- Source: Mick Whelan
John Michael Whelan (born 1960) is the 18th General Secretary of the British trade union ASLEF, a position he has held since 2011.
Early life
Whelan was born in Paddington to Irish parents and grew up in North West London. His mother worked in a sweet shop at Euston station and his father was a bricklayer. Whelan credited his father with politicising him, although both his parents had left-wing views: his father was a member of the Socialist Workers Party whilst he described his mother's beliefs as "hard Labour". He passed his eleven-plus and attended London Oratory School: he planned to attend university after leaving school, however he entered employment instead after his father suffered injuries from a fall from some scaffolding and was unable to continue working.
Career
He began working in the rail industry in 1984, becoming a train driver. Previously he had been a bank clerk.
= ASLEF
=Whelan was elected General Secretary of ASLEF on 11 October 2011, when he received 3683 votes compared to 3458 for Simon Weller. Previously he had been Midlands District Organiser (ASLEF District 6) for the union. In the first ballot on 19 September 2011 he received 3,284 votes, against 3,115 for Simon Weller. He became General Secretary on 5 December 2011.
He is also Editor of Aslef Journal (a nominal position for the General Secretary), published by TU ink.
Whelan supports Brexit as he believes that
"the EU has become a rich man’s club which offers plenty for the boss class – but very little for the ordinary hard-working men and women trying to earn a living".
Whelan is a prominent supporter of the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and highlighted this when rejecting claims by a UK government minister that ASLEF was failing to show solidarity with Ukrainians by striking during Eurovision 2023, which was hosted by the UK on behalf of Ukraine.
Personal life
Whelan is a supporter of Chelsea football club.
He is married to Lorraine Phelan MBE, the Chief Biomedical Scientist for special haematology at St Mary's Hospital, London. They live at a house in Wembley and have two boys including a son born in 1995.
References
External links
Mick's Column at ASLEF
= News items
=London Midland in March 2011
= Video clips
=Justice for Colombia in September 2012 (introduced by Billy Hayes)
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Tim nasional sepak bola Republik Irlandia
- Universitas Nasional Irlandia, Galway
- The Crown (seri televisi)
- Skuad Kejuaraan Eropa UEFA 1988
- Grup F Piala Dunia FIFA 1990
- Chelsea F.C. musim 2009–10
- Babak gugur Piala Dunia FIFA 1990
- Musim kebakaran hutan Australia 2019–2020
- Liga Championship Inggris 2013–2014
- Daftar pemain Manchester United F.C. (25–99 penampilan)
- Mick Whelan
- ASLEF
- Michael Whelan (disambiguation)
- London Oratory School
- Portillo moment
- 2024 State Opening of Parliament
- Until the Hunter
- 2022–present United Kingdom railway strikes
- National Executive Committee of the Labour Party
- Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation
