National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees

The National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees (NATTKE) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1890 and 1984. It represented employees who worked in theatres, cinemas and television.

National Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees
Full nameNational Association of Theatrical Television and Kine Employees
Founded1890
Date dissolved1984
Merged intoBroadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance
Members19,000 (1982)[1]
JournalNATTKE Newsletter[1]
AffiliationTrades Union Congress
Office location155 Kennington Park Road, London[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom

History

The union was founded in the aftermath of a strike at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1890, as the United Kingdom Theatrical and Music Hall Operatives' Union. By the turn of the century, it had become a national organisation, and in 1901 renamed itself the National Union of Theatrical Stage Employees. In 1902, it affiliated to the Trades Union Congress.

In 1904, the union began recruiting workers in cinemas, and renamed itself the National Association of Theatrical Employees, not crediting its cinema staff in the union name until 1936, when it became the National Association of Theatrical and Kine Employees. In 1932, Tom O'Brien was elected General Secretary, a post he was to hold until 1970 - including fourteen years during which he was a Labour Party Member of Parliament.

The union began organising some television workers, and in 1970 changed its name under its then General Secretary Robert Keenan to reflect this as NATTKE (the National Association of Theatrical, Television and Kine Employees). It began organising among bingo hall staff, and in 1983 it merged with the National Association of Executives Managers and Staffs.

In 1984, the NATTKE merged with the Association of Broadcasting Staff to form the Broadcasting and Entertainment Trades Alliance.

The merged union created by NATTKE and the ABS was briefly known as ETA before becoming BETA.[2]

General Secretaries
c.1890: T. Elvidge
c.1900: William Johnson
1923: Hugh Roberts
1932: Tom O'Brien
1970: Robert Keenan
1975: John Wilson

References
  1. Marsh, Arthur (1984). Trade Union Handbook (3 ed.). Aldershot: Gower. pp. 353–354. ISBN 0566024268.
  2. "BECTU's History". BECTU: the media and entertainment union. Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
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