Allen Gee (6 September 1852 – 12 August 1939) was a British trade unionist and politician.
Professional background Gee worked in the woolen industry in Huddersfield, and was involved in a major, but unsuccessful, strike in 1883. This experience inspired him to found what became the General Union of Textile Workers, with membership from the wider district. In 1885, he was elected as the first president of the Huddersfield Trades Council."Big anniversary for Huddersfield Trades Union Council", Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 23 September 2010 He was a strong supporter of the Weavers' campaign for an eight-hour day, launched in 1886, and was involved in the Manningham Mills Strike.J. F. C. Harrison, Learning and living, 1790-1960, p.253, In 1888, he was elected as General Secretary of the West Yorkshire Power-Loom Weavers Association (later to become the Textile Workers), a position which he held until 1922.Hugh Armstrong Clegg, A History of British Trade Unions Since 1889: 1889-1910, p.184Ben Pimlott and Chris Cook, Trade unions in British politics: the first 250 years, p.32
Unions Gee attended the founding conference of the Independent Labour Party.David Howell, British Workers and the Independent Labour Party, 1888-1906, p.331 He was soon elected as an independent labor member of Huddersfield Town Council, although the Liberal Party attempted to claim that he was a supporter of their group.Keith Laybourn and Jack Reynolds, Liberalism and the Rise of Labour, 1890-1918, p.114 In 1900, he was elected to the first Executive of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), and he was also appointed as one of the organization's first trustees.A. W. Humphrey, A History of Labour Representation, pp.147, 156 He served as the second Chairman of the National Executive Committee, in 1901, although he did not chair the annual conference.Kevin Jefferys, Leading Labour: From Keir Hardie to Tony Blair, p.4 From 1910 until 1912, he was chairman of the General Federation of Trade Unions, while at the 1918 general election, he stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party in Blackpool.
In later life, Gee became a Justice of the Peace, and remained close to his fellow trade unionist Ben Turner.Ben Turner, About Myself, p.334 When the Huddersfield Trades Council celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, in 1935, Gee marched at the head of the celebratory parade.Labour, Vol. 2, p.280
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