Work Relations: Compositors’ Experiences in a Family-Owned Printing Company, J. W. Arrowsmith 1918–39

In 1918, the printing firm of J. W. Arrowsmith was located in the centre of Bristol. Shares in the company were owned by family members. Thus the divorce of ownership and control had not materialized; a common feature of many small and medium sized firms in Britain.1 Managerial strategy apropos managerial authority over workers in such firms during this period usually falls somewhere between two ends of a continuum: at one end benevolent paternalism, exemplified by Quaker employers such as Cadbury Brothers of Bourneville, Birmingham, and at the other a harsher traditional form of autocratic management. Here we look at one particular case in order to give some insight into labour management of family-run firms between the wars. With this in mind this chapter examines the key factors shaping industrial relations at Arrowsmith during the interwar years. We begin with a brief outline of the firm’s historical development. Next, we summarize the firm’s economic circumstances, following which we examine the firm’s labour management strategy. Attention is then given to the pace of technological change (mechanization) and the division of labour. Finally, we explore the response of the firm’s compositors to changes in the labour process and management strategy in what was a difficult economic environment.