People Australia

Charles John (Charlie or Charley) Haynes (1874-1927) railway worker and trade union official

Birth: 12 July 1874 at Perth, Western Australia, son of John Haynes, shoemaker, and Mary Ann (also known as Marie Antoinette), née Kellam, late Goldwyer (1838-1895).  Marriage: 1896 at Dongara, WA, to Louisa Hough (1875-1952). They had six daughters and one son. Death: 8 January 1927 at Subiaco WA. Religion: Catholic. 

• Worked in railway construction. About 1900 worked at Kirup as a ganger while living in Bunbury.
• Joined WA Government Railways Association, Bunbury branch, about 1899.
• Was transferred to Perth and elected to branch committee of union. Represented Midland Junction on general committee 1906; later represented Bunbury and then Wagin. Vice-president and president of the Midland Junction branch. Represented Midland Junction branch at triennial conference in 1911. Represented union at Labour Congresses in 1910, 1913 and 1916.
• Member of the State executive of the Australian Labor Party. Lost pre-selection ballot for seat of Guildford in 1916 to W. D. Johnson.
• Appointed general vice-president in 1910 and general president from 1913 until 1917. General secretary of WA Amalgamated Society of Railway Employees (WAASRE) from 1917 to 1923.
• Represented union at Australian Railways Union conference, Melbourne, 1915 and One Big Union conference in Perth in 1920; General Secretary of the Amalgamated Railway Employees’ Union until his death.
• Director of Westralian Worker.
• Union advocate in arbitration court cases for WAASRE. Conducted cases before WA Arbitration Court, 1919-1921, and involved in many appeals cases.

Sources
Birth certificate, Perth 15785/ 1874; Marriage certificate, Irwin 696/ 1897; Death certificate, Perth 64/ 1927; Westralian Worker, 27 July 1923 p 5, 14 January 1927, p 11.