Aaron Stewart (5 October 1845 – 30 November 1910) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

Life

Born in

Coleorton Coleorton ( ) is a village and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England. It is situated on the A512 road approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Ashby de la Zouch. Nearby villages include Newbold, to the north, Thringstone to the ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, Stewart's father died when he was two years old, and he began working underground in a coal mine, illegally, at the age of eight. From the age of eighteen, he worked at various pits around England, before settling at Annesley Colliery in 1870. The mine had a local trade union, a remnant of the

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was an early union representing coal miners in parts of the East Midlands of England. The union was founded around the turn of 1863 and 1864 by two miners: William Ball, and one other who died ...

, and Stewart became active in it.Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', Vol.I, pp.312-313 In 1880, Stewart was elected checkweighman at Annesley, and he was a leading figure in the establishment of a new

Nottinghamshire Miners' Association The Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in Nottinghamshire, England. A Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was founded in the 1860s, but became moribund by the 1870s, although some branc ...

(NMA). He was elected as its secretary in 1884, serving part-time, but was unable to make progress in recruiting members, and stood aside in 1886. Instead, in 1888, he was elected as the union's president, in which role, he campaigned for an eight-hour day. In 1897, he was again elected as secretary of the union, and also sat on the executive of the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

. Stewart was seriously ill in 1910, and the NMA voted to reduce his salary as a result. He instead resigned his post, but died soon after, aged 65.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Aaron 1845 births 1910 deaths Trade unionists from Leicestershire Trade unionists from Nottinghamshire People from Coleorton People from Annesley