William Abraham (trade unionist)
William John | |
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Personal details | |
Born | 14 June 1842 Cwmafan, Glamorgan, Wales |
Died | 14 May 1922 Pentre, Glamorgan, Wales | (aged 79)
Political party | Labour Party (1910–1922) Liberal–Labour (1885–1910) |
William Abraham (14 June 1842 – 14 May 1922), universally known by his bardic name, Mabon, was a Welsh trade unionist and Liberal/Labour politician, and a member of parliament (MP) from 1885 to 1920. Although an MP for 35 years, it was as a trade unionist that Abraham is most well known. Initially a pioneer of trade unionism, who fought to enshrine the principle of workers' representation against the opposition of the coal-owners, he was regarded in later life as a moderate voice believing that disputes should be solved through conciliation rather than industrial action. This drew him into conflict with younger and more militant leaders from the 1890s onwards. Although the defeat of the miners in the Welsh coal strike of 1898 was a clear defeat for Mabon's strategy, his prestige was sufficient to ensure that he became the first president of the South Wales Miners' Federation which was established in the wake of the dispute. Abraham was noted for his powerful speaking voice, and was a renowned orator in English and Welsh.
Early life
Abraham was born in
It was around the 1870s that he became known as a singer and poet, adopting the eisteddfod name Gwilym Mabon, soon Mabon was the title by which he would be best known.[3] Abraham continued working in the mining industry and by 1871 was working at the Caergynydd Pit in Waunarlwydd, near Swansea.
Early trade union history
In 1871 Abraham became a representative for the cause of his fellow miners, when he negotiated for the workers of the Caergynnydd Pit in a dispute with the managers.[4] During the dispute, Lewis Morgan of the Abergorchy Colliery, who was the Rhondda advocate of the Amalgamated Association of Miners, travelled to Waunarlwydd to speak to the miners. Lewis persuaded Abraham to form a Union at the colliery, and Abraham was eventually appointed as the miners' agent for the Loughor District of the A.A.M. in 1872, and represented the district at national conferences in Manchester and Wallsend.[4] Despite helping to enroll 8,000 miners into the A.A.M. for his district, funds for the union were severely stretched after a series on strikes during the early to mid-1870s. In 1875, during another strike, the (mine) Owners' Association, discovering the A.A.M. was low on funds, ruthlessly switched a 10 percent wage cut to a 15 percent cut. Only the anthracite district remained loyal to Mabon.
The miners were forced back to work and the A.A.M. became bankrupt and was dissolved.
Parliamentary career
In 1874 Abraham was briefly mentioned as a possible candidate in the
Abraham was elected at the 1885 general election as the Liberal–Labour (Lib–Lab) MP for the new Rhondda constituency in Wales, one of twelve Lib–Lab MPs elected that year. However, following his election, Abraham did not seek to develop a power-base beyond the Liberal association which was dominated by those who had opposed him in 1885. Although he championed the cause of labour he believed that it could be accommodated within the Liberal programme.[9]
In 1898 he was one of the chief negotiators on behalf of the colliers in the Welsh coal strike of 1898, and although the miners were unsuccessful in their action it saw the creation of the South Wales Miners' Federation of which Abraham became president.
Before his re-election at the January 1910 general election, he and most other Lib–Lab MPs from the Miners' Federation of Great Britain joined the Labour Party.
He held the Rhondda seat until its abolition at the 1918 general election, when he was elected for the new Rhondda West constituency. He resigned his seat in 1920, and died two years later aged 79.
Notes
- ^ A door boy opened and closed the doors regulating the passage of air for ventilation underground.
References
Sources
Books and Journals
- ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- Lewis, E.D. (1959). The Rhondda Valleys. London: Phoenix House.
- Lloyd, John Edward; Jenkins, R.T. (1958). The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940. Cardiff: William Lewis.
- McCririck, Mary (1963). Stories of Wales: Book 3. Denbigh: Gee & Sons Ltd.
- ISBN 0-19-821760-9.
- Morgan, Kenneth O (1991). Wales in British Politics 1868–1922 (3rd ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0708311245.
- Pretty, David A. (June 2001). "David Morgan ('Dai o'r Nant'), miners' agent. A Portrait of Leadership in the South Wales Coalfield". Welsh History Review. 20 (3): 495–531. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- Williams, Chris (1996). Democratic Rhondda: Politics and Society 1885-1951. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
Online
- Lloyd, John Edward; Jenkins, R.T. (1958). The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940. Cardiff: William Lewis.