# Tom Eccles

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{{Short description|British trade unionist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Tom Eccles''' (5 October 1893 – 3 February 1962) was a [British](/source/British_people) [trade unionist](/source/trade_unionist).

Eccles was born in [Blackburn](/source/Blackburn) in 1893. In 1912, he joined the [National Union of General Workers](/source/National_Union_of_General_Workers_(UK)) in 1912, a union in which his father, [Fleming Eccles](/source/Fleming_Eccles), was prominent.<ref name="obituary">"Obituary: Tom Eccles", ''Annual Report of the 1962 Trades Union Congress''</ref><ref name="mitchell">Janice Mitchell, "[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/mar/07/jack-eccles-obituary Jack Eccles obituary]", ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'', 7 March 2010</ref><ref name="justice">''[Social Democrat](/source/Justice_(newspaper))'', March 1925, p.18</ref>

Eccles fought in [World War I](/source/World_War_I), but was seriously injured and spent a lengthy period as a [prisoner of war](/source/prisoner_of_war). On repatriation to the UK, he again became active in the union, which later became part of the [National Union of General and Municipal Workers](/source/National_Union_of_General_and_Municipal_Workers) (NUGMW), serving as a district organiser, then as the Lancashire district secretary. He was also active in the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)), and served on [Stockport](/source/Stockport) Borough Council.<ref name="obituary" />

Within the union, Eccles was known for his skill in negotiations, and he served on a number of national negotiating bodies. He was also the NUGMW representative on both the [Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions](/source/Confederation_of_Shipbuilding_and_Engineering_Unions) and the [National Federation of Building Trades Operatives](/source/National_Federation_of_Building_Trades_Operatives). He served on the [General Council of the Trades Union Congress](/source/General_Council_of_the_Trades_Union_Congress) (TUC) from 1949 to 1959, and was the TUC's representative to the [American Federation of Labour](/source/American_Federation_of_Labour) in 1955.<ref name="obituary" /> He served on the TUC's North West Advisory Committee until 1958, when he resigned, unhappy that it did not support his boycott of the North West Regional Board for Industry.<ref>"Mr Tom Eccles: Life's work for union", ''[Manchester Guardian](/source/Manchester_Guardian)'', 5 February 1962</ref>

Eccles' son, [Jack](/source/Jack_Eccles_(trade_unionist)), followed him in becoming a prominent trade unionist and Labour councillor.<ref name="mitchell" />

==References==
<references />

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{{succession box|title=Lancashire District Secretary of the [National Union of General and Municipal Workers](/source/National_Union_of_General_and_Municipal_Workers)|years=1943–1958|before=[Arthur Seabury](/source/Arthur_Seabury)|after=[Bernard Swindell](/source/Bernard_Swindell)}}
{{succession box|title=[Trades Union Congress](/source/Trades_Union_Congress) representative to the [AFL–CIO](/source/AFL%E2%80%93CIO)|years=1955|with=[Jim Campbell](/source/Jim_Campbell_(trade_unionist))|before=[Jim Baty](/source/Jim_Baty) and [Jock Tiffin](/source/Jock_Tiffin)|after=[Wilfred Blackwell Beard](/source/Wilfred_Blackwell_Beard) and [Joseph O'Hagan](/source/Joseph_O'Hagan)}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Eccles, Tom}}
Category:1893 births
Category:1962 deaths
Category:Councillors in Stockport
Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors
Category:Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress
Category:People from Blackburn
Category:Trade unionists from Lancashire
Category:British military personnel of World War I
Category:British World War I prisoners of war
Category:Military personnel from Lancashire
Category:20th-century British trade unionists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tom Eccles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Eccles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Eccles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.