Archie Robertson (trade unionist)

Archibald Colin Campbell Robertson (23 December 1886[1] – 31 December 1961)[2] was a British trade unionist who served as president of the United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA).

Robertson came to prominence in 1922, when he was elected as the secretary of the Oldham Provincial Card and Blowing Room and Ring Frame Operatives' Association. The Oldham Association was affiliated to the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing and Ring Room Operatives, and in 1936 Robertson was also elected as its president.[3]

The United Textile Factory Workers' Association co-ordinated the political activity of the cotton trade unions, and in 1935 Robertson was additionally elected as its president. Raymond Streat considered him to be one of the more militant members of the executive, tending to lead the opposition to the more moderate approach of Alfred Roberts.[3]

Robertson's period of trade union leadership coincided with a lengthy decline in the cotton trade, but Robertson was noted for his personal cheerfulness.[4] From 1952 to 1954, he served as the chair of the General Federation of Trade Unions, retiring from his other trade union posts in 1953.

References

1. Liverpool, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1917
2. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995
3. Streat, Raymond (1987). Lancashire and Whitehall: The Diary of Sir Raymond Streat. 2. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 328, 389. ISBN 0719023912.
4. Kynaston, David (2009). Family Britain, 1951-1957. A&C Black. p. 118. ISBN 1408803496.