Paul Mackney

Paul Mackney (born 25 March 1950) is a British educator and trade union leader. From 1997 to 2006, he was General Secretary of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE). NATFHE merged with the Association of University Teachers (AUT) in 2006 to form the University and College Union, at which time Mackney was elected Joint general secretary (serving alongside Sally Hunt). He retired from union service in May 2007. He now works part-time as an Associate Director of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE).

Mackney's father was an evangelical vicar in the Church of England and his mother was a Christian Socialist. His parents deeply impressed the importance of racial equality and social justice on him as a child. Mackney attended Christ's Hospital boarding school. He trained briefly to become a probation officer, but ended up graduating with a bachelor's degree in politics from the University of Exeter. During his time in college, he joined the International Socialists and became active in campaigns to strengthen the rights of the unemployed and those on public assistance. Later expelled from the International Socialists, he joined the Workers' League before becoming a member of the Labour Party.

Mackney taught English in Hamburg, Germany, before returning England. He was a part-time lecturer in social studies at Poole Technical College in Poole, Dorset (where he joined NATFHE), before taking a similar position at Hall Green Technical College in Birmingham in 1975. From 1975 to 1992, Mackney taught about trade union issues in further education.

...
Wikipedia