Amalgamated Engineering Union Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Machinists, Smiths, Millwrights and Patternmakers

Amalgamated Engineering Union Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Machinists, Smiths, Millwrights and Patternmakers

Trade unionism in engineering first emerged in the 1780s when a Friendly Society of Mechanics was established in Bolton, Blackburn and Chorley. By 1799 employers in London asked Parliament to make it illegal for millwrights and engineers to combine. This resulted in the passing of the Combination Acts in 1799 and 1800. In the 1820s local engineering unions began to develop in industrial areas. This included the Steam Engine Makers' Society (1824), Friendly Society of Mechanics (1826) and the Friendly Society of Engineers (1833). In 1851 a successful attempt was made to form a national union. The result was the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Machinists, Smiths, Millwrights and Patternmakers, also known as the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE), formed in 1852. William Allan was elected General Secretary and by 1861 it had 186 branches and over 33,000 union members.

In the 1880s the ASE became more militant. Important figures such as Tom Mann, John Burns, and George Barnes, took part in demonstrations including those held at Trafalgar Square on 13 February 1887, which turned into the riot known as Bloody Sunday. By 1890, the ASE was Britain's third largest union and in circa 1900 there were nearly 90,000 members. In 1920, the ASE merged with the Steam Engine Makers' Society, a union of engineers founded in Liverpool in 1824, which had taken part in the discussions which led to the creation of the ASE in 1851; the Amalgamated Society of General Toolmakers, Engineers and Machinists; and seven other unions to form the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU). During the late 20th century, the union's name changed to the Amalgamated Union of Engineering and Foundry Workers, and then the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union. By 2000, it was still one of Britain's largest unions. The union had branches throughout Britain and Commonwealth, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.