Discussions in the Weekly Times and Echo led to the International Federation of Ship, Dock and River Workers issuing an appeal for the formation of a new general union.
The federation's president, Tom Mann, gave the appeal strong support, chairing a conference in February 1898 which proposed a "labour league" or "workers' union", which would organise workers in all trades and industries as a general trade union, and support independent labour candidates at elections.
Duncan successfully brought the union's finances under control, and began offering optional benefits to out-of-work members.
[2] New organisers were employed, including George Titt in Manchester, Joseph Harris in Ireland, and Matt Giles in South Wales, while John Beard, who had been working part-time for the union among agricultural workers, was transferred to a full-time post in Birmingham.
The additional funds allowed Duncan to launch a publicity campaign, principally through the Daily Citizen, and take on several members of administrative staff, and increase the number of full-time organisers from six to forty.
They included George Dallas in London, and George Kerr in Scotland Beard defeated Morley in the 1913 presidential election, his victory coming on the back of the recruitment of large numbers of semi-skilled engineering workers in the West Midlands by him, Arthur Ellery, and Julia Varley.
A divisional structure was adopted in 1915, with Beard, Dallas, Ellery, Giles, Harris, Kerr, Morley and Titt appointed to head the new divisions, supplemented after the war by William Adamson, Gourd, Hugh Lawrie, Tom Macnamara (soon succeeded by Alf Edmonds), and James McKeag.
[3][4][5] The strike was successful, with demands being met by Lieutenant Governor of Mann, George Somerset, who resigned his Governorship in December that year.
[2] Membership of the union collapsed during the 1920s, with job losses due to the depression, the General Strike of 1926 and disputes over payments to members of the executive committee.
This enabled the TGWU, for the first time, to gain significant numbers of members outside of the docks and transport industries.