The organisation was founded in 1912, when a group of farm labourers from Turriff asked the Aberdeen Trades Council to help them form a union.
Joseph Forbes Duncan, secretary of the trades council, threw himself into this, organising meetings across the county, and within a few weeks, he established the union, with 1,000 members in nine local branches.
[1] Initially, Gavin Brown Clark served as the union's president, and Duncan was vice-president.
In 1915, it was decided to appoint an honorary secretary, and Duncan won election to the post.
Three years later, the headquarters were moved to Stirling, and Duncan became the full-time general secretary.