Sammy Barr

Who was Sammy Barr?

Samuel Alexander "Sammy" Barr was a British shipyard worker, Trade Unionist, and Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in veteran. Barr was an "inspiring speaker" and organiser who was a "widely respected shop steward" of the Boilermakers' Society at the time of the "historic work-in" at the UCS in 1971. Barr was credited with coming up with the idea for a work-in, which gained a lot of publicity and forced the UK Government into a reversal, saving 6,000 jobs at the shipyard. Barr was a lifelong friend to fellow UCS activists Jimmy Airlie and Sammy Gilmore. Throughout his life he displayed "considerable political commitment" to the right to work, and protection for the rights of young working people, and also particularly to the protection of the Clyde shipyards.

Richard Leonard writes that "he was unquestionably one of the outstanding trade unionists of his generation, which was a generation of outstanding trade unionists".