Ben Rubner

Benjamin Barnett Rubner (30 September 1921 – 21 September 1998) was a British cabinet-maker who became a trade union leader.

Biography Rubner was born into a working-class Jewish family in Bethnal Green in the East End of London. While in his twenties, he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain, and remained a communist throughout his life. During World War II, he served in the Royal Corps of Signals. He was deployed with the Eighth Army in North Africa and Italy. In his public speaking, Rubner was said to have a booming baritone voice that "rarely needed a microphone".

In 1971, NUFTO became part of the Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union (FTAT), and Rubner was elected its assistant general secretary. In 1978, he was elected general secretary. As FTAT's leader, he campaigned for improved health and safety, such as replacing foam furniture fillings that created toxic fumes killing 22 workers in the James Watt Street fire. He also served on the Central Arbitration Committee of ACAS and until his retirement in 1986, he was active in the Trades Union Congress.

Ben Rubner died in Watford General Hospital on 21 September 1998, shortly before his 77th birthday. He was survived by his second wife Pat and two children.