation will, I hope, admire them for the great effort they made to improve their lot.