Robert Williams (trade union leader)

Robert Williams (1881 – 1 February 1936) was a British trade union organiser.

He was born in Swansea, Wales, and began his working life as a coal trimmer at the docks.

He opposed World War I, and was a leading member of the Union of Democratic Control.

[2] In 1920 he was part of a deputation of British trade unionists who travelled to Moscow for talks on the founding of a new trade union international, which was formed the following year as the Red International of Labour Unions.

[4] Although the Transport Workers were signatories to the Triple Alliance, allying them with the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) and the National Union of Railwaymen, on 15 April 1921 Williams decided not to support strike action in support of miners who had seen their wages cut, a decision which became known as "Black Friday".