Jim Bradley (trade unionist)
Encyclopedia
James Joseph William Bradley (6 May 1867 - 17 March 1929) was a trade unionist and General Secretary of the Fireman's Trade Union (now Fire Brigades Union
) in the United Kingdom.
Bradley was the son of an engineer and station officer in London Fire Brigade. A park keeper, he became branch secretary of the Bethnal Green Municipal Employees' Association
(MEA) and became a member of the executive only to split away in 1907 and help launch the National Union of Corporation Workers, (NUCW) which he was to become President of.
to join George Gamble's Firemen's Trade Union, with Bradley taking over a General Secretary of the union when Gamble left in 1922, a position he held until his death.
Labour Party
and stood for Bethnal Green council in 1908, although he was not successful in that until after the First World War when he was also elected to the local Board of Guardians
. He later stood independently for London County Council in 1928 with assistance from the Communist Party.
Fire Brigades Union
The Fire Brigades Union is a trade union in the United Kingdom for wholetime Firefighters , Retained Duty System and Emergency Control Room staff...
) in the United Kingdom.
Bradley was the son of an engineer and station officer in London Fire Brigade. A park keeper, he became branch secretary of the Bethnal Green Municipal Employees' Association
Municipal Employees' Association
The Municipal Employees' Association was a British trade union.Founded in 1894 as the London County Council Employees' Protection Association to represent the newly formed London County Council's workers, the union was initially led by William Anderson...
(MEA) and became a member of the executive only to split away in 1907 and help launch the National Union of Corporation Workers, (NUCW) which he was to become President of.
Firemen's trade unionism
In 1913 he recruited the MEA's London Fire Brigade branch to NUCW and became its branch secretary and led it after the conclusion of a dispute with London County CouncilLondon County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
to join George Gamble's Firemen's Trade Union, with Bradley taking over a General Secretary of the union when Gamble left in 1922, a position he held until his death.
Political career
Bradley was a founder member of Bethnal GreenBethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and stood for Bethnal Green council in 1908, although he was not successful in that until after the First World War when he was also elected to the local Board of Guardians
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...
. He later stood independently for London County Council in 1928 with assistance from the Communist Party.