Thomas McKenna (trade unionist)
Thomas McKenna (1874 or 1875 – 13 October 1939) was a British trade unionist.
By 1885, McKenna was employed at an ironworks in Stockton-on-Tees, and he joined the National Association of Blastfurnacemen in 1889,[1] becoming an official of the renamed National Federation of Blastfurnacemen around 1899.[2] He was elected as secretary of the Cleveland and Durham Blastfurnacemen and Cokemen's Association in 1912,[3] then in 1914, he was elected as the federation's president,[1] and as its general secretary in 1917.[4]
Under McKenna's leadership, the federation became a more centralised union, the National Union of Blastfurnacemen, Ore Miners, Coke Workers and Kindred Trades.[1] He also took part in the International Metalworkers' Federation, becoming secretary of its British section in 1930.[2]
In 1939, McKenna was appointed to the iron and steel control committee of the Ministry of Supply, but he died later in the year.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Labour Party, Report of the Labour Party Conference (1939), p.53
- 1 2 3 Trades Union Congress, "Obituary: Mr Thomas McKenna, OBE", Annual Report of the 1940 Trades Union Congress, p.218
- ↑ Peter Stubley, "The churches and the iron and steel industry in Middlesbrough 1890-1914", p.40
- ↑ Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.2, p.279
| Trade union offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Patrick Walls |
Secretary of the National Union of Blastfurnacemen, Ore Miners, Coke Workers and Kindred Trades 1917 – 1939 |
Succeeded by Ambrose Callighan |