Printers' Union Explained

The Printers' Union or Typographical Union was a trade union representing printing workers in Jamaica.^[1]

The union was established in 1907.^[2] It has been described as the first trade union in Jamaica, although the Jamaica Union of Teachers and some ephemeral unions had previously been founded. The union was divided in to three sections, covering pressmen, compositors, and bookbinders. Each section was organized as a local of a North American union, each of which was affiliated to the American Federation of Labor. The vice-president of the compositors' section was Marcus Garvey.^{[3] [4]}

The union undertook a strike in Kingston, Jamaica in December 1908, which proved unsuccessful, and led to the dissolution of the union.

References

1. 1983 . The Marcus Garvey and UNIA Papers: Garvey Chronology . University of California Press . 1: 1826–August 1919 . 10.1525/9780520342224 . free.
2. Book: Bakan . Abigail Bess . Ideology and Class Conflict in Jamaica . 1990 . McGill-Queen's University Press . 9780773507456.
3. Book: Alexander . Robert J. . A History of Organized Labor in the English-Speaking West Indies . 2004 . Praeger . Westport, Connecticut . 0275977439.
4. Eaton . George . Trade Union Development in Jamaica . Caribbean Quarterly . March 1962 . 8 . 1.