William McLaine

William McLaine (1891 – 1960) was an engineer, Marxist and trade union activist.

McLaine worked as a mechanic and joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) in 1912. He became secretary of the Manchester No.2 branch in 1916. Opposed to World War I, he joined the British Socialist Party (BSP) and was elected to its central committee in 1918. During this period, McLaine worked with William Leonard and John Maclean in running classes for the Scottish Labour College.

McLaine attended the 2nd World Congress of the Comintern on behalf of the BSP, which shortly afterwards became part of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). Whilst in Moscow McLaine was appointed to the Provisional International Bureau of Kultintern. McLaine remained active as an educationalist with the Plebs League and later the National Council of Labour Colleges (NCLC) publishing a series of articles called "Economics without Headaches". These articles were subsequently published as a book, An Outline of Economics. However, McLaine did not achieve prominence in the new party, and resigned from it in 1929, later becoming actively anti-communist.

During the Second World War the NCLC decided they wanted a postal course to train shop stewards. McLaine drafted the course for them.

In 1950 the AEU approached the NCLC as regards running a course on Industrial Management. James Millar, General Secretary of the NCLC immediately agreed, even though he wasn't sure how the course would be delivered. He contacted Frank Chapple, Nancy Hewitt, Billy Hughes and William McLaine who worked together as a team to deliver the course.

• (1917) Trade Unionism at the Cross Roads London: British Socialist Party
• (1939) The Engineers' Union: Book 1 Millwrights and 'Old Mechanics' (PhD Thesis, University of London)