Fred Bramley (27 September 1874 – 10 October 1925) was the second

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the British

Trade Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of about 5.5 million members. P ...

(TUC). Born in

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near

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, Bramley completed an apprenticeship as a cabinet-maker, then became active in the

Alliance Cabinet Makers' Association The Alliance Cabinet Makers' Association was a trade union representing skilled furniture makers in the United Kingdom. History In 1865, cabinet makers in London went on strike and won a 10% increase in wages. This success inspired them to form ...

and a member of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(ILP). During the 1890s, he was involved with the

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van movement, and also with the Bradford Trades Council.Barbara Nield and John Saville, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol. IX, pp. 16-20 Bramley moved to London around the turn of the century, and through his membership of the ILP, was adopted as the candidate of the "Aberdeen Labour Representation Committee" in the 1907 Aberdeen South by-election.F. W. S. Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results, 1885-1918'', p. xvi In 1912 he became the national organiser of his union, which following a merger was known as the

National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association The National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association (NAFTA) was a trade union representing workers involved in making furniture in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1902 from the merger of the Alliance Cabinet Makers' Assoc ...

. In this role, he supported workers involved in a larger number of lock-outs and strikes. He opposed British involvement in

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, and from 1916 to 1919 he served as chairman of the

London Labour Party London Labour is the devolved, regional part of the Labour Party in Greater London. It is the largest political party in London, currently holding a majority of the executive mayoralties, a majority of local councils, council seats and parli ...

. In 1915, Bramley was elected to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

' (TUC) Parliamentary Committee, and in 1917 he became its assistant general secretary, in which role he helped reorganize the congress, forming a new general council. He stood again for Labour in

Plymouth Devonport Plymouth, Devonport was, from 1832 until 2010, a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covered part of the city of Plymouth in South West En ...

at the

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and 1922 general elections. In 1920 he was one of the joint secretaries of the National Council of Action alongside Jim Middleton and H. S. Lindsay. In 1923 became general secretary of the TUC, although he achieved little in the role due to poor health. He joined its delegation to the

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in 1924 and died, while attending an

International Federation of Trade Unions The International Federation of Trade Unions (also known as the Amsterdam International) was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war International Secretariat of National Tr ...

meeting, in

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in 1925.

References

TUC History Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bramley, Fred General secretaries of the Trades Union Congress 1874 births 1925 deaths Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress People from Otley