one of the largest trade unions in Great Britain and one of the two giant general unions (the other being the Transport and General Workers’ Union). The General and Municipal Workers’ Union was formed in 1924 by the merger of the National Union of Gas and General Workers, the National Amalgamated Union of Labour, and the Municipal Employees’ Association. The union’s membership originally comprised unskilled workers spread across a wide range of industries—particularly public utilities, local government, chemicals and rubber, engineering and shipbuilding, food processing, and drink manufacturing. Later in the 20th century, the GMWU drew increasing numbers of skilled and white-collar workers. Thus, in 1982 it merged with the craft-based Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers to form the General, Municipal, and Boilermakers’ Union, and in 1989 the latter merged with the white-collar Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical, and Computer Staff. The GMB’s membership amounted to some 700,000 in the early 21st century.
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