Early history edit

The union was founded in 1889 with the merger of the Union of Electrical Operatives, a London-based union formed in 1868, and the Amalgamated Society of Telegraph and Telephone Construction Men, based in Manchester. Initially, the union had 570 members,^[1] most of whom were employees of the National Telephone Company. Its first part-time secretary, elected at the inaugural conference in 1890, was Dick Steadman.^[2]

The National Telephone Company's Brighton office was known for poor working conditions and, in 1891, an ETU branch was formed there, led by Alfred Ewer. After failed negotiations, the union began a strike, but this collapsed after five weeks. The remaining strikers were sacked, although the union helped them find them work elsewhere. In response, the union decided to appoint its first full-time general secretary; Arthur Walker was elected unopposed. He raised concerns that the union was unable to meet its commitments to out-of-work benefits to members. The became an immediate problem with a downturn in trade the following year; union membership peaked at 1,183 that year but then began to fall. The executive decided to institute a levy of three pennies per member per week in order to make up a shortfall, but this just led to more members leaving, and membership fell to only 402 in 1894. Walker was forced to resign after stealing union funds, and Steadman replaced him on a temporary basis.^[2]

Steadman was unable to solve the union's problems, and membership reached an all-time low of 236 members at the end of 1895. Francis Sims was elected as a full-time general secretary, in a final attempt to turn its fortunes around. He undertook a tour of the UK, attempting to form new branches and strengthen existing ones. While this produced mixed results, membership began to recover, and a successful strike in Bolton in 1899, and an agreement signed with Sheffield Town Council in 1900 further improved his reputation. However, the following year, he too was found to have embezzled union funds, leading to his imprisonment for six months. On release, he tried to set up a breakaway union, the Electrical Wiremen's Union, but this failed to grow and was disbanded in 1903.^[2]

Alfred Ewer was elected as Sims' replacement, and the union joined the Federation of Engineering and Shipbuilding Trades in 1906.^[1] Ewer's time in office was marked by conflict between the London-based executive and the provincial branches, culminating in a vote in 1907 to move the head office to Manchester. He disappeared in May 1907, and was later found to have emigrated to Australia without informing his wife or friends, having stolen £144 of union funds.^[2]

Growth under Rowan edit

Jimmy Rowan, the union's national organiser, was elected as Ewer's replacement, and he ultimately served until 1941. He and oversaw rapid growth in the union; from 1,500 members in 1907, it grew to more than 80,000 on his retirement.^[2]

In 1918, the union balloted its members on joining the new Amalgamated Engineering Union, but this was not approved.^[3] The early 1920s proved a difficult time for the union, and Rowan negotiated a merger with the Transport and General Workers' Union, but this too was rejected by the membership.^[2] Walter Citrine was appointed as an assistant general secretary of the union in 1920, and transformed its finances, making the reputation which led to his later appointment as General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress.^[1]

Communism and anti-communism edit

Rowan was known for his anti-communism but, despite this, members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) became prominent in the union under his leadership; by the 1950s, both General Secretary and General President were CPGB members.^[2] The ETU was known to have enjoyed close contacts with the London branch of the Caribbean Labour Congress led by communist activist Billy Strachan.^[4]

In June 1961, the ETU was taken to court for "conspiracy to defraud" by the union leadership.

After its leader Jock Byrne suffered a stroke, Frank Chapple became the union's leader in 1966. Unusually for a union leader at the time, Chapple espoused free-market thinking, and he aimed to rid his union of communists; his former union - the ETU had been run by communists. He was a "reluctant loyalist" to the Labour Party. ^{[citation needed]} The union went on to advocate nuclear power, privatisation of state-owned industries and membership of the European Union. ^{[citation needed]}

Merger edit

In July 1968, the ETU merged with the Plumbing Trades Union to form the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union.^[1]

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in several Parliamentary elections.

General Secretaries edit

1890: Dick Steadman

1891: Arthur Walker

1894: Dick Steadman (acting)

1895: Francis Sims

1900: Alfred Ewer

1907: James Rowan

1941: Ernest Bussey

1948: Walter Stevens

1955: Frank Haxell

1961: Jock Byrne

1966: Frank Chapple

General Presidents edit

1890: Arthur Walker

1891: Thomas Cannon

1894: G. Montague

1896: J. Hart

1898: Joe Pearce

1899: Bill Gooday

1901: Fred O'donoghue

1904: Jack Pearce

1906: George Dibdin

1907: S. Morris

1908: Jack Ball

1931: Ernest Bussey

1941: Hugh Bolton

1945: Frank Foulkes

1962: Les Cannon

• Catalogue of the ETU archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick