The Friendly Society of Iron Founders of England, Ireland and Wales (FSIF) was an early

trade union 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 benefits ( ...

representing foundry workers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

History

The union was founded in 1809 in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

as the Friendly Iron Moulders' Society. Unlike the many

friendly societies A friendly society (sometimes called a benefit society, mutual aid society, benevolent society, fraternal and service organisations, fraternal organization or Rotating savings and credit association, ROSCA) is a mutual association for the purpo ...

which focused on mutual welfare, it organised workers with the aim of improving their working conditions.

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

Modern Records Centre The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

,
Friendly Society of Iron Founders of England, Ireland and Wales
This was illegal under the

Combination Act 1799 The Combination Act 1799 (39 Geo. III, c. 81) titled An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen, prohibited trade unions and collective bargaining by British workers. The Act received royal assent on 12 July 1799. An additional Act, the Com ...

, and so in the early years, the books of the organisation were buried in a nearby peat bog between meetings, in order to evade detection. By 1837, it felt able to meet publicly, and held its first delegate meeting. This meeting, in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, decided to rename the union as the Friendly Society of Operative Iron Moulders of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The union relocated from Manchester to London in 1850, and decided against joining the newly formed

Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Mi ...

. In 1852 it elected its first full-time general secretary, William Harvey, who held the office for eleven years. Although he was seen as hard-working, in particular in establishing a central register of all members and benefits, under his leadership there was little financial oversight of branches, and numerous cases of embezzlement emerged. The union's appeal committee dismissed the entire executive committee including Harvey, who nonetheless agreed to remain in office until an election was held. This was won by

Daniel Guile Daniel Guile (21 October 1814 – 7 December 1882) was a British trade unionist. Born in Liverpool, Guile was the son of William and Elizabeth. His father worked as a shoemaker but struggled to find work during the mid-1820s. Daniel, there ...

, who became a nationally prominent figure as a member of the trade union "

Junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

". In 1864, the union took its final name, while, three years later, it claimed to have more than 11,000 members. In 1899, the union was a founder of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), with secretary Joseph Maddison becoming the GFTU's treasurer. The union also affiliated to the Labour Representation Committee, and its member

Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour politician. He was the first Labour cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniquely, served three separate terms as Leader of th ...

became one of the first Labour Members of Parliament. However, in 1901 it was expelled from the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

following a dispute with the Brass Moulders. In 1905, the union relocated back to Manchester, to a purpose-built headquarters on Chorlton Road. The union's entire executive was dismissed in 1912 for agreeing to pay itself expenses at 12s 6d per day, when the rules stated it was only due 7s. This led to a lengthy dispute during which former assistant general secretary Jeremiah Olive ran the union until fresh elections were held in 1914 and won by a new face, Alfred Todd.Hubert Jim Fyrth and Henry Collins, ''The Foundry Workers: a trade union history'', p.135 Todd took the union into a merger in 1920, joining with the

Amalgamated Society of Coremakers of Great Britain and Ireland The Amalgamated Society of Core Makers of Great Britain and Ireland (ASC) was a trade union representing foundry workers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1902 by a large number of local unions, with a total membership of less than 1, ...

and the

Associated Iron Moulders of Scotland The Associated Iron Moulders of Scotland (AIMS) was a trade union representing foundry workers in Scotland. The union was created in 1831 as the Scottish Iron Moulders' Union. Its founder was James Dunn, a former cotton worker who had been blac ...

to form the

National Union of Foundry Workers The National Union of Foundry Workers (NUFW) was a trade union representing workers in foundries in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1920 with the merger of the Associated Iron Moulders of Scotland, the Amalgamated Society of ...

Election results

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in numerous elections, and

was frequently elected.

Secretaries

:By 1837: Thomas Mather :1838: Robert Denham :1840: William Harvey{{cite book , last1=Fryth , first1=H. J. , last2=Collins , first2=Henry , title=The Foundry Workers , date=1950 , publisher=Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers , location=Manchester :1841: John Wroe :1843: William Glasebrook :1852: William Harvey :1863:

:1883: Edward Woods :1886: William Henry Hey :1894:

Joseph Maddison Joseph Clarkson Maddison (26 February 1850 – 11 December 1923) was a New Zealand architect. He trained as an architect in his native London and came to Canterbury at the age of 22. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, ...

:1908: William M. Lawson :1912: Jeremiah Olive (acting) :1914: Alfred Todd

References

External links

Catalogue of the FSIF archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

Trade unions established in the 1800s Trade unions disestablished in 1920 Foundry workers' trade unions Trade unions based in London