William Kean

William Kean (17 March 1871 – 5 January 1954) was a British trade unionist.

For the American general, see William B. Kean.

Born in Sheffield, Kean became a cutler working in silver and a trade unionist. By his early twenties he was secretary of the small Sheffield-based Spoon and Fork Filers, Odd Workers and Stampers Society.[1] From this position, he masterminded a merger of several small unions which formed the National Union of Gold, Silver and Allied Trades (NUGSAT), completed in 1911, and became its first secretary.[2]

In 1921, Kean was elected to the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), remaining in place until 1945, and serving as President of the TUC in 1934/1935.[3]

In his spare time, Kean was a magistrate, was active on the Sheffield Trades Council, a founder of Sheffield's Labour Representation Committee, and served on a variety of government committees.[2] In the 1939 New Year Honours, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[4] He finally retired as secretary of NUGSAT in 1953, and died the following year.[2]

References
  1. Trades Union Congress, Labour, vol.II, p. 64.
  2. Trades Union Congress, Report of Proceedings at the 86th Annual Trades Union Congress (1954), p. 319.
  3. Hugh A. Clegg, Alan Fox and A. F. Thompson, A History of British Trade Unions Since 1889: 1934-1951, p. 435.
  4. Jack Eaton and Colin Gill, The Trade Union Directory (1981), pp. 137–138.
Trade union offices
Preceded by
New position		 Secretary of the National Union of Gold, Silver and Allied Trades
1911–1953		 Succeeded by
J. Edley
Preceded by
New position		 Iron, Steel and Minor Metal Trades representative on the General Council of the TUC
1921–1945
With: Arthur Pugh (1921–1935)
John Brown (1935–1945)		 Succeeded by
Lincoln Evans and Ambrose Callighan
Preceded by
Andrew Conley		 President of the Trades Union Congress
1934/35		 Succeeded by
Allan Findlay
Preceded by
Andrew Conley and Andrew Naesmith		 Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour
1936
With: George Gibson		 Succeeded by
John C. Little and William R. Townley
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