Derek Simpson (trade unionist)
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Derek Simpson (born December 23, 1944) was the first and only General Secretary of the Amicus trade union. He was the surprise winner of the June 2002 election for the position of Joint General Secretary of the AEEU Section of Amicus. He beat Tony Blair's 'favourite trade unionist' - Sir Ken Jackson. He assumed the position of General Secretary in May 2004 following the departure of the MSF Section's JGS, Roger Lyons.
In the above election, Derek was seen as the left candidate, and was backed by the broad left in the AEEU, now known as Amicus Unity Gazette. During this election campaign he appeared at fringe meetings of the Amicus MSF section conference in Blackpool, defying an instruction from Jackson not to attend. He is still identified with the Unity Gazette and has appeared at many of their national meetings.
When Amicus merged with the Transport and General Workers' Union to form Unite, Derek Simpson became the Joint General Secretary of the Amicus Section of Unite, the other Joint General Secretary being Tony Woodley who was General Secretary of the TGWU.
Derek has repeatedly denied press claims, made before and after his election, that he was part of the "Awkward Squad"[1]. Since becoming General Secretary, he has been supportive of the links between Amicus and the Labour Party. At one time a member of the Communist Party of Britain, he joined the Labour Party in 1994. He was involved in the negotiation that let to the Warwick Agreement, in which the Labour Party agreed to implement some of the trade unions' policies during their third term. He favoured the early departure of Tony Blair as Labour Party Leader and Prime Minister.
As the joint leader of the largest private-sector union, Derek Simpson enjoys significant influence within the Trades Union Congress and the Labour Party.
[edit] Career history
Derek Simpson was born and educated in Sheffield. He joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) on becoming an apprentice at the age of 15, and held a number of increasingly senior union positions in workplaces where he was employed. In 1981 he became the union's District Secretary for Sheffield and was still working for the union in that city when he stood for the position of Joint General Secretary in 2002.
In 1987 he received an Open University degree in Computing and Mathematics.
[edit] Trivia
Derek Simpson once worked in a greyhound stadium, controlling the starting cage.
He has let it be known that he is a fan of Star Trek. He appeared alongside Patrick Stewart in an Amicus DVD produced for the 2005 General election, urging support for the Labour Party.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ken Jackson |
General Secretary of Amicus 2002-present with Roger Lyons 2002-04 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
