Abstract
In the introduction to this biography of one of the most significant UK trade union leaders of the recent past Gregor Gall is very clear in his intention. This is to situate Crow as a leader in a symbiotic relationship with his members and within a framework of the balance of class forces and power in which he and the union he represented are active agents shaping the times as well as being shaped by them. In doing so, he is explicit in his use of a ‘critical Marxism’ which draws on elements of John Kelly’s work on militancy and more specific arguments about the significance of leadership in general and Crow’s of the RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) in particular. He adds to this an early discussion of what might be called ‘the peculiarities’ of the union and its political relationships.
The book proceeds with a largely chronological account of Crow’s career before returning to analysis and assessment in the concluding chapters. Beginning with Crow’s formative years and the influence of his communist father and working-class London environment Gall records a ‘political epiphany’ when he joined the union and became a representative of workers on the London Underground. This brief review is followed by a chapter on the 1990s that culminates in Crow’s election to Assistant General Secretary in the RMT but also underlines what Gall sees as a pragmatic negotiators outlook in his practice as against the often-quoted rhetoric. He also draws attention to his ‘industrial’ base in the London Underground and some attention to his relationship with the political left inside and outside the union.
Gall then goes on to document Crow’s election to RMT General Secretary and his relationship with his predecessor, Jimmy Knapp, which he suggests influenced Crow’s decisions in this respect. This chapter also looks at relationships beyond the confines of the union, which Crow led through a substantial reorganisation, to the break with the Blair-led Labour Party. Crow’s further periods of office as General Secretary are then chronicled through detailing specific policies in relation to the EU; the union’s expulsion from the Labour Party and the attempts to build a united left alternative, as well as the relationships with other unions within the transport industry and beyond and the RMT’s internal organisation. These chronological sections are followed by thematic and evaluative chapters focussing on Crow’s personality, personal life, politics and practice, and, finally, ‘legacy and legend’.
The first of these thematic chapters assesses Crow’s particular version of socialism/communism and the ‘heterodoxy’ of this view. Gall then draws on this to explore Crow’s arguments in relation to possible left strategies in relation to, for example, a general strike or how to respond to legal attacks. Crow’s media image and relationships are then explored, and this is related to the internal democracy of the union and an assessment of the RMT’s strike-prone image and Crow’s role in that as against the data on industrial disputes in the rail industry and beyond.
Gall seeks to be distinctive in his ‘political biography’ (the book’s subtitle) and a Marxist approach that is analytical rather than a chronological and personalised account of Crow’s life. This is significantly different from the litany of hagiographies of leaders or tedious accounts of institutional trade union histories and to be welcomed as, more often than not, Gall succeeds. However, this raises questions about both methodology (and sources) and the appropriate level of analysis. Given the Crow family’s decision not to cooperate with any biography not commissioned by them and Gall’s lack of a lengthy biographical interview with his subject, he must rely on his role as an ‘RMT watcher’ and the extensive print and online coverage of Crow’s activity as a union leader and socialist activist as his principle sources. This necessarily shapes the narrative and raises issues in relation to a quote’s context, and, consequently, to its value in terms of our understanding of Crow and his leadership. To borrow someone else’s phrase, in the middle of fraught negotiations or a strike or when addressing his members: ‘he would say that wouldn’t he?’ While this does not challenge the veracity of Crow’s statements (or Gall’s interpretations) and Crow may well have been straightforward about himself in media interviews it does impose limitations. A wider range of sources and further interviews with colleagues would have been valuable additions.
There are also areas where further information and research would have added to a ‘critical Marxist’ analysis. The focus is necessarily on the railway worker members of RMT and, more specifically, those working on the London Underground (Crow’s original base), but the union encompassed other areas of membership (such as the former National Union of Seamen) about whom we learn much less. There are passing references to women in the union, but this has been an area of considerable academic analysis in recent years as well as having important practical consequences for RMT and trade unions in general. More generally, further analysis of the reorganisation of the union and its approach to ‘renewal’ would have been welcome. Gall argues that this was led by Crow, and he certainly discusses militancy in relation to rising membership, but this is where a closer engagement with the academic arguments might have helped to fill those out or challenge them. Equally, and Gall is by no means alone in this, some acknowledgement of the role, or lack of it, of the union’s education programme and activities would have added to our understanding of internal democracy and activism. There was a significant need for training as the bargaining units and role of the local representatives were impacted substantially. Finally, the language and assessment sometimes appears patronising with Crow criticised, for example, in getting analytical categories such as the working class ‘wrong’.
Overall, this is a biography to be welcomed and, at £20, a relative bargain in relation to current book prices of £50 plus in this field. There is a wealth of detail in the book which will be an invaluable resource both to a more academic readership and union activists.