50 Years of Railway Trades Unionism.: “A short history of the fight for better conditions by Locomotivemen”

32 pages.

Paper wrapper slightly creased and age-toned. Text clean and unmarked.

Written by the then Branch Secretary of the Ardsley Branch of Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF).

The Ardsley Branch of ASLEF was opened on 14 October 1894. "There were no National conditions of service, rates of pay and conditions of service varied from Company to Company, and even from depot to depot on the same Company. The District Superintendent was a local despot, and ruled with a rod of iron, he could fine, punish, or even dismiss men at his own whim or fancy." Trade unions were not recognised and meetings had to be held in secret. "The branch was not born in a wave of enthusiasm, as the outcome of a Strike, but a stark necessity which speaks to the determined attitude of men who….were prepared to pay the price asked of them".

This short pamphlet is full of detailed, interesting, and now perhaps less easy to find details of pay rates, hours of work, holidays, and the actions of local union men. It intermingles details of branch and national union activities with significant information about branch concerns and struggles, including seeking labour representation in Parliament and the fight to have the union recognised by the railway employers, culminating in the 1911 national strike. There follows a narrative of union branch and national activities leading up to the 1926 General Strike in which the unionised railway workers played an important part, the author placing the blame for the failure of the General Strike firmly upon the national trade union leaders. Activities following the 1926 defeat, up to 1939 are detailed including action to protect working conditions and antifascist activities (first mentioned in 1933). The war years are not specifically dealt with "because current events are not History".

Reprinted in an annex are the 1907 and 1942 National union programmes of demands for improvements to wages and working conditions. The rear cover gives details of two events to celebrate the Branch's 50th year anniversary; a "Grand Social Evening….For members and their wives and sweethearts", and a public meeting on "Railways and Post-war Problems."

Rare. Unrecorded in WorldCat and Library Hub Discover. No copy for sale on-line.

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