Volume One - Into the Victorian Age - Some newspaper reports from the 1880's

It was only a little over two years ago since the Amalgamated Sailors and Firemen's Union of Great Britain had been formed. It was formed in the North of England, and the founders were ridiculed by the shipowners, capitalists, and the public. It was said that "Jack" was too dishonest and dissipated a fellow to combine even for his own interests. What, however, had been the result? Why, they were able to throw the lie back in the faces of the revilers, for they had already an organisation of about 75,000 or 85,000 men, and those who had ridiculed them had since had opportunities for seeing what a power for good they possessed in the regulation of the rate of wages. (Hear, hear.)

At the time the organisation was formed the promoters were called lunatics, madmen, and vile agitators. He was glad, however, to say that the vile agitation had improved the condition of the sailors and firemen very considerably. (Hear, hear.) He urged those present to join the union, and said the mother branch in the present instance would be the Cardiff Union, where there were nearly 350 members, representing all the men employed at the Bute Docks. They had already formed a branch at Barry, and if they could get Swansea, Newport, and Bristol again to join, they would soon be able to get rid of the all the foreign element, and the whole of the Bristol Channel would be protected by union men. (Applause.)

The sailors and firemen had come to terms with the good shipowners, and they were now dealing with the bad shipowners. It was for the riggers, boatmen, and hobblers also to deal in the same way with the contractors, so as to have a better system of labour and pay than they had at present. He, therefore, hoped before that meeting was over all present would join the union. (Cheers.)

Mr. T. Wingfield, secretary of the Cardiff Union, then gave a similar address to that which he delivered before the Barry dock members, and reported in the last issue of the Barry Dock News. He felt the members could not possibly obtain adequate protection unless they banded themselves by means of a trades union. He hoped, however, whatever they would do they would not admit labourers into the branch, for an arrangement to that effect had been made with the secretary of the Labourers' Union at Cardiff, so that the different classes of labour interests should not clash with each other.

Several detail questions were put to Mr. Wingfield, and some time was taken up in discussing the same. Eventually the chairman ruled the question that the different classes of labour should not clash with each other. The first business, he said, was to form the branch, and then those questions could be gone into in detail.