Ottiwell Askew Simmons (June 25, 1933 – June 16, 2023) was a labour leader and politician in Bermuda, known for his role as president of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) from 1974 to 1996. He served from 1976 until 2007 as a Progressive Labour Party member of parliament for Pembroke East.

Early life

Ottiwell Simmons, also known as Ottie, was born in 1933.[1] He was one of seven children born to Olaf and Audrey Simmons, who raised him in North Village in Bermuda's Pembroke Parish.[1][2][3]

As a boy, he was inspired after hearing Edgar F. Gordon, then the president of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU), give a speech.[1] He was also moved by his own experiences of racial inequality.[1][3] Unable to gain admission to the island's elite high school, he began working at 15 years of age as a plumber's assistant, taxi driver, and waiter, and in his late teens he married and started a family.[2] His first efforts as an activist came at the age of 20, when he was working as a waiter at a hotel on the island and attempted to lead a walkout over how Black customers were treated there.[1][3] He eventually attended night school at the Technical Institute.[2]

Career

In 1958, at the age of 25, Simmons joined the BIU.[1][2] At 36, he was encouraged by a British administrator to attend Oxford University's Ruskin College, where he spent two years studying economics and sociology.[2][4] He received further training in union organizing while abroad, becoming the BIU's first full-time organizer when he came home.[2] Then, in 1974, he was elected president of the union.[1][2] He led the BIU during the 1981 Bermuda general strike, the first general strike in the country's history.[1][5] He was also involved in the 1965 BELCO strike and in negotiations around the 1992 Labour Disputes Act.[1][2] He faced vilification from his political opponents for his work as a labour leader.[3][6] Simmons remained as president of the union until 1996.[1][3]

Simmons also won office as a member of the Progressive Labour Party, representing Pembroke East in the House of Assembly from 1976 to 2007.[1][6][7] He collaborated closely with fellow MP Nelson Bascome, and worked to promote social reforms to benefit Bermuda's working class.[7][8]

Later years, death and legacy

In 2010, Simmons wrote Our Lady of Labour, about fellow politician and activist Barbara Ball.[1][2][9]

The BIU's building, whose construction Simmons had directed in 1987, was renamed in his honor in 2019.[1][10]

Simmons died in 2023, just shy of his 90th birthday.[1][2] On his death, he was recognized as a "lion of the labour movement"[11] who was known for "greatly changing the island's sociopolitical landscape."[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o McWhirter, Fiona (2023-06-20). "Ottiwell Simmons (1933-2023): labour icon and political leader". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wilson-Tucker, Joy (2019-03-02). "The man behind the movement — Ottiwell A. Simmons". Bermuda Heritage Museum. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hardy, Jessie Moniz (2019-06-11). "Forces for good ignited by Theatre Boycott". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  4. ^ "Big reunion for BIU's 'street fighters'". The Royal Gazette. 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  5. ^ Burgess, Ronaldine (2021-04-30). "1981 General Strike: Ottiwell Simmons has no regrets". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  6. ^ a b Finighan, Gareth (2023-06-26). "Bermuda celebrates life of Ottiwell Simmons". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  7. ^ a b "BPSU: "A True Champion For Workers Rights"". Bernews. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  8. ^ Smith, Dexter; McWhirter, Fiona (2023-06-20). "Bermuda mourns passing of 'father of the modern labour movement'". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  9. ^ "New Book From Otti Simmons: Dr Barbara Ball". Bernews. 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  10. ^ "Ottiwell Simmons Name Added To BIU Building". Bernews. 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
  11. ^ "Remembering Ottie: The Lion of The Labour Movement". Government of Bermuda. 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottiwell_Simmons
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