The Impact of Union Amalgamation on Membership

Bobbie Oliver

doi:10.1177/2158244016658086

Abstract

In 1980s and 1990s, Australian trade unions tried to combat declining influence and membership numbers by amalgamating with other unions in the same or related industries. Much has been written on union mergers, but little on how these affect the membership. This article aims to contribute to the literature of the impact of mergers and amalgamations on members but studying just one union, The West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers, Firemen’s and Cleaners Union (LEDU; 1898-1999). In 1993, the three federal railway unions—the Australian Railways Union (ARU), the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees (AFULE), and the National Union of Railworkers (NUR), and one bus and tram union, the Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees Association (ATM)—amalgamated to become the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union (RTBU). The LEDU reluctantly joined the RTBU in 1999. This article examines rank and file reaction to the initial proposals and ultimately to becoming part of a larger union, covering workers with many different interests. The article concludes that, irrespective of whether or not amalgamation was inevitable, given the circumstances in Western Australia at the time, its impact upon the rank and file membership was devastating.

Highlights

The LEDU, founded in 1898, covered employees who were known in the railway industry as footplate staff—initially the drivers, firemen, and cleaners of steam locomotives, but later the drivers and assistant drivers on diesel engines
This perceived difference was even more acute when comparing themselves with inspectors and stationmasters, who were members of the Railway Officers’ Union (ROU; Oliver, 2016, p. 460). They were intensely proud of being railwaymen—and engine drivers in particular. Given that these men saw themselves as an elite, with different interests even from other railway staff, how did they react when, in its centenary year, their union merged with members of rival unions, who had not earned the particular mystique of being footplate men? What has amalgamation cost in terms of trade identity? If there has been a marked loss of trade identity, has this contributed to declining membership numbers? In studying this issue through the experience of one particular
This article has not set out to draw conclusions about the full extent of the impact of amalgamation on union rank and file membership, which would be impossible with just one case study

Summary

Introduction

The LEDU, founded in 1898, covered employees who were known in the railway industry as footplate staff—initially the drivers, firemen, and cleaners of steam locomotives, but later the drivers and assistant drivers on diesel engines These men saw themselves as having different working conditions and interests from other railway staff such as guards, signalmen, porters, and ticket collectors. This perceived difference was even more acute when comparing themselves with inspectors and stationmasters (seen as being “bosses”), who were members of the Railway Officers’ Union SAGE Open union, the LEDU, the article aims to provide an insight into the way that amalgamation affected individual lives, as well as its more general impact on the rank and file, and thereby contribute to the literature on this question

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion