Edward Trow (29 June 1833 – 9 February 1899) was a

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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 ...

. Born in

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, Trow grew up in

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

. He left school when he was ten years old, and found employment at an ironworks, alongside his father. Three years later, he became a puddler at the works, then in 1850, he moved to

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, in 1852 on to

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

, and then various locations until he returned to the

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early in the 1860s. There, he joined the Associated Ironworkers of Great Britain union, becoming a branch secretary.Eric Taylor, "Trow, Edward (1833–99)", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.III, pp.187–192 In 1867, Trow moved to

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, again in search of work. The Associated Ironworkers did not organise in the town, so Trow transferred to the National Association of Ironworkers, led by John Kane. Given his experience, Trow was immediately as secretary of his lodge. The following year, Kane reformed the union as the

Amalgamated Malleable Ironworkers of Great Britain {{short description, Former trade union of the United Kingdom The Amalgamated Malleable Ironworkers of Great Britain was a trade union representing ironworkers in Great Britain. The union was founded by John Kane in 1862 as the Amalgamated Mallea ...

, and Trow was elected to its first general council. In 1872, he was elected as both president and assistant secretary of the union, then in 1874 switched the presidency for the post of treasurer, which was made full-time. Within the union, Trow focused on promoting negotiation with employers, avoiding industrial action, and for centralising power in the union, rather than allowing district high levels of autonomy. He also joined the Board of Arbitration and Conciliation for the Manufactured Iron Trade in the North of England. Kane died in 1876, and Trow succeeded him as general secretary, but was faced with a union which was in rapid decline. By 1887, it was evident that he was unable to do so, and the new

British Steel Smelters' Association The British Steel Smelters' Association (BSSA) was a trade union representing steel smelters and workers in related trades in Britain. History The union was founded in after a strike at the David Colville and Sons Works in Motherwell in 1885. T ...

was recruiting many potential members. Trow organised a conference which formed the

Associated Iron and Steel Workers of Great Britain {{Short description, Union of Iron and Steel workers in Great Britain The Associated Iron and Steel Workers of Great Britain was a trade union representing people employed in iron- and steelworks in Britain. The union was founded in 1887, following ...

, becoming its first general secretary, although he remained secretary of the Malleable Ironworkers until it was merged into the new union in 1892. This new union proved a success, working closely with conciliation boards and gradually uniting workers around the UK. Trow remained its secretary until his sudden death, early in 1899. In his spare time, Trow served on the 1892 Royal Commission on Labour, and was vice-president of the Darlington Liberal Association. He once stood for Darlington's council as a Liberal-Labour representative, but was not elected, and decided against pursuing a political career.

References

1833 births 1899 deaths British trade union leaders Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians People from Wednesbury 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub