Strong union men

[towerman]

Don't know if this would happen today.In the 70s ATOs on the Victoria Line were very hardline union men the night turns picked up on the SB at Seven Sisters but there was an unofficial arrangement that the pickups were done on the NB to give the L/T man more time to get away.One night I saw the night guy let the train go on to Walthamstow,when I asked him why he hadn't took the L/T off he replied " won't do any favours for him he's not a union man".

[whistlekiller2000]

As long as this stays apolitical it can remain.

[Jerome H]

I don't really understand some of the shorthand from this post, but it reminds me of the ITV Tube episode about a strike with the London Bridge supervisor talking about not wanting to let staff go home early if they wouldn't be on strike the next day.

[hobbayne]

ATO - Automatic Train Operator
SB - Southbound
NB - Northbound
L/T - Late Turn

The Vic line was automatic from the beginning. The ATO,s where paid more than the regular drivers on other lines with Guards.
I believe (Although I stand to be corrected) When the Vic opened, The most senior drivers from other lines were offered the jobs at higher rate.
As for Unions, there has always been staunch union support on LT/LUL.

[Jerome H]

May 14, 2016 22:09:35 GMT hobbayne said:

ATO - Automatic Train Operator
SB - Southbound
NB - Northbound
L/T - Late Turn

The Vic line was automatic from the beginning. The ATO,s where paid more than the regular drivers on other lines with Guards.
I believe (Although I stand to be corrected) When the Vic opened, The most senior drivers from other lines were offered the jobs at higher rate.
As for Unions, there has always been staunch union support on LT/LUL.

Thanks for the clarification, but I'm afraid I don't know what a Late Turn is.

[superteacher]

May 15, 2016 6:45:52 GMT Jerome H said:

May 14, 2016 22:09:35 GMT hobbayne said:

ATO - Automatic Train Operator
SB - Southbound
NB - Northbound
L/T - Late Turn

The Vic line was automatic from the beginning. The ATO,s where paid more than the regular drivers on other lines with Guards.
I believe (Although I stand to be corrected) When the Vic opened, The most senior drivers from other lines were offered the jobs at higher rate.
As for Unions, there has always been staunch union support on LT/LUL.

Thanks for the clarification, but I'm afraid I don't know what a Late Turn is.

Turn is transport speak for a shift.

[class411]

Even with all the clarifications, the OP is still pretty opaque.

It's almost as if it was deliberately written to be unintelligible to non LU staff!

Whilst it's clear that it's a reminiscence of the sort of union thuggishness that enabled TPTB to emasculate the unions it's still not clear exactly what happened. (Hope that's not too political.)

Can anyone provide a plain English translation?

[Chris M]

May 13, 2016 16:15:18 GMT towerman said:

Don't know if this would happen today.In the 70s ATOs on the Victoria Line were very hardline union men the night turns picked up on the SB at Seven Sisters but there was an unofficial arrangement that the pickups were done on the NB to give the L/T man more time to get away.One night I saw the night guy let the train go on to Walthamstow,when I asked him why he hadn't took the L/T off he replied " won't do any favours for him he's not a union man".

class411 I think this can be translated to:
I don't know if this would happen today. In the 70s train operators on the Victoria Line (then known as Automatic Train Operators (ATOs)) had a very strong union, and some informal practices had developed out of this.
For example, the ATOs working the late shift were timetabled to drive their last train to Walthamstow Central and then back southbound to Seven Sisters where an ATO working the night shift would take over. Unofficially however, the late shift ATOs would hand over their train to a night shift operator at Seven Sisters northbound - i.e. the night shift ATO would drive the train to Walthamstow and back instead of the late shift ATO, allowing the late shift driver to go home early.
However, on one occasion towerman saw a night shift ATO not relieve the late shift ATO at Seven Sisters northbound as was usually the case. When towerman enquired why this was, the night shift driver replied that he was not going to do the late shift ATO any favours because the latter was not a member of the former's union.

[theblackferret]

Without politicising this, especially as an ex(white-collar)union rep, there was a very heated history right from early in the 1900's between rail unions and management that continued for the better part of a century. For example, engine drivers on all railways around 1900, had the grand total of THREE days holiday a year and were still expected to work on bank holidays as well.

It is also fair to say that working-class wages generally began to rise significantly during the 1950's & early 60's, but that some segments, especially those in BR & the GPO, lagged behind in that respect. A lot of the press were stunned to find, as another example, in 1972/3, that Britain's miners were actually considerably underpaid in comparison with anywhere in Western Europe and didn't hesitate, whatever their political leanings, to state this was the case.

It might be asked if anybody, as is the case with me, has also never met a non-union person who was willing to turn down a pay award etc that their union had bargained for. Which might explain why union members sometimes had, and occasionally still do have, not a lot of time for people they regard as prepared to take and not give.

It would be political to get involved in discussing the rights and wrongs of this, but I think it's fair to state this as background to what towerman mentioned and why it got to there.

[brigham]

Thanks for the clarification. I had guessed the essence of the story, but it was good to have it in plain English.
Most industries have their jargon, mine included. I remember one time a colleague telling me about an incident, again in the '70s, concerning a VTS he operated on behalf of the (then) DTp.
Seemingly, he arrived at work one morning to find that a not over-bright burglar had broken in and stolen two pads of VT21 and a VT22!