Amalgamated Engineering Union

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The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major British trade union. 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).[1]

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:[1]

The resulting union had a membership of 450,000,[2] about 300,000 coming from the ASE.[3]

File:Jack Leckie addressing a rally, 1922.jpg
Jack Leckie, a Scottish trade union activist and communist, addressing a rally at Radford Road, Coventry, during the 1922 Engineers' Lockout.

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.[2] Exploiting the downturn in economic conditions in the engineering industry, they demanded the union forfeit control over overtime. 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.[2]

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 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.[4] 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.[5] However, during World War II the AEU also lost its overseas branches in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, which became independent unions.Template:Fact

From the 1940s, the AEU also absorbed various smaller unions: the Amalgamated Society of Glass Works Engineers, Amalgamated Society of Vehicle Builders, Carpenters and Mechanics, Amalgamated Machine, Engine and Iron Grinders' and Glaziers' Society, Leeds Spindle and Flyer Makers' Trade and Friendly Society, United Operative Spindle and Flyer Makers' Trade and Friendly Society, and the Turners', Fitters' and Instrument Makers' Union.[6]

The AEU merged with the Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers (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.[7]

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.[4] 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.Template:Fact

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.[8] The new union took the name Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union.[9]

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.

Election Constituency Candidate Votes Percentage Position
1922 general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 10,958 55.7 1[10]
Ashton-under-Lyne Template:Sortname 8,834 42.4 2[10]
Basingstoke Template:Sortname 3,035 13.6 3[10]
Camborne Template:Sortname 4,502 21.9 3[10]
Dumbarton Burghs Template:Sortname 16,397 64.5 1[10]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 8,407 45.1 1[10]
Gateshead Template:Sortname 18,795 43.8 1[10]
Newcastle upon Tyne West Template:Sortname 11,654 43.9 1[10]
Newton Template:Sortname 12,312 55.6 1[10]
Plymouth Drake Template:Sortname 8,359 31.4 2[10]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 15,774 38.8 1[10]
Stalybridge and Hyde Template:Sortname 7,578 21.6 3[10]
The Wrekin Template:Sortname 10,603 47.6 2[11]
Woolwich West Template:Sortname 9,550 39.8 2[10]
Yeovil Template:Sortname 9,581 38.3 2[10]
1923 general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 9,138 50.6 1[12]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 10,735 64.4 1[12]
Gateshead Template:Sortname 16,689 41.1 2[12]
Newcastle upon Tyne West Template:Sortname 11,527 43.2 2[12]
Newton Template:Sortname 12,492 59.9 1 [12]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 13,525 32.6 2[12]
1924 general election Dumbarton Burghs Template:Sortname 14,562 59.2 1[13]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 11,614 53.1 1[13]
Newton Template:Sortname 12,875 56.1 1[13]
1929 general election Dartford Template:Sortname 26,871 50.6 1[14]
Dumbarton Burghs Template:Sortname 19,193 63.1 1[14]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 17,555 59.3 1[14]
Newton Template:Sortname 18,176 60.5 1[14]
1931 by-election Sunderland Template:Sortname 30,074 39.8 2[15]
1931 general election Barrow Template:Sortname 15,835 43.2 2[16]
1935 general election Consett Template:Sortname 25,419 58.7 1[17]
Dumbarton Burghs Template:Sortname 20,409 65.2 1[17]
Newton Template:Sortname 19,992 58.5 1[17]
1945 general election Aberdeen South Template:Sortname 17,398 42.3 2[18]
Dumbarton Burghs Template:Sortname 16,262 65.2 1[18]
Manchester Hulme Template:Sortname 12,034 55.6 1[18]
Newton Template:Sortname 25,197 62.0 1[18]
1948 by-election Edmonton Template:Sortname 26,164 53.4 1[19]
1949 by-election Leeds West Template:Sortname 21,935 55.2 1[19]
1950 general election Bury and Radcliffe Template:Sortname 25,705 44.4 2[20]
East Dunbartonshire Template:Sortname 25,943 52.7 1[20]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 34,897 55.1 1[20]
Hayes and Harlington Template:Sortname 22,490 60.1 1[20]
Keighley Template:Sortname 21,833 48.5 1[20]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 21,339 51.6 1[20]
Newcastle upon Tyne North Template:Sortname 16,860 35.9 2[20]
Newton Template:Sortname 31,832 59.1 1[20]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 25,484 44.9 1[20]
Southall Template:Sortname 27,107 53.9 1[20]
1951 general election Cirencester and Tewkesbury Template:Sortname 18,353 40.5 2[21]
East Dunbartonshire Template:Sortname 26,678 51.2 1[21]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 36,023 58.4 1[21]
Esher Template:Sortname 15,334 28.6 2[21]
Glasgow Scotstoun Template:Sortname 20,872 49.3 2[21]
Hayes and Harlington Template:Sortname 23,823 64.8 1[21]
Keighley Template:Sortname 23,743 52.8 1[21]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 22,357 54.1 1[21]
Newton Template:Sortname 31,374 58.3 1[21]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 27,343 49.6 2[21]
Southall Template:Sortname 29,123 57.9 1[21]
Southend West Template:Sortname 17,352 30.9 2[21]
Stockport North Template:Sortname 20,893 44.9 2[21]
1955 general election Barry Template:Sortname 19,722 42.1 2[22]
Bridgwater Template:Sortname 17,170 40.8 2[22]
East Dunbartonshire Template:Sortname 24,216 48.7 1[22]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 30,232 56.6 1[22]
Glasgow Woodside Template:Sortname 15,543 43.9 2[22]
High Peak Template:Sortname 13,652 34.6 2[22]
Keighley Template:Sortname 19,414 46.5 1[22]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 24,576 52.8 1[22]
Newton Template:Sortname 29,299 57.9 1[22]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 24,928 48.5 2[22]
Southall Template:Sortname 25,207 57.2 1[22]
Stockport South Template:Sortname 16,612 44.5 2[22]
1958 by-election Rochdale Template:Sortname 22,133 44.7 1[23]
1959 general election Burnley Template:Sortname 27,675 57.0 1[23]
Doncaster Template:Sortname 22,935 46.4 2[23]
East Dunbartonshire Template:Sortname 27,942 51.1 1[23]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 25,598 50.5 1[23]
Glasgow Scotstoun Template:Sortname 24,690 53.7 1[23]
Glasgow Woodside Template:Sortname 14,483 43.1 2[23]
High Peak Template:Sortname 13,827 34.0 2[23]
Keighley Template:Sortname 20,456 49.8 2[23]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 25,878 54.9 1[23]
Newton Template:Sortname 31,041 57.4 1[23]
Oxford Template:Sortname 18,310 34.8 2[23]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 21,689 41.5 1[23]
Southall Template:Sortname 22,285 52.7 1[23]
South Northamptonshire Template:Sortname 18,292 43.0 2[23]
Stockport South Template:Sortname 17,982 46.7 2[23]
1963 by-election Swansea East Template:Sortname 18,909 61.1 1
1964 general election Bradford North Template:Sortname 17,905 43.6 1[24]
Bristol North West Template:Sortname 21,030 42.9 2[24]
Burnley Template:Sortname 25,244 56.8 1[24]
Doncaster Template:Sortname 23,845 49.9 1[24]
East Dunbartonshire Template:Sortname 32,948 55.6 1[24]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 24,373 49.2 1[24]
Gateshead East Template:Sortname 26,633 64.5 1[24]
Glasgow Scotstoun Template:Sortname 27,036 61.6 1[24]
Keighley Template:Sortname 17,816 43.0 1[24]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 22,968 50.5 1[24]
Newton Template:Sortname 32,932 56.0 1[24]
Paisley Template:Sortname 26,318 52.9 1[24]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 22,927 46.7 1[24]
Salford West Template:Sortname 20,490 55.5 1[24]
Southall Template:Sortname 18,041 48.0 1[24]
Swansea East Template:Sortname 30,904 73.0 1[24]
Tottenham Template:Sortname 19,458 54.7 1[24]
Truro Template:Sortname 14,224 31.5 2[24]
Wallsend Template:Sortname 39,841 60.4 1[24]
1966 general election Bradford North Template:Sortname 21,727 55.4 1[25]
Burnley Template:Sortname 25,583 60.4 1[25]
Consett Template:Sortname 29,753 73.3 1[25]
Doncaster Template:Sortname 25,777 56.7 1[25]
East Dunbartonshire Template:Sortname 32,988 52.2 1[25]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 26,422 58.6 1[25]
Gateshead East Template:Sortname 27,628 69.6 1[25]
Glasgow Scotstoun Template:Sortname 27,320 61.8 1[25]
Keighley Template:Sortname 22,039 55.0 1[25]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 24,391 56.3 1[25]
Newton Template:Sortname 36,901 62.8 1[25]
Paisley Template:Sortname 28,074 60.0 1[25]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 24,481 52.4 1[25]
Salford West Template:Sortname 19,237 59.2 1[25]
Swansea East Template:Sortname 30,290 75.4 1[25]
Tottenham Template:Sortname 17,367 65.3 1[25]
Wallsend Template:Sortname 39,744 65.2 1[25]
1970 general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 27,707 62.1 1[26]
Bradford North Template:Sortname 20,141 52.1 1[26]
Burnley Template:Sortname 24,200 57.0 1[26]
Consett Template:Sortname 28,985 70.9 1[26]
Doncaster Template:Sortname 22,658 50.7 1[26]
Edmonton Template:Sortname 20,626 49.1 1[26]
Gateshead East Template:Sortname 28,524 64.8 1[26]
Glasgow Scotstoun Template:Sortname 26,492 57.4 1[26]
Keighley Template:Sortname 20,341 49.3 2[26]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 21,618 51.8 1[26]
Louth Template:Sortname 16,403 33.9 2[26]
Merthyr Tydfil Template:Sortname 9,234 28.7 2[26]
Newton Template:Sortname 34,873 52.5 1[26]
Paisley Template:Sortname 25,429 54.1 1[26]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 19,247 41.6 1[26]
Salford West Template:Sortname 16,986 54.3 1[26]
South Northamptonshire Template:Sortname 21,131 37.2 2[26]
South West Norfolk Template:Sortname 16,572 42.7 2[26]
Swansea East Template:Sortname 28,183 68.5 1[26]
Tottenham Template:Sortname 17,367 61.3 1[26]
Wallsend Template:Sortname 39,065 61.3 1[26]
1973 by-election Dundee East Template:Sortname 14,411 32.7 1[27]
1974 Feb general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 23,193 47.7 1[28]
Bradford North Template:Sortname 22,381 43.3 1[28]
Bridgwater Template:Sortname 16,786 29.5 2[28]
Burnley Template:Sortname 21,108 50.4 1[28]
Carlton Template:Sortname 20,147 33.5 2[28]
Chorley Template:Sortname 25,440 40.3 1[28]
Consett Template:Sortname 27,401 61.1 1[28]
Coventry North East Template:Sortname 30,496 63.9 1[28]
Doncaster Template:Sortname 23,041 47.9 1[28]
Dundee East Template:Sortname 17,100 33.7 2[28]
Gateshead East Template:Sortname 27,269 55.2 1[28]
Glasgow Garscadden Template:Sortname 21,035 52.3 1[28]
Gloucester Template:Sortname 18,215 35.2 2[28]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 19,436 42.1 1[28]
Newton Template:Sortname 38,369 49.3 1[28]
Paisley Template:Sortname 23,820 48.4 1[28]
St Pancras North Template:Sortname 14,761 52.8 1[28]
Salford West Template:Sortname 16,808 51.3 1[28]
Swansea East Template:Sortname 28,537 66.3 1[28]
Tottenham Template:Sortname 16,999 54.8 1[28]
Wallsend Template:Sortname 41,811 62.0 1[28]
1974 Oct general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 23,130 50.9 1[27]
Bradford North Template:Sortname 22,841 49.1 1[27]
Burnley Template:Sortname 21,642 54.8 1[27]
Chorley Template:Sortname 27,290 44.1 1[27]
Consett Template:Sortname 27,123 67.0 1[27]
Coventry North East Template:Sortname 26,489 59.5 1[27]
Doncaster Template:Sortname 22,177 51.3 1[27]
Dundee East Template:Sortname 15,137 32.7 2[27]
Gateshead East Template:Sortname 27,620 61.9 1[27]
Glasgow Garscadden Template:Sortname 19,737 50.9 1[27]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 20,669 49.6 1[27]
Newton Template:Sortname 38,956 53.3 1[27]
Paisley Template:Sortname 21,368 44.8 1[27]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 17,339 36.8 2[27]
St Pancras North Template:Sortname 14,155 58.5 1[27]
Salford West Template:Sortname 17,112 57.2 1[27]
Tottenham Template:Sortname 15,708 58.8 1[27]
Wallsend Template:Sortname 37,180 58.1 1[27]
1979 general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 26,771 59.3 1[29]
Bradford North Template:Sortname 25,069 50.9 1[29]
Burnley Template:Sortname 20,172 50.8 1[29]
Chorley Template:Sortname 28,546 43.0 2[29]
Consett Template:Sortname 26,708 61.3 1[29]
Coventry North East Template:Sortname 27,010 57.3 1[29]
Doncaster Template:Sortname 22,184 48.9 1[29]
Gateshead East Template:Sortname 28,776 61.2 1[29]
Hackney North and Stoke Newington Template:Sortname 14,688 51.6 1[29]
Kilmarnock Template:Sortname 25,718 52.6 1[29]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 21,290 49.4 1[29]
Manchester Blackley Template:Sortname 20,346 50.4 1[29]
Newton Template:Sortname 41,466 51.4 1[29]
Rochdale Template:Sortname 16,878 34.3 2[29]
St Pancras North Template:Sortname 14,556 54.2 1[29]
Salford West Template:Sortname 18,411 61.5 1[29]
Tottenham Template:Sortname 16,299 56.9 1[29]
Wallsend Template:Sortname 38,214 55.1 1[29]
1983 general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 19,262 47.0 1[30]
Coventry North East Template:Sortname 22,190 47.8 1[30]
Doncaster Central Template:Sortname 21,154 42.0 1[30]
Edinburgh Leith Template:Sortname 16,177 39.7 1
Gateshead East Template:Sortname 22,981 48.3 1[30]
Hackney North and Stoke Newington Template:Sortname 18,989 52.0 1[30]
Kilmarnock and Loudoun Template:Sortname 20,250 43.6 1[30]
Leeds West Template:Sortname 15,860 34.0 2
Manchester Blackley Template:Sortname 20,132 48.1 1
St Helens North Template:Sortname 25,334 47.9 1
Salford East Template:Sortname 21,373 53.7 1
Tottenham Template:Sortname 22,423 52.0 1[30]
Wallsend Template:Sortname 26,615 50.1 1
1985 by-election Tyne Bridge Template:Sortname 13,517 57.8 1
1986 by-election Knowsley North Template:Sortname 17,403 56.3 1
1987 general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 24,145 54.7 1
Bury North Template:Sortname 21,186 37.8 2[31]
Caithness and Sutherland Template:Sortname 3,437 14.9 3[31]
Doncaster Central Template:Sortname 26,266 51.2 1[31]
Edinburgh Leith Template:Sortname 21,104 49.3 1[31]
Feltham and Heston Template:Sortname 22,325 37.4 2[31]
Glasgow Pollok Template:Sortname 23,239 63.1 1[31]
Kilmarnock and Loudoun Template:Sortname 23,713 48.5 1
Knowsley North Template:Sortname 27,454 69.9 1[31]
Manchester Blackley Template:Sortname 22,476 52.4 1[31]
St Helens North Template:Sortname 28,989 53.7 1[31]
Salford East Template:Sortname 22,555 58.8 1[31]
Sheffield Central Template:Sortname 25,872 67.7 1[31]
Sheffield Heeley Template:Sortname 28,425 53.4 1[31]
Tyne Bridge Template:Sortname 23,131 63.0 1[31]
Wallsend Template:Sortname 32,709 56.8 1[31]
1992 general election Aberdeen North Template:Sortname 18,845 47.0 1
Bolton North East Template:Sortname 21,459 44.5 2
Doncaster Central Template:Sortname 27,795 54.3 1
Glasgow Pollok Template:Sortname 14,170 43.4 1
Kilmarnock and Loudoun Template:Sortname 22,210 44.8 1
Knowsley North Template:Sortname 27,517 77.5 1
Manchester Blackley Template:Sortname 23,031 60.2 1
Rotherham Template:Sortname 27,933 63.9 1
Salford East Template:Sortname 20,327 60.0 1
Sheffield Central Template:Sortname 22,764 68.7 1
Sheffield Heeley Template:Sortname 28,005 55.7 1
St Helens North Template:Sortname 31,930 57.9 1
Tyne Bridge Template:Sortname 22,328 67.2 1

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
Year Construction Engineering Foundry TASS
1968 Created 1971 Jim Conway William Simpson Created 1971
1971 Eddie Marsden George Doughty
1974 Bob Garland Ken Gill
1975 John Boyd
1976 John Baldwin
1982 Gavin Laird
1984 Gavin Laird
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
1978: Terry Duffy
1986: Bill Jordan

References

Template:Reflist

External links

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  1. a b Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of British Trade Unions, vol.3, pp.12-16
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  7. Chris Cook, The Routledge Guide to British Political Archives: Sources since 1945, pp.223-224
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  10. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".. Note that this list is of the sanctioned candidates as of June 1922, and there were some changes between this date and the general election.
  11. Candidate was listed as sponsored but not attached to any specific constituency in: Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  12. a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. a b c Labour Party, Annual Report of the Labour Party Conference (1928), pp.275–281. Note that this is a list of affiliations of Labour MPs as of September 1928, and it is possible that some MPs held different sponsorship as of the 1924 election.
  14. a b c d Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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  17. a b c Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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  19. a b Sponsor assumed to be the same as at the 1950 UK general election
  20. a b c d e f g h i j Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  21. a b c d e f g h i j k l m Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  22. a b c d e f g h i j k l Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.255-275
  23. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.179-201
  24. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.158-180
  25. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.308-330
  26. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.289-312
  27. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.391-411
  28. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.371-390
  29. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp.406-431
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  31. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".