General Council Report 2022

John Ball, who died in December, was a regional policy officer for SERTUC – formerly the TUC’s southern and eastern region – and a very committed trade unionist. A former GMB officer, he was responsible for a number of innovative projects during his eight years at the TUC, including apprentice pooling work with boat builders on the south coast and Isle of Wight.

Jack Dromey, who died in January, was one of the leading trade unionists of his generation, a formidable campaigner and latterly a Labour MP. He was an officer for the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) for 25 years, spending a further seven years as the union’s deputy general secretary. Earlier, as secretary of Brent Trades Council, he represented the Grunwick workforce – mostly Asian women – during their two-year strike for union recognition. His commitment to trades unionism and working people continued after he was elected Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington in May 2010, when he held a number of posts on the party’s frontbench.

Marie Patterson CBE, who died in November, was a member of the General Council from 1963 to 1984 and served as TUC President in 1975 and 1977, when she filled the post following the death of Danny McGarvey. After becoming active in the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU), she became the union’s women’s officer in 1963 and was elected on to the executive of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) in 1966. She also served on a number of public bodies including the Press Council, Equal Opportunities Commission and Central Arbitration Committee, as well the board of Remploy. Marie was appointed a CBE in 1978. 

Alan Robson, who died in December, was general secretary of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) from 1993 until his retirement in 2005. He began his career as a marine engineer with Swan Hunter on Tyneside, becoming a shop steward with the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU), then convenor and latterly assistant general secretary. In his CSEU job he represented over a million workers in engineering, shipbuilding, aerospace, railway and manufacturing industries.

John Rodgers, who died in December, worked for the TUC’s international department from 1978 to 1996. During this time, he assisted agricultural workers in sub-Saharan Africa, helped organise labour movement opposition to apartheid, took part in trade union visits to the former Soviet Union and Poland, and worked closely with the ETUC in Brussels. A hardworking and well-respected staff member, he was part of a UK government delegation to Japan, involving the TUC and CBI, which secured investment from Toyota in a new manufacturing plant in Derbyshire. A committed trade unionist who organised support for striking miners, he also served as a Labour councillor.

Ray Williams, who died in July, served as president and branch secretary of the National Graphical Association (NGA) and President of the Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU). He was best known for his role in the Stockport Messenger dispute in 1983, when six NGA members picketed against owner Eddy Shah’s anti-union practices. Ray also supported unemployed workers and striking miners in the 1980s, and latterly worked on an EU project to reduce fatality rates in paper mills, delivering health and safety improvements in 12 countries.