The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) is a British

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

train drivers A train driver, engine driver, engineman or locomotive driver, commonly known as an engineer or railroad engineer in the United States and Canada, and also as a locomotive handler, locomotive operator, train operator, or motorman, is a pers ...

. It is part of the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

and the European Transport Workers' Federation. At the end of 2018 ASLEF had 22,424 members. Its current General Secretary is Mick Whelan.

History

Foundation

In 1865, North Eastern Railway footplatemen founded a union called the Engine Drivers' and Firemen's Society.Raynes, 1921, p. 22. It unsuccessfully attempted

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the ...

, as a result of which the NER was able to break up the Society. In 1872, an

industrial union Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, was founded with the support of the Liberal MP Michael Bass. In 1872, the ASRS reported having 17,247 members, but by 1882, this had declined to only 6,321. By the end of the 1870s, many UK railway companies had increased the working week from 60 to 66 hours, a 12-hour working day was common and wages had been reduced.Raynes, 1921, p. 28. The

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

had not increased wages since 1867, had increased the working day from 10 to 12 hours in 1878 and then reduced wages for all but the most junior drivers and firemen in 1879. In 1879, almost 2,000 GWR locomotive drivers and firemen signed an ASRS petition to the GWR Board of Directors requesting a restoration of the 1867 conditions of service and rates of pay. The GWR reacted by refusing to meet the ASRS representatives and dismissing several of the petitioners from their jobs.Raynes, 1921, p. 29. As a result of this defeat, in 1879, drivers and firemen from Griffithstown,

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd r ...

, South Wales, started to organise to form a

craft union Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the sa ...

separate from the ASRS. At the time there were similar moves in parts of England towards founding an enginemen's union. A large number of drivers and firemen met in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

on 9 December 1879 and resolved to form a National Society of Drivers and Firemen. There was a similar move by

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...

drivers and firemen at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, whom the Pontypool group called '' "the first founders of the Society"''. The Sheffield branch opened on 7 February 1880 with William Ullyott, one of its leaders, as the first member.McKillop, 1950, p. 27. Pontypool branch followed on 15 February, led by Charles H. Perry, one of the drivers who had unsuccessfully petitioned the GWR board the previous year. ASLEF officially records Perry as its founder. In the remainder of 1880 ASLEF opened branches at

Tondu Tondu ( en, Black Meadow) is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about north of the town of Bridgend, in the community of Ynysawdre. Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th cent ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

(April),

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and community situated in the Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011. Historica ...

(May),

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

(June), and

Carnforth Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 rec ...

(July). ASLEF adopted and published its first Rule Book in 1881.ASLEF, 1990, p. 1. Its title page reproduced a stanza of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

' " Man was made to mourn: A Dirge":

If I'm yon haughty lordling's slave By Nature's law designed, Why was an independent wish E'er planted in my mind? If not, why am I subject to His cruelty or scorn? Or why has man the will and pow'r To make his fellow mourn?

For economy's sake, ASLEF initially chose to be managed by its Leeds branch, as a result of which its first head office was at the Commercial Inn, Sweet Street,

Holbeck Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is th ...

. It moved to 17 Mill Hill Chambers, Leeds, in 1885, and again to 8 Park Square, Leeds, in 1904. In 1921, it moved to London by buying a house at 9 Arkwright Road,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, from the family of the late Sir Joseph Beecham, Bt. For a period in the second half of the 20th century ASLEF also owned the next-door house at 7 Arkwright Road.

Relations with industrial unionism

In the 1880s ASLEF's foundation as a craft union exclusively for one defined part of the railway workforce went against the industrial unionist trend of the New Unionism movement. In 1880, the ASRS denounced the enginemen's decision as ''"very selfish"'' and ''"an act of folly"''Raynes, 1921, p. 40. and declared ''"the sooner our friends the enginemen... give up the idea of forming a separate Association the better"''. ASLEF succeeded in getting more locomotive drivers and firemen to join a trade union, but it has never succeeded in recruiting all drivers or firemen. In 1900, the ASRS wanted amalgamation,Raynes, 1921, p. 124. but ASLEF proposed federation with the drivers and firemen of the ASRS. A Scheme of Federation was drafted and ASLEF's triennial conference adopted it in 1903. There were joint meetings of the Executive Committees of the two unions until 1906 when relations broke down. In 1907,

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th century, that evolved gradually into a government ...

, brought about a conciliation board for the railway industry with representatives of both the companies and their workforces. ASLEF initially welcomed the new board, but later grew dissatisfied with its slow operation and dubbed it a "confiscation" board. In August 1911, the ASRS, ASLEF, the United Pointsmen's and Signalmen's Society (founded 1880) and the General Railway Workers' Union (founded 1889) jointly called the United Kingdom's first national rail strike. In only two days it succeeded in forcing the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

to set up a Royal Commission to examine the workings of the 1907 conciliation board. ASLEF's then General Secretary,

Albert E. Fox Albert E. Fox (1858 – 22 March 1914) was a UK trade unionist and Labour Representation Committee politician. Trade unionist Fox joined the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen in 1886 and for a number of years was ASLEF B ...

, claimed that the 1911 victory showed there was no need to amalgamate with the ASRS and that Federation should be restored. Fox drafted a new federation scheme, but in October 1911, the ASRS rejected ''"the further extension of sectionalism contained therein"'' and expressed the opinion that the success of the national strike indicated ''"that one railway union will prove to be most beneficial for all railwaymen"''. In 1913,Raynes, 1921, p. 165. the ASRS, GRWU and UPSS duly merged to form the

National Union of Railwaymen The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. The largest railway workers' union in the country, it was influential in the national trade union movement. History The NUR was an industrial union ...

. ASLEF stayed out of the new industrial union and held to the slogan ''"organise your trade, federate your industry"'' coined by Fox. During the First World War the cost of living increased rapidly. From July 1914 to September 1915, for example,

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...

rose 37%. For the duration of the war, the government was in control of the railways. Wages were increased, but at a slower rate than the rise in the cost of living. NUR and ASLEF responded jointly, and forced the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

to award wage increases in September 1916 and April 1917. In March 1919, the

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

indicated that it intended to review the War Wage, with a view to reducing it at the end of the year. The NUR and ASLEF started a second national railway strike in September 1919, which in nine days won both a change in pay policy and the reduction of the working day to eight hours. After 1919, control of the railways was returned to the companies, and in 1923, the

Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 (c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four la ...

merged about 120 of Great Britain's railways into four large regional companies. In December 1923, the new companies presented proposals that included some reductions in locomotive men's pay and conditions. Negotiations broke down and ASLEF ordered its members to strike, but the NUR instructed its members – including locomotivemen – to stay at work. After another nine-day strike, ASLEF was victorious, but the disagreement between ASLEF and the NUR left deep division. Eventually ASLEF and the NUR agreed a new Railway Union Federation in 1982, but this failed to end mutual suspicion. About the time that the NUR and

National Union of Seamen The National Union of Seamen (NUS) was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990. In 1990, the union amalgamated with the National Union of Railwaymen to form the National Union of Rail ...

merged in 1990 to form the RMT the federation broke down, and neither federation nor merger has been negotiated since.

Major industrial disputes

ASLEF has taken part in several national rail strikes. The 1911 joint strike with the ASRS, 1919 joint strike with the NUR and 1924 strike of ASLEF without the NUR are described above. ASLEF and the NUR were prominent participants in the

1926 general strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governme ...

that unsuccessfully sought to prevent British coal companies from reducing mineworkers' pay and conditions. In 1955, ASLEF struck against

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

ways for seventeen days in a pay dispute. In 1982, both ASLEF and the NUR opposed BR proposals for flexible rostering but they failed to co-ordinate strike action.Rose, 1986, pp. 43–44. First the NUR struck against BR and ASLEF instructed its members to cross NUR picket lines. Then after the end of the NUR's dispute, ASLEF held its own strike against BR. There have also been local disputes with individual railway operators such as those with

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

in 1982, 1989 and 1996.

Since railway privatisation

In the latter years of

, train drivers were on a basic salary of around £12,000 per annum, supplemented by a set of enhancements for unsocial hours and overtime approximately £4,000–£5,000. Sunday had never formed part of the basic working week for train drivers in the UK, and was instead worked as overtime. Thus many drivers chose to work Sundays in order to make a better income. British Rail was run in all departments on an overtime culture to reduce overall wage bills resulting from having to employ extra staff to fill what would be uncovered vacancies. This approach had implications for fatigue and excessive hours, which partly contributed to the

Clapham Junction rail crash The Clapham Junction railway crash occurred on the morning of 12 December 1988, when a crowded British Rail passenger train crashed into the rear of another train that had stopped at a signal just south of Clapham Junction railway station in Lon ...

in 1988. From 1995 onwards, the

Railways Act 1993 The Railways Act 1993c 43 was introduced by John Major's Conservative government and passed on 5 November 1993. It provided for the restructuring of the British Railways Board (BRB), the public corporation that owned and operated the national ra ...

was implemented to privatise British Rail. In the first few years thereafter, ASLEF negotiated improved pay and conditions of service for its members from the new

train operating companies A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993. T ...

. Train drivers are now amongst the highest-paid associate professional (as defined by UK government) workers in the UK. ASLEF aims to increase basic pay so the "overtime culture" is reduced or eliminated, in the hope that more jobs will be created to cover the work that is not covered by overtime. The health and safety issues related to overtime and fatigue would also be minimised.

Membership

The record of membership numbers is not complete for all years of the society's history. However, some key years will give an indication of ASLEF's growth in its first seven decades. * 1881: 651Raynes, 1921, p. 293. * 1889: 5,039 * 1892: 6,710 * 1894: 7,524 * 1901: 10,502 * 1908: 19,800 * 1910: 19,800 * 1913: 32,200 * 1916: 34,039 * 1918: 39,940 * 1919: 57,184 * 1937: 53,857 * 1939: 53,325 * 1946: 71,842 * 2011: 18,500+ * 2014: 20,364 * 2017: 21,791

Political affiliation

ASLEF is affiliated to the Labour Party. Labour was founded in 1900 as the Labour Representation Committee, and in 1903, ASLEF voted to affiliate to it. In the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting electi ...

, ASLEF General Secretary Albert Fox was the LRC candidate for

Leeds South Leeds South was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Leeds into two ridings ...

, where he polled 4,030 votes. Fox lost to the Liberal incumbent

John Lawson Walton Sir John Lawson Walton KC (4 August 1852 – 19 January 1908) was a British barrister and Liberal politician. Family and education John Lawson Walton was the son of the Reverend John Walton MA, a Wesleyan missionary in Ceylon''Who was Who'', ...

, but Lawson Walton died in January 1908 causing a by-election. Fox contested Leeds South a second time, but lost to the new Liberal candidate

William Middlebrook Sir William Middlebrook, 1st Baronet (22 February 1851 – 30 June 1936) was an English solicitor and Liberal Party politician. Family and education William Middlebrook was born at Birstall in the West Riding of Yorkshire the son of John Midd ...

. In June 2015, ASLEF endorsed

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialis ...

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

in the Labour Party leadership election. Aslef said Corbyn has the "character, vision and policies" needed to win back power for the party. General secretary Mick Whelan said: "Jeremy understands what Labour has to do to win back the hearts, the minds and the votes of ordinary working people in Britain."

Election results

The union sponsored a Labour Party candidate in many Parliamentary elections, from 1906 until 1992. Several of its candidates were elected as Members of Parliament.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1880: Joseph Brooke :1885: Thomas Sunter :1901:

:1914: Jack Bromley :1936: Richard Squance :1940: William P. Allen :1948:

Jim Baty James Gilroy Baty (1 February 1896''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 5 April 1959) was a British trade unionist. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he began working on the railways, and joined the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and ...

:1956:

Albert Hallworth Albert Hallworth (5 January 1898 – 18 April 1962) was a British trade unionist. Hallworth grew up in Stockport, and worked in a cotton mill from an early age. In 1914, aged 16, he joined the Royal Fusiliers as a drummer and served througho ...

:1960: William Evans :1964: Albert Griffiths :1970:

Ray Buckton Raymond William Buckton (20 October 1922 – 7 May 1995) was general secretary of ASLEF, the rail drivers' trade union in Great Britain. Early life He was born in Rillington, then in the East Riding of Yorkshire, now in North Yorkshire. His ...

:1987: Neil Milligan :1990: Derrick Fullick :1993:

Lew Adams Lewis Drummond Adams (born 16 August 1939) is a British former trade unionist. Adams was educated at Impington Village College near Cambridge, then started his career with British Rail at the age of 15,

:1998:

Mick Rix Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...

:2003:

Shaun Brady Shaun Brady is a British trade unionist who was general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) is a British trade union representing train d ...

:2004:

Keith Norman Keith Norman was general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), the train drivers' trade union in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of ...

:2011: Mick Whelan

Assistant General Secretaries

:1891: Henry ShuttleworthMcKillop, 1950, pp. 365–370. :1910: George Moore :1927: Richard Squance :1936: William P. Allen :1939:

Percy Collick Percy Henry Collick (16 November 1897 – 24 July 1984) was a British Labour Party politician and trade union official. Originally a railway fireman with the Southern Railway, he was a member of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers ...

:1946:

(acting) :1948:

(acting) :1956: William Evans :1960: Albert Griffiths :1963:

:1970: Don Pullen :1985: Neil Milligan :1987: Derrick Fullick :1990:

:1994: Tony West :2000: Mick Blackburn :2004: ''Post abolished'' :2015: Simon Weller

Presidents

:1881: George Bamforth :1882: Henry Shuttleworth :1883: Samuel Holland :1880s: Henry Shuttleworth :1891: Moses John Dickinson :1893: Henry Parfitt :1896: :1900:

:1902: J. A. Hawkins : :1907: George Moore :1910: :1913: George Wride :1915: John Hunter :1917: George Wride :1918: Worthy Cooke :1919: W. A. Stephenson :1920: Richard Squance :1921: :1930: William P. Allen :1934: :1940s: Ted Bidwell :1948: P. McGubbin :1952: Frederick Kelland :1954: N. A. Pinches :1958: Jack Simons :1963: Albert Atkinson :1965: Les Kirk :1968: George Thomas :1972: Les Feltham :1974: Bill Ronksley :1982: Derrick Fullick :1990: Willie O'Brienhttps://www.aslef.org.uk/article.php?group_id=1924 :1995: Clive Jones :1996: William Mackenzie :2000: David Tyson, Sean Madden, :2000: Martin Samways :2004: David Tyson :2005: Alan Donnelly :2015: Tosh McDonald :2019: Dave Calfe

References

Sources and further reading

* * * * * * *

External links

*
Certification Officer: ASLEF accounts

Catalogue of the ASLEF 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Associated Society Of Locomotive Engineers And Firemen 1880 establishments in the United Kingdom International Transport Workers' Federation Railway unions in the United Kingdom Trade unions affiliated with the Labour Party (UK) Trade unions established in 1880 Trade unions in the United Kingdom Trade unions based in London Trade unions affiliated with the Trades Union Congress