Jim Conway (trade unionist)
James Conway (7 October 1915 – 3 March 1974) was a British trade unionist.
Conway grew up in the Manchester area, and left school at the age of fourteen to work at the Vickers factory at Trafford Park. There, he joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) and became a shop steward. He also joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), but soon left to join the Labour Party, and subsequently became associated with the right-wing of the labour movement. In 1949, he was elected to the AEU's Manchester Area Committee, and in 1952 he was elected as a Labour Party member of Manchester City Council, serving for eight years.[1]
In 1959, Conway became national organiser of the AEU,[1] then assistant general secretary in 1962, and in 1964, he was elected as the union's general secretary.[2] Under his leadership, the union merged with the Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers, becoming the "Amalgamated Union of Engineering and Foundry Workers", then with the Draughtsmen and Allied Technicians' Association and the Constructional Engineering Union, being renamed as the "Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers".[1]
In 1974, Conway was returning from Paris on Turkish Airlines Flight 981, when it crashed, resulting in the deaths of all on board.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Jim Conway", The Guardian, 5 March 1974, p.6
- ↑ "CONWAY James", Who Was Who
| Trade union offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Cecil Hallett |
General Secretary of the Amalgamated Engineering Union 1964 – 1974 |
Succeeded by John McFarlane Boyd |