Page:Engines and men- the history of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen. A survey of organisation of railways and railway locomotive men (IA enginesmenhistor00rayniala).pdf/152

 1899 Triennial Conference which had decided in favour of the conference with the A.S.R.S. on Federation, and the project had only just been shelved when Taff Vale sprang into prominence again, the third time within a decade. Letters, telegrams, and resolutions poured into the Executive, which did not authorise a strike of the system, but the men came out without the consent of the Executive, and without taking a vote of the members. It was agreed to allow out-of-work pay in accordance with Rule 28 to all affected." but we cannot, as responsible officers of the Society, sanction a violation of the rules." The payments made came to £351, and at the close of the strike the company sued the signalmen for damages, which the A.S.R.S. had to pay on their behalf. This Taff Vale judgment became an important incident in trade union history, and it was only put right in 1906 by an alteration of the law, which safeguarded the right to strike. The Society resolved that: "In the event of other railways ordering our members to do work on the Taff Vale, we are prepared to support such members as per rule if they refuse to do so. We may withdraw our members from any company which may enforce men to go on the Taff Vale." At the close of the strike the Executive complimented the General Secretary upon his prudence during the strike.

October of 1900 was significant for the telegram from the Executive to the A.S.R.S. congratulating them on the return of Richard Bell for Derby, the first working railwayman to enter Parliament. In the same month a levy was made upon branches to meet the extraordinary costs on the Sick Fund, Openshaw calling for £90 and Sheffield for £70 help from the General Fund. The total calls of branches on Head Office in that epidemic were £312. A plebiscite of members was taken on the proposed appointment of an Organising Secretary, and the votes recorded were: For 2,171, against 230. The votes of one branch (Neath) were disqualified because they were all filled up by one person. As the vote was regarded as insufficient, it was resolved to take no further steps until the next Conference.

The year 1901 brought a notable and serious loss to the Society