The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major

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

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992.

History

The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Millwrights' Friendly Society, in 1826, popularly known as the "Old Mechanics". They invited a large number of other unions to become part of what became the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE).Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of British Trade Unions'', vol.3, pp.12-16 In 1920, the ASE put out a fresh call for other unions to merge with it in a renamed Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU). Seventeen unions balloted their members on a possible merger, and nine voted in favour of amalgamation: * Amalgamated Association of Brass Turners, Fitters, Finishers and Coppersmiths * Amalgamated Instrument Makers' Society * Amalgamated Society of General Tool Makers, Engineers and Machinists * East of Scotland Brass Founders' Society * London United Metal Turners', Fitters' and Finishers' Society * North of England Brass Turners', Fitters' and Finishers' Society * Steam Engine Makers' Society (SEM) * United Kingdom Society of Amalgamated Smiths and Strikers * United Machine Workers' Association The resulting union had a membership of 450,000, about 300,000 coming from the ASE. In 1922 employers, represented by the Engineering Employers' Federation, launched an industry-wide lockout in an attempt to reverse the gains made by the AEU during WWI and its aftermath. Exploiting the downturn in economic conditions in the engineering industry, they demanded the union forfeit control over

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. The lockout lasted from 11 March to 13 June and involved 260,000 workers, 90,000 of them represented by the AEU. The lockout ended with the union conceding some of the employers' demands. The AEU continued to grow and absorb smaller unions. From 1926, it accepted members who had not completed an apprenticeship. In 1933, it had 168,000 members, and 390,900 by the end of the decade. Its largest membership growth came during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when its all-male membership voted to admit women for the first time and 100,000 joined almost immediately, membership reaching 825,000 by 1943. It admitted women due to the increasing role of female industrial workers in the British home front, as well as to prevent either female workers joining rival unions or non-union female workers from undercutting union wages. However, during World War II the AEU also lost its overseas branches in

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, and

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, which became independent unions. From the 1940s, the AEU also absorbed various smaller unions: the

Amalgamated Society of Glass Works Engineers Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal ** Pan am ...

Amalgamated Society of Vehicle Builders, Carpenters and Mechanics The Amalgamated Society of Vehicle Builders, Carpenters and Mechanics was a trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is t ...

Amalgamated Machine, Engine and Iron Grinders' and Glaziers' Society The Amalgamated Machine, Engine and Iron Grinders' and Glazers' Society was a small but long-lasting trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of wo ...

, Leeds Spindle and Flyer Makers' Trade and Friendly Society,

United Operative Spindle and Flyer Makers' Trade and Friendly Society The United Operative Spindle and Flyer Makers' Trade and Friendly Society was a trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose ...

, and the Turners', Fitters' and Instrument Makers' Union. The AEU merged with the

Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers __NOTOC__ The Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers (AUFW) was a trade union representing workers in foundries in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1946 with the merger of the National Union of Foundry Workers, the Ironfounding Wor ...

(AUFW) on 1 January 1968 to form the Amalgamated Union of Engineering and Foundry Workers (AEF), and with the Draughtsmen and Allied Technicians' Association (DATA) and Constructional Engineering Union in 1971 to form the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (AUEW). The union was now organised on a federal basis, with four sections: Engineering, Foundry, Construction, and Technical, Administrative and Supervisory (TASS). This approach was not a success, as the various sections fell into dispute with each other. In 1984, the Engineering, Foundry and Construction Sections were merged and in 1986 adopted the name Amalgamated Engineering Union once more, while the TASS remained separate and, in 1988, it became entirely independent of the union once more.Chris Cook, ''The Routledge Guide to British Political Archives: Sources since 1945'', pp.223-224 Despite this series of amalgamations, declines in the number of workers in heavy industry saw membership drop from a peak of 1,483,400 in 1979, to 858,000 in 1986. The AEU became a mainstay of the moderate right in the trade union movement through the 1980s and 1990s, leading the manufacturing unions in 1989–1991 in a successful push for a shorter working week, but failing to merge with a number of unions, notally the

Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians The Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT) was a British and Republic of Ireland, Irish trade union, operating in the construction industry. It was founded in 1971, and merged into Unite (trade union), Unite on 1 January ...

. In 1992 the AEU finally achieved a merger with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union, EETPU, after a hundred years of off and on discussions. The new union took the name Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union.

Election results

Like the ASE before it, the AEU affiliated to the Labour Party, sponsoring candidates at each election, many of whom won seats in Parliament.

Leadership

General Secretaries

;AEU :1920: Tom Mann :1921: Albert Smethurst :1933: Fred A. Smith :1943: Benjamin Gardner :1956: Cecil Hallett :1965: Jim Conway ;AEF/AUEW ;AEU :1988: Gavin Laird

Presidents

:1920: James Thomas Brownlie :1931: William Harold Hutchinson :1933: John C. Little :1939: Jack Tanner :1953: Robert Openshaw :1956: William Carron :1968:

Hugh Scanlon Hugh Parr Scanlon, Baron Scanlon (26 October 1913 – 27 January 2004) was a British trade union leader. Scanlon was born in Melbourne, to parents who had emigrated from Britain. His mother brought him back from Australia to the UK when he ...

:1978: Terry Duffy :1986: Bill Jordan

References

External links

Catalogue of the AEU, AEF, and AUEW archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Catalogue of further AUEW archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Catalogue of the AUEW Construction Section archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Catalogue of the AEF/AUEW Foundry Section archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick {{Portal, Organized labour Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Engineering trade unions 1920 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1920 Trade unions disestablished in 1992 Trade unions based in London