Amalgamated Weavers' Association
| Founded | 1884 |
|---|---|
| Date dissolved | 1974 |
| Merged into | Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union |
| Members | 224,000 (1921) |
| Affiliation | TUC, GFTU, UTFWA |
| Country | 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.[1]
The union was founded in 1884 as the Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of Weavers,[2] with the participation of thirty-four local trade unions:[3]
| Location | Founded | Affiliated | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accrington | 1858 | 1884 | |
| Ashton | 1877 | 1884 | |
| Bacup | ? | ? | |
| Bamber Bridge | 1884 | 1884 | Disappeared by 1940 |
| Blackburn | 1854 | 1884 | |
| Bolton | 1865 | 1884 | |
| Burnley | 1870 | 1884 | |
| Bury | 1884 | ? | |
| Chorley | ? | 1884 | |
| Church | 1858 | 1884 | |
| Clayton | ? | 1884 | |
| Clitheroe | by 1860 | 1884 | Disappeared by 1940 |
| Colne | 1879 | 1884 | |
| Darwen | 1857 | 1884 | |
| Glossop | ? | ? | Merged into Hyde in 1922 |
| Harwood | 1858 | 1884 | |
| Haslingden | by 1858 | 1884 | Merged into Rossendale in 1961 |
| Heywood | 1877 | 1884 | |
| Hyde | 1880 | 1884 | |
| Longridge | 1878 | 1884 | Dissolved 1964 |
| Macclesfield | ? | 1884 | Disappeared by 1940 |
| Manchester | ? | ? | |
| Nelson | 1870 | 1884 | |
| Oldham | by 1859 | 1884 | |
| Padiham | 1856 | 1884 | |
| Preston | 1858 | 1884 | |
| Radcliffe | 1852 | ? | Merged into Bury in 1911 |
| Ramsbottom | ? | 1884 | |
| Rishton | 1878 | 1884 | |
| Rochdale | 1878 | 1884 | |
| Rossendale | 1873 | ? | |
| Sabden | ? | 1884 | |
| Skipton | 1902 | ? | |
| Stockport | Unknown | 1884 | |
| Todmorden | 1880 | 1884 | |
| Whitworth | 1882 | 1884 | Merged into Rochdale in 1935 |
| Wigan | 1890 | 1893 |
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.[4] 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.[3]
For many years, the union campaigned against the practice of steaming in cotton mills.[5][6]
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.[2]
Notable leaders of the union include secretary Thomas Birtwistle and president David Shackleton.
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
References
- ↑ Ross M. Martin, The Lancashire Giant: David Shackleton, Labour Leader and Civil Servant, p.22
- 1 2 "Amalgamated Weavers' Association", Archives Hub
- 1 2 Mary Agnes Hamilton, Women at Work: A Brief Introduction to Trade Unionism for Women, p.117
- ↑ Ross M. Martin, The Lancashire Giant: David Shackleton, Labour Leader and Civil Servant, p.20
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Hopwood, Edwin (1969). A History of the Lancashire Cotton Industry and the Amalgamated Weavers' Association. Manchester: The Amalgamated Weavers' Association.
