International Transport Workers' Federation 1896-1996TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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International Transport Workers' Federation 1896-1996The generous support of the Centre's work by the Leverhulme Trust is gratefully acknowledged. The Trust funded a two year project, 1983-5, to prepare finding aids to the International Transport Workers' Federation archive. Conversion of the catalogue into EAD format was made possible by a grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation with the help of the Research Libraries Group. Summary
Return to the Table of Contents Administrative InformationThe deposit of the International Transport Workers' Federation archive in the Modern Records Centre was made in four stages in 1977 and 1978, the latter before the International Transport Workers' Federation's move to smaller London offices. Details of these deposits and subsequent accruals are listed below. The archive has been catalogued to file level. A copy of this catalogue is available in paper format in the Centre's searchroom. A published guide to the archive is available from the Centre priced at £2.25 (including inland postage and packaging). A list of the acronyms used within this finding aid (and their expansions) is available through the following link ( List of Acronyms). The Centre also holds the papers of Paul Tofahrn who spent a considerable amount of time on the staff of the International Transport Workers' Federation and who was its Assistant General Secretary between 1939 and 1956 (MSS.238). International Transport Workers' Federation material is also held by the Archiv der Sozialen Demokratie, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Bonn, Germany. These records were separated from the main archive in the 1960s and mainly concern anti-Nazi material, although it should be noted that part of the deposit refers to non-German subjects. Small groups of papers relevant to the International Transport Workers' Federation can also be found in the Federal German Archives (Bundesarchiv), Koblenz, Germany, and in the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. An authority file exists for the International Transport Workers' Federation (GB 0152 AAR1283), its predecessor, the International Federation of Ship, Dock and River Workers (GB 0152 AAR1284), and the National Transport Workers' Federation (GB 0152 AAR0428). Accruals :
Preferred citation : International Transport Workers' Federation (MSS.159), Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Access : Generally open though some restrictions apply. Please consult the Centre's Archivist. Return to the Table of Contents Historical NoteThe International Transport Workers' Federation was founded in 1896 as the International Federation of Ship, Dock and River Workers, adopting its current name in 1898 when it expanded to include transport workers in non-maritime industries. The organisation had its roots in various special conferences and federations of European seamen and railwaymen in the early 1890s, and in the international co-operation of European transport unionists during the 1896-7 dock strikes in Rotterdam and Hamburg. Its initial foundation was in London, in the hands of J. Havelock Wilson of the NSFU, in association with Ben Tillett and Tom Mann, the leaders of the 1889 London dock strike, and also Charles Lindley, the Swedish seamen's unionist, who was to serve the International Transport Workers' Federation for over 50 years. In 1904, financial problems caused the International Transport Workers' Federation to move to Germany under the secretaryship of the German railwaymen's leader, Hermann Jochade, who rapidly placed the organisation on a more stable administrative and financial footing. The First World War broke down associations between trade unionists and in 1915 the Federation virtually ceased to exist when Jochade was conscripted. Fortunately for the future of the International Transport Workers' Federation, Jochade had established a liaison office in the neutral Netherlands in 1914, supervised by the Dutch Transport Federation (NVV); it was from this base that the international International Transport Workers' Federation was re-established in 1919, with an Amsterdam office, under the secretaryship of Edo Fimmen, joint secretary of the International Federation of Trade Unions and the Dutch trade union federation. Membership again flourished under Fimmen's dynamic leadership and major international campaigns, most notably against fascism, marked this period in the International Transport Workers' Federation's history. By 1939, the imminent outbreak of war caused the International Transport Workers' Federation to move to England, initially to a temporary war-time home in Bedford and later to London. The International Transport Workers' Federation has continued to flourish since the end of the Second World War from its base in London and engages in world-wide campaigns on a range of issues. The ITF is currently a Federation of 570 transport trade unions in 132 countries, representing around 5 million workers. It is now organised in eight industrial sections: seafaring, docks, railways, road transport, civil aviation, inland navigation, fisheries and tourism services. It represents transport workers at world level and promotes their interests through global campaigning and solidarity. Reference: Nicholas Baldwin, The International Transport Workers' Federation archive (University of Warwick Library, Coventry, 1985); Solidarity: The first 100 years of the International Transport Workers' Federation (Pluto Press, London, 1996); B. Reinalda, The International Transportworkers' Federation, 1914-1945: the Edo Fimmen era (Amsterdam, 1997). Return to the Table of Contents Scope and ContentInternational Federation of Ship, Dock and River Workers: conference proceedings, 1896-8; leaflets. International Transport Workers' Federation: minutes, including Congresses, 1896-1986; cash books, 1920-42; accounts, 1920-3; Reports and Proceedings, 1906-76; sectional reports; publications, 1889-2005; correspondence files, 1896-1971, including major groups relating to the anti-Nazi movement and Second World War activities; miscellaneous personal file of Edo Fimmen, 1911-42; photographs, ciné-film and gramophone records, 1896-1996. National Transport Workers' Federation: reports of General and National Council meetings, 1911-27. Return to the Table of Contents Index Headings
Return to the Table of Contents CatalogueDue to the size of this finding aid, it has been subdivided into appropriate sections. These are given below. The catalogues for each section can be reached by clicking on the hyperlinks appearing beneath the description of each section. MSS.159/1-2 Minutes and related papers; ITF Financial Records 1896-2002Return to the Table of Contents MSS.159/5 Publications of Other Organisations 1889-1977This section is currently being recatalogued. Return to the Table of Contents MSS.159/6, 10, 12, X Edo Fimmen personal correspondence; ITF Press-Cuttings; Photographs, Ciné-film, Gramophone records; Related Publications 1896-2002Return to the Table of Contents Return to the Table of Contents |