Transport Salaried Staffs' Association

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, Derby, Dublin, Manchester, York and Glasgow.

TSSA

Full name	Transport Salaried Staffs' Association
Founded	1897
Members	22,300
Affiliation	TUC, ICTU, STUC, CSEU, ETF, Labour Party[1]
Key people	Mick Carney, president Manuel Cortes, general secretary
Office location	2nd Floor, 17 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4SQ
Country	United Kingdom, Ireland
Website	www.tssa.org.uk

TSSA has approximately 22,300 members in the UK and Ireland. While principally a union for people in the railway industry, the effect of the nationalisation and subsequent privatisations following the Second World War has meant that it has members working for railway companies, shipping companies, bus companies, travel agencies, airlines, call centres, and IT companies.

Organisation

TSSA's former headquarters in London

Individual members are allocated to branches. Historically branches were organised geographically and by grade, e.g. Liverpool; Dublin No. 1; Crewe No. 4 Technical; Crewe Management Staffs (the separate branches for different grades of staff were so that people with grievances against their managers wouldn't find those same managers as members of their branch). In Ireland, branches are still organised on this basis, but in the UK starting in 1998 there was a reorganisation such that members of most branches are employed by a single company e.g. Virgin Midlands - this was required in the fragmented world of the privatised railway because the private companies would not allow access for non-employees onto their premises.

Branches are in turn allocated to divisions - there are 14 geographical divisions, plus one for London Transport. Each division has a Divisional Council which meets at least twice a year, and members in each division elect a member of the Executive Committee (EC). EC members are elected for a three-year term, subject to a maximum of two consecutive terms of office (but can stand again after 3 years off the committee). The Executive Committee meets approximately ten times a year in London and continuously during the four-day annual conference held each May. The EC is responsible for the efficient running of the union, the employment of staff (of whom there are about 70), the oversight of the union's finances, and the implementation of decisions of Annual Conference.

The Annual Conference is the supreme decision-making body of the union. Each branch may send one delegate to the Conference, unless a branch has more than 200 members, in which case it has two delegates. Each branch can submit two motions and two amendments to motions to the Conference Agenda, and once every five years can submit two amendments to the union's Rule Book.

Organisation in Ireland is slightly different. The whole of Ireland forms one Division. As trade union law in the Republic of Ireland forbids trade unions being run by people not resident on the island of Ireland, the EC and Annual Conference cannot directly control the association's activity in the republic as they do in Britain. Instead, the Irish Divisional Council is constituted as the Irish Committee and chaired by the EC member for Ireland, and it operates in a similar manner to the EC. There is a biennial Irish Conference of delegates from all the Irish branches, to set policy solely relating to Ireland. When Irish branches want the Annual Conference to do something, motions to Annual Conference are normally phrased as 'requests' that the Irish Committee consider doing something rather than as the more normal 'instructions' that the Executive Committee do something.

History

The union was founded in Sheffield in 1897 as the National Association of General Railway Clerks, although it was a narrow decision to found the union. The railway companies were strongly opposed to trade unions and two earlier attempts to form a clerks' union had failed and, discouraged, the organisers decided by a majority of only one vote to try a third time - this time successfully. In 1899 it was renamed the Railway Clerks' Association (RCA), and in 1951 it adopted its current name.[2]

The early years were difficult. The third General Secretary, John Stopford-Challener, shot himself in Paris's Bois de Boulogne in 1906; it was only after his suicide that it was discovered that he had absconded with the union's money. After this came the era of A.G. Walkden, who as General Secretary for 30 years led the union to the peak of its influence; the head office in London, built in the early 1960s, was named after him. The railway companies refused to recognise the trade unions until after the strike of 1919, but after that time membership rose steadily, to a peak of some 91,500 in the early 1950s. The subsequent closure of uneconomic railway lines, the Beeching axe, and especially the computerisation of railway offices led to large scale reductions in the eligible membership. Membership was around 75,000 in 1970, 71,000 in 1980, and 39,000 in 1990. There was a rapid loss of around 25% of its membership in the mid to late 1990s because the grades of staff covered by the union were the ones hardest hit when British Rail was broken up from 1994 onwards; however the Executive Committee adopted a policy of seeking to vigorously recruit additional members particularly in those areas such as travel agencies which had not been the principal focus of the union in the past. This has led to more stable membership figures, including a small increase at the turn of the century.[3]

The union has been involved in at least one London Underground strike, between 6 and 7 September 2010.[4]

In July 2015, TSSA endorsed Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election.[5] TSSA National Political Officer, Sam Tarry spearheaded Corbyn's second leadership campaign.[6]

In 2018, preparatory work for the HS2 railway meant that the TSSA had to vacate its head office since the 1960s, at Walkden House in Melton Street, adjacent to London’s Euston Station, and moved to a new head office in Devonshire Square, near Liverpool Street Station.

Election results

From 1918 until 1992, the union sponsored a large number of Labour Party candidates, many of whom won election.

Election	Constituency	Candidate	Votes	% share	Position
1918 general election	Enfield	William E. Hill	6,176	37.5	2[7]
	Manchester Blackley	Arnold Townend	3,659	25.0	2[7]
	St Pancras South East	Herbert Romeril	2,189	16.9	4[7]
	Watford	George Lathan	4,952	25.4	2[7]
	Wolverhampton West	Alexander Walkden	10,158	42.2	2[7]
	York	Thomas Harry Gill	4,822	18.0	3[7]
1922 by-election	Wolverhampton West	Alexander Walkden	13,799	45.1	2[8]
1922 general election	Bolton	Samuel Lomax	20,559	16.1	3[9]
	Cirencester and Tewkesbury	William Robert Robins	9,195	35.8	2[9]
	Enfield	George Lathan	9,820	45.6	2[9]
	High Peak	Frank Anderson	7,698	27.1	2[9]
	Manchester Blackley	Arnold Townend	5,580	26.8	3[9]
	St Pancras South East	Herbert Romeril	5,609	30.5	2[9]
	Wolverhampton West	Alexander Walkden	15,190	46.1	2[9]
	York	Thomas Gill	10,106	29.6	2[9]
1923 general election	Cirencester and Tewkesbury	William Robert Robins	7,849	33.8	2[9]
	High Peak	Frank Anderson	5,684	20.8	3[9]
	St Pancras South East	Herbert Romeril	7,866	41.6	1[9]
	Sheffield Park	George Lathan	9,050	39.4	2[9]
	Stockport	Arnold Townend	16,340	18.0	5[9]
1924 general election	Blackburn	Thomas Gill	24,317	21.8	4[10]
	Edinburgh West	George Mathers	9,603	33.1	2[10]
	Forfarshire	Charles Gallie	3,736	22.9	3[10]
	Heywood and Radcliffe	Alexander Walkden	15,307	44.4	2[10]
	St Pancras South East	Herbert Romeril	10,463	45.5	2[10]
	Sheffield Park	George Lathan	11,576	45.2	2[10]
	Stockport	Arnold Townend	21,986	24.8	3[10]
1925 by-election	Stockport	Arnold Townend	20,219	36.5	1[11]
1929 general election	Blackburn	Thomas Gill	35,723	25.0	2[12]
	Bristol South	Alexander Walkden	23,591	56.5	1[12]
	Edinburgh West	George Mathers	15,795	38.6	1[12]
	Forfarshire	Charles Gallie	5,257	25.0	3[12]
	Hackney Central	Frederick Charles Watkins	12,462	37.3	1[12]
	St Pancras South East	Herbert Romeril	13,173	47.9	1[12]
	Sheffield Park	George Lathan	20,304	51.4	1[12]
	Stockport	Arnold Townend	30,955	27.4	1[12]
1931 general election	Blackburn	Thomas Gill	25,030	16.6	4[13]
	Bristol South	Alexander Walkden	17,174	39.1	2[13]
	Edinburgh West	George Mathers	12,704	28.8	2[13]
	Hackney Central	Fred Watkins	9,295	28.5	2[13]
	St Pancras South East	Herbert Romeril	8,684	32.1	2[13]
	Sheffield Park	George Lathan	15,783	37.4	2[13]
	Stockport	Arnold Townend	23,350	17.0	3[13]
1935 general election	Ashton-under-Lyne	Fred Simpson	14,140	50.2	1[14]
	Battersea South	Herbert Romeril	15,821	42.7	2[14]
	Bristol South	Alexander Walkden	22,586	50.4	1[14]
	Carlisle	Arnold Townend	13,956	41.0	2[14]
	East Ham North	Thomas Burden	14,762	49.1	2[14]
	Hackney Central	Fred Watkins	15,322	51.6	1[14]
	Halifax	Arthur Longbottom	21,471	39.5	2[14]
	Linlithgowshire	George Mathers	20,905	54.1	1[14]
	Sheffield Park	George Lathan	21,153	51.5	1[14]
	Whitehaven	Frank Anderson	14,794	48.9	1[14]
1936 by-election	Clay Cross	George Ridley	24,290	75.1	1[15]
1945 general election	Hackney Central	Henry Hynd	14,810	67.2	1[16]
	Kensington North	George Rogers	16,838	56.6	1[16]
	Linlithgowshire	George Mathers	24,762	64.1	1[16]
	Liverpool Walton	James Haworth	18,385	43.6	1[16]
	South East Essex	Ray Gunter	25,581	53.8	1[16]
	Sowerby	John Belcher	17,710	50.8	1[16]
	Swansea West	Percy Morris	18,098	58.0	1[16]
	Wellingborough	George Lindgren	22,416	57.7	1[16]
	Whitehaven	Frank Anderson	18,568	61.1	1[16]
1950 general election	Accrington	Henry Hynd	23,295	48.8	1[17]
	Carlisle	Alex Hargreaves	19,031	46.5	1[17]
	Doncaster	Ray Gunter	24,449	50.9	1[17]
	Kensington North	George Rogers	21,615	50.7	1[17]
	Lanark	Tom Steele	19,205	49.1	2[17]
	Liverpool Walton	James Haworth	21,983	41.4	2[17]
	Pudsey	Geoffrey Collings	18,205	41.2	2[17]
	Rutland and Stamford	Tom Bradley	13,712	41.3	2[17]
	Stoke on Trent North	Albert Davies	36,896	71.6	1[17]
	Swansea West	Percy Morris	26,273	53.8	1[17]
	Wellingborough	George Lindgren	21,640	47.1	1[17]
1950 by-election	West Dunbartonshire	Tom Steele	20,367	50.4	1
1951 general election	Accrington	Henry Hynd	24,802	52.3	1[18]
	Carlisle	Alex Hargreaves	19,648	46.8	1[18]
	Chelmsford	James Haworth	23,775	45.0	2[18]
	Doncaster	Ray Gunter	24,621	49.6	2[18]
	Kensington North	George Rogers	22,686	53.0	1[18]
	Pudsey	Geoffrey Collings	20,782	46.3	2[18]
	Rutland and Stamford	Tom Bradley	15,127	45.9	2[18]
	Stoke on Trent North	Albert Davies	36,692	71.4	1[18]
	Swansea West	Percy Morris	26,061	52.2	1[18]
	Wellingborough	George Lindgren	24,113	52.4	1[18]
	West Dunbartonshire	Tom Steele	21,799	51.3	1[18]
1955 general election	Accrington	Henry Hynd	22,502	51.5	1[19]
	Bolton West	James Haworth	20,014	44.6	2[19]
	Carlisle	Alex Hargreaves	19,701	49.5	2[19]
	Doncaster	Ray Gunter	22,938	48.3	2[19]
	Kensington North	George Rogers	20,226	53.9	1[19]
	Oldham East	Charles Mapp	18,805	43.2	2[19]
	Rutland and Stamford	Tom Bradley	14,856	45.7	2[19]
	Swansea West	Percy Morris	22,647	51.2	1[19]
	Wellingborough	George Lindgren	22,745	51.0	1[19]
	West Dunbartonshire	Tom Steele	21,854	52.3	1[19]
1959 general election	Accrington	Henry Hynd	22,242	50.7	1[20]
	Carlisle	Alex Hargreaves	19,950	47.6	2[20]
	Kensington North	George Rogers	14,925	42.8	1[20]
	Oldham East	Charles Mapp	19,329	44.4	1[20]
	Preston South	Tom Bradley	18,935	46.3	2[20]
	Southwark	Ray Gunter	25,036	64.0	1[20]
	Wellingborough	George Lindgren	22,358	49.3	2[20]
	West Dunbartonshire	Tom Steele	22,105	52.5	1[20]
1962 by-election	Leicester North East	Tom Bradley	11,274	41.5	1
1964 general election	Accrington	Henry Hynd	20,561	49.7	1[21]
	Kensington North	George Rogers	15,283	49.5	1[21]
	Leicester North East	Tom Bradley	15,494	46.4	1[21]
	Oldham East	Charles Mapp	18,112	45.4	1[21]
	Southwark	Ray Gunter	22,426	68.8	1[21]
	Wellingborough	Harry Howarth	19,592	42.3	1[21]
	West Dunbartonshire	Tom Steele	21,079	50.8	1[21]
1966 general election	Kensington North	George Rogers	16,012	54.8	1[22]
	Leicester North East	Tom Bradley	17,007	54.0	1[22]
	Southwark	Ray Gunter	21,855	73.6	1[22]
	Wellingborough	Harry Howarth	24,705	52.4	1[22]
	West Dunbartonshire	Tom Steele	21,636	52.3	1[22]
1970 general election	Derby South	Walter Johnson	19,407	54.4	1[23]
	Leeds South East	Stan Cohen	10,930	62.7	1[23]
	Leicester North East	Tom Bradley	15,016	48.8	1[23]
	Southwark	Ray Gunter	16,834	67.3	1[23]
Feb 1974 general election	Croydon Central	Richard Rosser	20,039	38.0	2[24]
	Derby South	Walter Johnson	26,613	47.4	1[24]
	Hendon South	Richard Hadley	11,088	27.7	3[24]
	Leeds South East	Stan Cohen	17,827	53.1	1[24]
	Leicester East	Tom Bradley	23,474	47.7	1[24]
Oct 1974 general election	Derby South	Walter Johnson	26,342	51.0	1[25]
	Hendon South	Richard Hadley	11,903	32.9	2[25]
	Leeds South East	Stan Cohen	17,160	61.2	1[25]
	Leicester East	Tom Bradley	20,688	44.8	1[25]
1979 general election	Derby South	Walter Johnson	26,945	50.0	1[26]
	Leeds South East	Stan Cohen	15,921	56.3	1[26]
	Leicester East	Tom Bradley	23,844	46.9	1[26]
1983 general election	South Derbyshire	Peter Kent	17,296	29.2	2[27]
1987 general election	East Lothian	John Home Robertson	24,583	48.0	1[28]
	Swansea West	Alan Williams	22,089	48.5	1[28]
1992 general election	East Lothian	John Home Robertson	25,537	46.5	1[28]
	Swansea West	Alan Williams	23,238	53.0	1[28]

Office holders

General Secretaries

Manuel Cortes, General Secretary since 2011, speaking at the 2016 Labour Party Conference

1897: Charles Bassett-Vincent[29]

1898: John Hereford[29]

1898: F. Parrish (acting)[29]

1899: John Stopford Challener[29]

1906: William J. West (acting)[29]

1906: Alexander Walkden[29]

1936: William Stott[29]

1940: Charles Gallie[29]

1947: Fred Bostock[29]

1948: Percy Heady (acting)[29]

1949: George Thorneycroft[29]

1953: Bill Webber[29]

1963: John Bothwell[29]

1968: Percy Coldrick[29]

1973: David Mackenzie[29]

1977: Tom Bradley (acting)[29]

1977: Tom Jenkins[29]

1982: Bert Lyons[29]

1989: Richard Rosser[29]

2004: Gerry Doherty

2011: Manuel Cortes[30]

Presidents

1897: J. Batty Langley[31]

1899: W. D. Leaver[31]

1900: Fortescue Flannery[31]

1906: William J. West[31]

1908: George Lathan[31]

1912: Herbert Romeril[31]

1916: W. E. Williams[31]

1919: Harry Gill[31]

1932: Fred Simpson[31]

1937: Frederick Watkins[31]

1943: Percy Morris[31]

1953: James Haworth[31]

1956: Ray Gunter[31]

1964: Tom Bradley[31]

1977: Walter Johnson[31]

1981: Jim Mills[31]

1987: Geoff Henman[31]

1993: Brenda Hanks [31]

1997: David Horton[31]

2001: David Porter[31]

2005: Andy Bain

2011: Harriet Yeo

2013: Mick Carney

Treasurers

Until 1906 the General Secretary also controlled the unions' funds. John Stopford-Challener's embezzlement proved that this was an unwise arrangement and the office of National Treasurer was then instituted.

1906: J. M. Roberts[32]

1920: W. E. Williams[32]

1927: Arnold Ernest Townend[32]

1934: Frederick Watkins MP[32]

1937: Percy Morris[32]

1943: James Haworth MP[32]

1953: Ray J. Gunter MP[32]

1956: Lord Lindgren[32]

1961: Tom G. Bradley MP[32]

1965: Walter Johnson MP[32]

1977: Jock Newall (acting)[32]

1977: Jim Mills[32]

1981: Stanley Cohen MP[32]

1984: Geoff Henman[32]

1987: Brenda Hanks[32]

1993: Peter Holloway (acting)[32]

1993: David Horton[32]

1997: David Porter[32]

2001: Annie Breen[32]

2004: Amarjit Singh (acting)[32]

2004: Andy Bain[32]

2005: Harriet Yeo[32]

2011: Mick Carney

2013: Andy Bain

2015: Jason Turvey

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. Malcolm Wallace (1996). "Birth of the Union". Single or Return. TSSA. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
3. Malcolm Wallace; Dave Hillam (2003) [1996]. "RCA/TSSA Branches & Membership". Single or Return. TSSA. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
4. http://www.24dash.com/news/local_government/2010-09-06-safety-row-erupts-as-millions-prepare-for-tube-strike-travel-chaos#.U2UMEEPmZhE Archived 2014-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
5. "TSSA backs Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader and Angela Eagle for deputy". Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
6. Dale, Ian (24 September 2016). "The Top 100 People on the Left List 2016". Ian Dale. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
7. Wallace, Malcolm (1996). Single or return. Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. p. 130.
8. Wallace, Malcolm (1996). Single or return. Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. pp. 194–195.
9. Wallace, Malcolm (1996). Single or return. Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. pp. 162–165.
10. "Labour's candidates". Manchester Guardian. 11 October 1924.
11. Wallace, Malcolm (1996). Single or return. Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. p. 165.
12. "List of Labour Candidates and Election Results, May 30th, 1929". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 24–44. 1929.
13. "List of Endorsed Labour Candidates and Election Results, October 27, 1931". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 11–27. 1931.
14. "List of Endorsed Labour Candidates and Election Results, November 14, 1935". Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 8–23. 1935.
15. "Parliamentary by-elections". Report of the Annual Labour Party Conference: 38–45. 1937.
16. Labour Party, Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 232-248.
17. "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, February 23rd, 1950". Report of the Forty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 179–198. 1950.
18. "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, 25th October, 1951". Report of the Fiftieth Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 184–203. 1951.
19. Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 255–275.
20. Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 179–201.
21. Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 158–180.
22. Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 308–330.
23. Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 289–312.
24. Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 371–390.
25. Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 391–411.
26. Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 406–431.
27. Wallace, Malcolm (1996). Single or return. Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. pp. 445–446.
28. Wallace, Malcolm (1996). Single or return. Transport Salaried Staffs' Association. p. 470.
29. Malcolm Wallace; Dave Hillam (2003) [1996]. "General Secretaries of the Association". Single or Return. TSSA. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
30. "Gibraltarian wins second term at head of UK transport union". Gibraltar Chronicle. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
31. Malcolm Wallace; Dave Hillam (2003) [1996]. "Presidents of the Association". Single or Return. TSSA. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
32. Malcolm Wallace; Dave Hillam (2003) [1996]. "Treasurers of the Association". Single or Return. TSSA. Retrieved 15 December 2007.

External links

• TSSA British website
• TSSA Irish website
• Single or Return - the official history of the TSSA
• Catalogue of the TSSA archives, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick