[1] In 1937, Anderson found work as an assistant solicitor for the National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO).
He served with the Royal Air Force during World War II then, on his return, became NALGO's legal officer.
[1] On election, Anderson immediately found the union at the centre of a battle in the National Health Service (NHS); although the independent Whitley Council had agreed a 3% pay increase for low-paid staff, the Conservative Party government overruled this: an unprecedented situation.
Although NALGO represented only 5% of NHS workers, Anderson co-ordinated all the relevant trade unions, which implemented an overtime ban.
Ultimately, a compromise was achieved in which low-paid staff would receive higher increases, of between 9 and 60%, but these were backdated only to July 1958, not the start of the dispute.