Founded on the Clyde River near Glasgow, Scotland by the Scott family in 1711, the Upper Clyde Shipyards dominated the shipbuilding industry in the UK through the second world war. In the last decades of the nineteenth century, Clyde shipyards produced roughly one-third of British output, launching an estimated 25,000 naval, merchant and passenger ships.

The end of the second world war was a joyous day for most, but for the shipbuilding industry-- particularly the companies on the Clyde River—it saw the rise of outsourcing to countries in Asia. Families and businesses dependent on the shipyard income fell on hard times as the industry in the UK began to decline during the 1950s and 1960s.

In response to the economic crisis caused by this decline, the government of the UK under Tony Benn, Technology minister of the Labour party, formed the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (or UCS)—an organization that brought together Fairfields, Stephens, Connels, Yarrow and John Brown shipyards. UCS was granted a loan of £5.5m and a workforce of 13,000.

Edward (Ted) Heath is elected Prime Minister of the UK where he serves from 1970-1974. He wins on a platform of being “tough on pay and tough on trade unions.” Despite Heath’s working-class origins, his terms saw numerous strikes, repeated power cuts, a three-day working week and a pay freeze.

Unable to sustain themselves on the government grant, UCS asked for another loan. Heath refused, declaring his government wouldn’t support “lame duck industries” like the shipyards, even though the yards had plentiful orders for new ships and a profit was forecasted for the next fiscal year. Facing bankruptcy, UCS entered liquidation in June of 1971, putting the livelihoods of nearly 6,000 families at risk.

With their jobs in jeopardy, UCS’s workforce took action. In lieu of a massive strike, Shop Steward (labor union representative) Jimmy Reid led what was a called a “work-in.” Rather than refuse to work, the UCS shipbuilders continued with their normal day’s labor to prove that not only was the shipping industry still viable and necessary, but that its employees were willing to work hard. The work-in gained international attention outspoken public support from celebrities such as John Lennon and Comedian Billy Connolly.

In a famous speech, Reid cautioned his fellow workers, “'there will be no hooliganism, there will be no vandalism, there will be no bevvying [drinking] because the world is watching us.”

The pressure of the favorable attention towards the cause Jimmy Reid and the UCS fought for was enough to force Heath to cave. In February of 1972, a full eight months after the beginning of the work-in, the Tory-led government restructured UCS into two new companies: Govan Shipbuilders (formerly Fairfields) and Scotstoun Marine Ltd (formerly Connells). The workers' persistence and collaboration rescued the entire industry from collapse. 

As of 2012, two major shipyards on the Upper Clyde River (the former Yarrow and Fairfields yards) remain in operation. BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by the defense contractor BAE Systems, focuses primarily on the design and construction of technologically advanced warships for the Royal Navy and other navies around the world.