Union City Blues: The great TUC quiz

History

1. What year was the TUC founded?

a). 1876

b). 1904

c). 1848

d). 1868

2. The 1907 TUC had how many unions, representing how many members?

a). 62, representing 843,000 members

b). 29, representing 349 members

c). 46, representing 712,000 members

d). 236, representing 1,700,000 members

3. A higher proportion of male employees than women ones are union members. True or false?

a). True

b). False

4. Which Conservative leader has addressed the Congress?

a). David Cameron

b). Andrew Bonar Law

c). Iain Duncan Smith

d). None of the above, or any others, ever

5. In which year was the high point of union membership – some 13.2 million – reached?

a). 1946

b). 1994

c). 1979

d). 1958

6. Which one of the following towns or cities has not hosted a Trades Union Congress since 1900?

a). Weymouth

b). Epsom

c). Huddersfield

d). Douglas, Isle of Man

7. By 2007 TUC had how many unions, representing how many members?

a). 208, representing 6.2 million members

b). 60, representing nearly 7 million

c). 129, representing just over 5 million

d). 88, representing 4.9 million

Characters

1. Who was Solomon Binding?

a). First general secretary of the UK Society of Amalgamated Smiths and Strikers

b). The scab who started to weaken the 1984-85 miners' strike

c). A 1970s joke about "solemn and binding" deals that often turned out not to be

d). The last person to be sacked for refusing to join a closed shop

2. Which union was the first to have a black general secretary?

a). TGWU, with Bill Morris, 1992

b). Royal College of Nursing, with Beverley Malone, 2001

c). Military and Orchestral Musical Instrument Makers Trade Society, with F McKenzie in 1985

d). The Horticultural Trades Workers Union with Eric Markwick

3. Which future full-time union official was presented with a boxing trophy by former prime minister Anthony Eden?

a). Len Murray

b). John Prescott

c). Brenda Dean

d). Alan Johnson

4. Which actress had to be reprimanded by the actors' union Equity for flashing at the audience?

a). Dame Sybil Thorndike

b). Dame Helen Mirren

c). Dame Thora Hird

d). Tallulah Bankhead

5. Which trade union leader was almost as interested in his golf handicap as the progress of a dispute?

a). Bob Crow

b). Jimmy Knapp

c). Vic Feather

d). Hugh Scanlon

6. Which trade union leader was born in the same year as Sir Cliff Richard?

a). George Woodcock

b). Jack Jones

c). Jimmy Knapp

d). Sid Weighell

Quotes

1. Who said: "We do not, and cannot, accept the principle that incompetence justifies dismissal. That is victimisation"?

a). Gordon Brown

b). Michael Crawford in 'Some Mothers Do Have 'Em'

c). Fred Kite, the shop steward in 'I'm All Right, Jack'

d). A spokesperson for the First Division Association, the union for senior civil servants

2. Who said: "When I look at myself in the mirror first thing in the morning, I do not feel like a threat to the capitalist system"?

a). Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer

b). Moss Evans, general secretary of the Transport & General

c). Johnny Rotten

d). Neil Kinnock

3. Who passed a note to the general secretary of the Transport & General at TUC HQ asking: "Could you lend my union a million pounds?"

a). Bob Lord, ambitious chairman of Burnley Football Club

b). Ron Snoad, president of the Society of Clothing and Apron Makers

c). Arthur Scargill, leader of the mineworkers

d). Trevor Forster, leader of the seriously indebted British Union of Nautical Grapplemakers

4. Who said: "Don't knock dinosaurs. They ruled the earth for 200 million years"?

a). Frank Cousins, general secretary of the TGWU, 1956-69

b). John Edmonds, general secretary of the GMB, 1986-2003

c). Ron Todd, general secretary of the TGWU, 1985-92

d). Sir David Attenborough

5. Who said: "My favourite quote from the Koran: 'Have faith in Allah, but tie up your camel first'."

a). Osama bin Laden, to a desert-traversing colleague in 1993

b). Norman Willis, TUC general secretary, 1984-93

c). Sid Weighell, general secretary of the NUR, 1975-83

d). Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB since 2006

6. Who said: "The changes... would leave British law the most restrictive on trade unions in the western world"?

a). Winston Churchill, 1926

b). Norman Tebbit, 1982

c). Tony Blair, 1997

d). David Cameron, 2005

Names

1. In which of today's big unions did the following end up – Amalgamated Electrical and Engineering Union; Cabin Crew '89; ASTMS (Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs); Sogat (Society of Graphical and Allied Trades); Natsopa (National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants); NGA (National Graphical Association)?

a). Unite

b). Excite

c). GMB

d). UXB

2. Who said GMBATU sounded like an opposition party in Zimbabwe?

a). Roy Hattersley, then deputy leader of the Labour Party

b). Robert Mugabe

c). David Basnett, first general secretary of the merged union

d). Alan Clark, Conservative employment minister

3. What did NCAATHCEHG stand for?

One mark for any word

4. What does TGMOO stand for?

a). This Great Movement Of Ours

b). Union jargon for the Transport & General's dairyman's section

c). Text of the famous coded telegram sent by the boilermakers' general secretary during their protracted 1964 pay dispute, which translated as: "Tally-Ho, More On Offer". The 'G' was a misprint

d). Turners, Grinders and Machine Operatives' Organisation

Disputes

1. After the intervention of the

Musicians' Union, what was banned in 1966?

a). Recording studios using non-union kazoo players

b). A tour of UK holiday resorts by the Bulgarian State Radio Orchestra

c). The use of members of the rival Session Musicians Union Trust on recordings

d). Miming on 'Top of the Pops'

2. In 1977, a dispute over sackings and union recognition at a film processing factory in north London was at its peak. What was its name?

a). Grunwick

b). Gatwick

c). Giggleswick

d. Camberwick

3. The longest strike in British history lasted how long?

a). 14 months

b). Four years

c). 11 years

d). 25 years

4. What, during the 1978-79 "Winter of Discontent", was one of the final straws that shocked the public?

a). The use of Buckingham Palace grounds for uncollected refuse

b). The blacking of 'Blue Peter' by TV technicians because the show's dog, Petra, was looked after by a non-union kennel maid

c). A strike by draymen that led to a national shortage of Babycham at working men's clubs

d). The suggestion by Liverpool's Medical Officer of Health that a gravediggers' dispute might mean the dead would have to be buried at sea.

5. Which famous ukulele player was jailed for union activities?

a). George Formby Sr

b). George Formby Jr

c). Maurice Chevalier

d). Ricky Tomlinson

Membership

1. What is the smallest union currently a member of the TUC?

a). The National Society of Municipal Pipe Cleaners and Utensil Cleansers

b). The Amalgamated Union of Unfairly Paid Footballers

c). National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shot-Firers

d). Remake – the National Union of Revised Logo Designers

2. What is the fourth-largest union in the TUC, after Unite (1.9 million members), Unison (1.3 million) and the GMB (600,000)?

a). Usdaw (shopworkers)

b). NUT (teachers)

c). PCS (Public and Commercial Services)

d). Resolute (The Political Party Staffs Association)

3. Which Labour leader said of three National Union of Railwaymen-sponsored MPs: "Cook, Dalyell and Dewar – they would be hard pressed to be driver, fireman, and guard on any train"?

a). Tony Blair

b). Gordon Brown

c). Neil Kinnock

d). John Smith

4. In 1983, T&G leader Moss Evans wielded how many votes at the Labour Party conference?

a). 3,000

b). 1,250,000

c). 405,000

d). 760,000

5. Which part of the UK has the highest density of unionised workers?

a). England

b). Scotland

c). Northern Ireland

d). Wales

6. Where was the 1907 Congress held?

a). The Free Trade Hall, Manchester

b). A farm outside Glastonbury

c). The Assembly Rooms, Bath

d). Llandudno Pier

ANSWERS: History 1. d; 2. d; 3. b; 4. d; 5. c; 6. b; 7. b Characters 1. c; 2. c; 3. b; 4. d. She later showed signs of recidivism; 5. d ; 6. c Quotes 1. c; 2. b; 3. c. The answer he got was: "Bugger off"; 4. c; 5. b; 6. c Names 1. a; 2. c; 3. Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of Tramway and Hackney Carriage Employees and Horsemen in General (1889-92); 4. a Disputes 1. d. It was partly, and then fully, rescinded when certain acts declined to expose their lack of live musicianship on national television; 2. a; 3. d. This was the Burston School Strike which began in April 1914 when the pupils walked out in support of two sacked teachers. A strike school was set up and it operated until late 1939; 4. d; 5. d Membership; 1. c; 2. a; 3. d; 4. b; 5. c. Northern Ireland's membership is at 39.7 per cent, Wales has 37.3 per cent, Scotland 32.6 per cent, and England only 26.6 per cent; 6. c Picture Quiz 1. Walter Citrine 2. Brenda Dean 3. Victor Feather 4. Fred Kite (as played by Peter Sellers in 'I'm All Right, Jack'.)

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