William Whitefield

William Whitefield (4 January 1850 – 21 October 1926) was a British trade unionist.

Born near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Whitefield became a coal miners at the age of ten. He became active in the Northumberland Miners' Association, and served as a checkweighman for seven years, then became a deputy. During this time, he undertook correspondence courses to educate himself.^[1]

The newly formed Bristol Miners' Association invited him to become their agent and secretary in 1889, and he took up the post there in June.^[2] He proved immediately successful, negotiating a 10% pay increase for union members.^[3] He served on the executive of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) on four occasions between 1889 and 1904.^[4]

Whitefield was asked to stand as a Liberal-Labour candidate in the , but was unable to finance a candidacy. However, he was elected to Bristol City Council in 1906, representing St George East until 1919. He then became an alderman until his death.^[2]

References[]

^ Robin Page Arnot, The Miners: 1889-1910, p.106
^ ^a ^b University of the West of England, "Trade unions", Bristol Historical Resource
^ Peter Carter and John Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, Vol.6, p.486
^ Robin Page Arnot, The Miners: 1889-1910, p.391

Trade union offices
Preceded by New position	Secretary of the Bristol Miners' Association 1889 – 1921	Succeeded by Charles Gill
Preceded by Charles Ammon and Ernest Bevin	Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1916 With: Harry Gosling	Succeeded by Arthur Hayday and John Hill

[1] Robin Page Arnot, The Miners: 1889-1910, p.106

[uwe-2] University of the West of England, "Trade unions", Bristol Historical Resource

[3] Peter Carter and John Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, Vol.6, p.486

[4] Robin Page Arnot, The Miners: 1889-1910, p.391

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