Scotland's Radical Exports is about the men and women who took trade unionism and working class politics from Scotland to the main countries that make up the Scottish Diaspora. Many of Scotland's industrial workers left home with a formidable combination of trade union conviction and political understanding. Their unrivalled experience made them especially suited to leadership roles. Guided by traditional Scottish models, they formed trade unions wherever they settled, often at a time when membership of a union could mean dismissal, eviction, and deportation. Politically their impact was just as great in the parties of the working class they helped build.
Each of the thirteen chapters of the book is a short history of a trade union organisation or a political party, told through the biographies of the Scots who helped shape them. Many of the characters in the book are unknown in Scotland, but their contributions are celebrated by the organisations they helped build. Scotland's Radical Exports records the determination, sacrifices and unqualified heroism of people who passionately believed in the cause for which they fought. It reminds us of their courage and gives them their proper place in Scottish history.
"I am exceptionally proud of all of Scotland's achievements and particularly the different ways in which Scots have helped to shape the modern world. Scotland's contribution to the Trades Union movement and enhancing the rights of workers - at home and around the globe - is hugely significant. It is important that these stories are captured and celebrated." -- Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland
"Much has been written about Scotland's contribution to the development of the modern world, in science and literature, in trade - good and bad, and of course, in enterprise and philanthropy. This book adds another important chapter to that remarkable history - to the values we shared and the inspirational individuals who spread them far and wide." -- Lord Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland, 2001-2007
Pat Kelly is a former president of the STUC and Scottish secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). After graduating from Glasgow University he worked as a civil engineer before he became a full-time trade union official. Since leaving the PCS he has served on the Civil Service Appeal Board and as a non-executive director of NHS24 and Scottish Water. He has four children and lives in Edinburgh with his partner, Jane Lindsay.
