Amalgamated_Weavers'_Association

Amalgamated Weavers' Association

Amalgamated Weavers' Association

Former trade union of the United Kingdom


The Amalgamated Weavers' Association, often known as the Weavers' Amalgamation, was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Initially, it operated in competition with the North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association in part of its area, and it was therefore nicknamed the Second Amalgamation.[2]

Quick Facts Merged into, Founded ...

History

The union was founded in 1884 as the Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of Weavers,[3] with the participation of thirty-four local trade unions:[4]

More information Union, Founded ...

The majority of the union's members were female: in 1894, 45,000 of its 80,000 total membership were women. This was unusual; outside the cotton industry, very few women were members of trade unions.[8] By 1937, membership had risen to 94,000, and the proportion of women had grown further, to a total of 75,000 of its members.[4]

For many years, the union campaigned against the practice of steaming in cotton mills.[9][1]

The union took its final name in 1923. In 1974, it merged with the National Union of Textile and Allied Workers to form the Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union.[3]

Affiliated membership

The total membership of the union's affiliates grew steadily, peaked in 1922, then fell almost continuously until the union was dissolved.[1]

More information Year, Membership ...

Leadership

General Secretaries

1884: Thomas Birtwistle
1885: William Henry Wilkinson
1906: Joseph Cross
1925: John C. Parker
1927: Andrew Naesmith
1953: Lewis Wright
1968: Harry Kershaw
1971: Fred Hague

Presidents

1884: David Holmes
1906: David Shackleton
1911: John William Ogden
1930: James Hindle
1937: James Bell
1947: Carey Hargreaves
1949: Lewis Wright
1954: Harold Bradley
1960: Ernest Thornton
1964: Fred Hague
1970: Hilda Unsworth

References

  1. Hopwood, Edwin (1969). A History of the Lancashire Cotton Industry and the Amalgamated Weavers' Association. Manchester: The Amalgamated Weavers' Association.
  2. Ross M. Martin, The Lancashire Giant: David Shackleton, Labour Leader and Civil Servant, p.22
  3. Mary Agnes Hamilton, Women at Work: A Brief Introduction to Trade Unionism for Women, p.117
  4. Report on Trade Unions in 1905-1907. London: Board of Trade. 1909. pp. 30–35.
  5. Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.91-124
  6. Membership figure for 1910
  7. Ross M. Martin, The Lancashire Giant: David Shackleton, Labour Leader and Civil Servant, p.20
  8. Fowler, Alan (2003). Lancashire Cotton Operatives and Work,1900-1950: A social history of Lancashire cotton operatives in the twentieth century. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0 7546 01161.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Amalgamated_Weavers'_Association, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.