Resources - introduction
The resources available though this site are free to use for personal and educational use, but there are clear copyright restrictions concerning their publication, see permissions for clarification.Video clips: 44 clips of interviews with various key figures in recent union history, filmed as part of the TUC Millennium Film project, talking about their experiences of events in the past 50 years of political, economic and union history including the Social Contract, In Place of Strife, the Heath Government, the Labour Governments under Wilson and Callaghan, the Thatcher and Major Governments.
Audio clips: interviewees share their experiences of various occupations, including engineering, public transport, health-care, entertainment, journalism, factory and office work.
Full transcripts: people describe their working lives and experiences.
Online archive of over 400 images: including photographs, posters, artefacts and documents illustrating key people and events; images of working lives in various trades and occupations. Depictions of important union actions, including meetings, strikes, pickets, work-ins, and demonstrations, such as Wapping, Upper Clyde shipbuilders, the Pentonville 5 and the Shrewsbury 2.
Narratives: 7 experts have contributed background essays that provide context for the online resources,on the following subjects:
Health and safety
Workers' education
Women at work
Employment law
Trade union organisation
Race and trade unions
White collar unionism
Timeline: search the resources by period and read background pages written by academics and experts on:
1945 - 1951
1951 - 1960
1960 - 1970
1970 - 1974
1974 - 1979
1980 - 1995