Albert E. Fox
Encyclopedia
Albert E. Fox was a UK
trade union
ist and Labour Representation Committee politician.
in 1886 and for a number of years was ASLEF Branch Secretary at Mexborough
, Yorkshire. By 1897 ASLEF's Yorkshire district had elected Fox to the union's Executive Committee and in April 1900 the Executive Committee elected Fox as its President. In September 1901 ASLEF's General Secretary, Thomas Sunter, died in office and in December Fox was one of 10 candidates in the ballot to succeed him.
ASLEF's Rules stated "The General Secretary shall be elected by the votes of the majority of the whole of the members of the Society". However, only 4,369 of ASLEF's 10,502 members (41.6%) had voted and Fox won only 42.6% of the votes that had been cast. The runner up was an EC member and former Organising Secretary, Harry Parfitt, with 1,536 votes. After the votes were counted on 8 December an EC member proposed a run-off election between Fox and Parfitt but the EC voted to take legal advice. On 9 December the EC voted to declare Fox elected as General Secretary and the Assistant General Secretary, Henry Shuttleworth, quickly issued a circular to all branches to that effect. Parfitt challenged the decision and issued his own circular to branches asserting the members' right to demand a run-off ballot, but none was held and Fox took office without further challenge.
Fox supported ASLEF's continuation as an independent craft union
. In 1900 ASLEF had rejected a proposal from the industrial union
for UK railway workers, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
, that ASLEF and the ASRS should merge. Instead ASLEF proposed a Federation, which was enacted in 1903. Fox later reiterated his preference for Federation under the slogan "Organise your grade, Federate your industry". Fox claimed that the employees' victory in the UK's first national railway strike, which was held in 1911 by four railway unions acting jointly, proved there was no need for merger, whereas the ASRS claimed the same victory proved that "one railway union will prove to be most beneficial for all railwaymen".
Fox was the LRC candidate for Leeds South
. He polled 4,030 votes, losing to the Liberal
incumbent Sir John Lawson Walton
, and in 1921 ASLEF's official historian blamed "a strong A.S.R.S. section impairing his chances" for Fox's defeat.
Acrimony between ASLEF and the ASRS caused the Federation to collapse in 1906–07 and spilled over into the Leeds LRC. In January 1908 Lawson Walton died and in the ensuing Leeds South by-election Fox was again the LRC candidate. When the Liberal candidate William Middlebrook
won, Fox blamed opponents for exploiting the division between railway unions.
In 1913 Fox's younger son Charles suffered a painful illness and died in October, and Fox's own condition worsened in December. Because of his illness, in the early part of 1914 there were only two days on which Fox managed to come to work. He died on Sunday 22 March 1914.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist and Labour Representation Committee politician.
Trade unionist
Fox joined the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and FiremenAssociated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen is the trade union representing railway workers in Great Britain who are train drivers or in the line of promotion to train driver....
in 1886 and for a number of years was ASLEF Branch Secretary at Mexborough
Mexborough
Mexborough is a town in the metropolitan borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, situated on the north bank of the River Don west of its confluence with the River Dearne...
, Yorkshire. By 1897 ASLEF's Yorkshire district had elected Fox to the union's Executive Committee and in April 1900 the Executive Committee elected Fox as its President. In September 1901 ASLEF's General Secretary, Thomas Sunter, died in office and in December Fox was one of 10 candidates in the ballot to succeed him.
ASLEF's Rules stated "The General Secretary shall be elected by the votes of the majority of the whole of the members of the Society". However, only 4,369 of ASLEF's 10,502 members (41.6%) had voted and Fox won only 42.6% of the votes that had been cast. The runner up was an EC member and former Organising Secretary, Harry Parfitt, with 1,536 votes. After the votes were counted on 8 December an EC member proposed a run-off election between Fox and Parfitt but the EC voted to take legal advice. On 9 December the EC voted to declare Fox elected as General Secretary and the Assistant General Secretary, Henry Shuttleworth, quickly issued a circular to all branches to that effect. Parfitt challenged the decision and issued his own circular to branches asserting the members' right to demand a run-off ballot, but none was held and Fox took office without further challenge.
Fox supported ASLEF's continuation as an independent craft union
Craft unionism
Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level...
. In 1900 ASLEF had rejected a proposal from the industrial union
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
for UK railway workers, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants
The Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom from 1872 until 1913.The ASRS was an industrial union founded in 1871 with the support of the Liberal MP Michael Bass. Its early years were difficult...
, that ASLEF and the ASRS should merge. Instead ASLEF proposed a Federation, which was enacted in 1903. Fox later reiterated his preference for Federation under the slogan "Organise your grade, Federate your industry". Fox claimed that the employees' victory in the UK's first national railway strike, which was held in 1911 by four railway unions acting jointly, proved there was no need for merger, whereas the ASRS claimed the same victory proved that "one railway union will prove to be most beneficial for all railwaymen".
Political candidate
In 1903 ASLEF affiliated to the Labour Representation Committee and in the 1906 General ElectionUnited Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
Fox was the LRC candidate for Leeds South
Leeds South (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds South was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election...
. He polled 4,030 votes, losing to the Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
incumbent Sir John Lawson Walton
John Lawson Walton
Sir John Lawson Walton KC was a British barrister and Liberal politician.-Family and education:John Lawson Walton was the son of the Reverend John Walton MA, a Wesleyan missionary in Ceylon who later preached at Grahamstown in South Africa and who became President of the Wesleyan Conference for...
, and in 1921 ASLEF's official historian blamed "a strong A.S.R.S. section impairing his chances" for Fox's defeat.
Acrimony between ASLEF and the ASRS caused the Federation to collapse in 1906–07 and spilled over into the Leeds LRC. In January 1908 Lawson Walton died and in the ensuing Leeds South by-election Fox was again the LRC candidate. When the Liberal candidate William Middlebrook
Sir William Middlebrook, 1st Baronet
Sir William Middlebrook, 1st Baronet was an English solicitor and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:...
won, Fox blamed opponents for exploiting the division between railway unions.
Illness and death
By 1910 Fox found himself to be seriously ill but he persisted with his duties. He led ASLEF through the 1911 national railway strike but by 1912 he was very pale and clearly unwell. After ASLEF's 1912 Conference his condition worsened and his doctor prescribed a period of bed rest. He attended the 1913 Conference but delegates voted him a salary increase and three months' leave of absence as he had not taken a holiday since 1910.In 1913 Fox's younger son Charles suffered a painful illness and died in October, and Fox's own condition worsened in December. Because of his illness, in the early part of 1914 there were only two days on which Fox managed to come to work. He died on Sunday 22 March 1914.