Bread on the Waters: A History of TGWU Education 1922-2000 (review)

At a time when adult education in general, and union-based learning in particular, is under vicious attack in different parts of the United States, this book is encouraging testimony of the value and endurance of a trade union program over nearly three-quarters of a century.

Recounted by the current Director of the Education and International Department of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) in the United Kingdom, Bread on the Waters is a well-researched account of the access to training and higher education that the union provided to members since its founding in 1921. Notwithstanding the biases inherent in an insider's account, Fisher documents the numerous ways in which education has been the backbone of one of the largest unions in the United Kingdom.

Divided into nine chronological chapters, Bread on the Waters presents the T&G's educational priorities and highlights key personalities who shaped the program's form and content during each era. In each chapter, the author sets program management styles, pedagogical developments, and a special focus on women's education within the national and international political context, making this an insightful record of the union's response to the challenges of the time.

The book opens with the T&G's "first steps" (1922-1937) toward inducting union members to the purpose and structure of a general union amidst a broader debate regarding the nature of working-class education in the United Kingdom. The union then takes a "great leap forward" (1937-39) with the appointment of the first Head of Education and the launch of correspondence courses. The impact of World War II (1939-45) on union education is the subject of the third chapter focusing on shop steward training and day-schools. "Expansion and innovation" took place in 1946 to 1959 with the establishment of national summer schools for local union officials and shop stewards. The post-war years (1945-1969) saw the formation of a centralized education program and an increase of workplace-based courses, jointly offered with employers. During the 1960s and 70s, a national residential education center was opened. The Thatcher years (1980-1992) forced the T&G to link education explicitly to electoral politics, pensions, equality and diversity, while the financial crisis that followed Thatcher's rule (1992-2000) led the union to restructure its education program and establish accredited partnerships with colleges and universities.

The conclusion analytically addresses six questions relevant to all labor educators. How can the success of the union's education program be judged? How did formal education contribute to the political character of the T&G? How did the T&G program compare with that of other unions or the wider trade union movement? What was the program's significance and effect on the development of women's and other groups in the equalities agenda? What was the attitude of the union's leadership to the program? And did the program improve over the years?

Clearly Fisher's book is not written with an international audience in mind. It contains many references to people, organizations and events which may be missed by those not familiar with the history of the U.K. trade union movement or pivotal moments in U.K. politics. Nevertheless, it has much to say to those seeking to develop their own union's educational capacity, as there are implicit lessons to be gleaned from the T&G experience. For instance, a sub-theme of the book is the issue of control over the form and content of member education and how it has evolved within the union, inter-organizationally (with other adult education bodies), and between the union, employers and the government.

However, labor educators interested in course content or student experiences may come away unsatisfied, as the author concerns himself mainly with the development of an institution tracked through internal documents. Although there is evidence that education played an important role...