This event is included in the Festival of Ideas. As part of the Joseph Rowntree Centenary, The Rowntree Society explores the story of Rowntree’s relationship with Trade Unions during the 1920’s. It will principally be told through the lives of chief shop steward, Fred Hawksby and his assistant, Irene Pickup as well as how Joseph and Seebohm Rowntree dealt with industrial relations in their company inspired by their Quaker values and liberal politics. We will reveal how each character’s background and individual perspective was so significant in influencing each other and the pioneering work in developing workplace democracy at Rowntree’s, and the wider impact this had nationally. The talk weaves themes of poverty, industrial relations, and the tensions between liberal and socialist politics in 1920s Britain in navigating these issues. This telling of history from below will bring a new perspective to Rowntree and York histories and demonstrate how working class people make their own waves.
