The Society for the Study of Labour History and Historical Studies inIndustrial Relations
The History of Strikes, Lock-Outs and General Strikes
ConferenceKeele University
6 May 2006
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners lock-out, the Society for the Study of Labour History and Historical Studies in Industrial Relations have jointly organised a conference on the historical experience of strikes.
The strike has special place in labour history and in the imagination of labour movements'across the globe. This conference draws together the latest research in the field.
Provisional Programme
9.45-10.15am Registration
10.15-10.30am Introduction and Welcome
10.30-11.30am Plenary Session
Alan Campbell (Liverpool), John McIlroy (Keele), Keith Laybourn (Huddersfield) and Quentin Outram (Leeds): The 1926 General Strike and its Aftermath: Reflections on the Current State of Research
11.30-11.45am Break
11.45am-12.45pm Parallel Sessions
Stream A:
Robert Taylor: Walter Citrine's 1925-26 Crisis Diaries
Mike Richardson (UWE, Bristol): The 1926 General Strike: Plant-based Case Studies Exploring the Experience of Paper and Print Workers
Stream B:
Sheila Blackburn (Liverpool): Women Chainmakers, the Minimum Wage Campaign and the 1910 Lockout
Seth Widgerson (Maine): Lewiston Auburn 1937 Shoeworkers' Strike: A Failed Local General Strike
Stream C:
Arthur McIvor (Strathclyde): Blue Clydeside? Strikebreaking and Anti-Labour Activity in and around Glasgow, c.1900-1926
Stefan Nyzell (Lund, Malmö): Social Democracy and Contentious Politics in Sweden, 1850-1940: Strikes, Strikebreaking, and Riots
12.45-1.00pm Society for the Study of Labour History: Special General Meeting
1.00-1.45pm Lunch
1.45-2.45pm Parallel Sessions
Stream A: Archival Resources for the Study of Strikes
Chris Coates (TUC Library Collections, London Met)
Sian Williams (South Wales Miners' Library, Swansea)
Helen Ford (Modern Records Centre, Warwick)
Stream B:
Christian Koller (Zürich):Sites of Violence in Swiss Strike History
Quentin Outram (Leeds): Shock, Anger, Outrage: Emotions and Violence in British Coal-Mining Strikes from the 1840s to the 1980s
Stream C:
Steve Higginson (Liverpool John Moores): What was "New" about New Unionism?: Seafarers, Stevedores and the British State
Matt Vaughan-Wilson (Birmingham): The Seamen's Union and the Waterfront Strikes of 1911
2.45-3.00pm Break
3.00-4.00pm Parallel SessionsStream A:
Hester Barron (Oxford): Women of the Durham Coalfield and Their Reactions to the 1926 Miners' Lockout
Mark Crowley (Cardiff): Making Use of Idle Hands: Welsh Miners and the 1926 General Strike
Stream B:
Ron Mendel (Northampton): Industrial Action from Below: Unions as Strike Formations - the US Experience
Ralph Darlington (Salford): Syndicalism and Strikes: Philosophy, Agitation, Leadership and Influence
Stream C:
Mohamed Alli Chicktay (Witwatersrand): The Historical Significance of Teacher Strikes against the Apartheid Regime in Pre-Democratic South Africa
Roger Seifert & Tom Sibley (Keele): An Account and an Analysis of the 2002-04 UK Firefighters' Strike
4.00-4.30pm Plenary and Conclusion: Dave Lyddon (Keele) Strikes and Labour History
The cost of the conference (including lunch and refreshments) will be £15 (£8 students / unwaged). To book a place, please send your name, address details, any special dietary requirements and a cheque (payable to The Society for the Study of Labour History) to:
Dave Lyddon
Centre for Industrial Relations
Keele University
Staffordshire
ST5 5BG