Early history 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, 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. 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. This 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. 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. In the spring of 1961, there were allegations that ETU ballots were being rigged by communists. In June 1961, the ETU was taken to court by
Jock Byrne and
Frank Chapple, arguing that members of the CPGB had been part of a "conspiracy to defraud" in internal elections. 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.
Merger In July 1968, the ETU merged with the
Plumbing Trades Union to form the
Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union. ==Election results==