Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association
The Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in the United Kingdom, principally in Lancashire.
| Founded | 1894 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Bury, Lancashire |
| Location | |
Members | 11,000 (1921) |
| Affiliations | GFTU, NCTTF, TUC |
The union was founded in 1894 as the Amalgamated Society of Clothlookers and Warehousemen, and initially had just 203 members across five autonomous branches. These branches were in Blackburn, Burnley, Bury, Colne and Nelson, Great Harwood and Padiham. Early in the 1900s, these branches established greater co-ordination and the organisation was renamed the General Amalgamation of Clothlookers and Warehousemen. New district associations were established in other towns in Lancashire and Cheshire on the initiative of the amalgamation, and by 1910 it had 21 branches with 2,790 members.[1]
| Union | Founded | Affiliated | Notes[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accrington | 1906 | 1906 | Dissolved 1950s |
| Ashton | 1901 | 1901 | Dissolved 1960s |
| Bacup | 1906 | 1906 | Merged into Rochdale |
| Blackburn | 1894 | 1895 | Dissolved 1976 |
| Bolton | 1906 | 1906 | |
| Burnley | 1890s | 1895 | |
| Bury | 1890s | 1895 | |
| Chorley | 1907 | 1907 | Dissolved 1978 |
| Clitheroe | ? | ? | Dissolved about 1970 |
| Colne | 1903 | 1903 | |
| Colne & Nelson | 1891 | 1895 | Split into Colne and Nelson in 1903 |
| Darwen | 1919 | 1919 | Dissolved about 1970 |
| Farnworth & Hyde | 1900 | 1900 | Merged into Bolton 1907 |
| Great Harwood | 1894 | 1895 | Merged into Blackburn 1940s |
| Haslingden | 1907 | 1907 | Dissolved 1970s |
| Horwich | ? | ? | Dissolved about 1960 |
| Hyde | 1900 | 1900 | |
| Macclesfield | 1910 | 1910 | Dissolved 1910s |
| Manchester & Salford | 1920 | 1920 | Merged into Bury 1950s |
| Nelson | 1903 | 1903 | |
| Oldham | 1907 | 1907 | Dissolved 1970s |
| Padiham | 1890s | 1895 | |
| Preston | 1906 | 1906 | Dissolved 1970s |
| Rawtenstall | 1919 | 1919 | Dissolved 1930s |
| Rochdale | 1902 | 1902 | Dissolved 1970s |
In 1913, the association took its best-known name, the "Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association", and membership rose rapidly, to a peak of 11,000 in 1921. By the 1970s, it was losing members rapidly due to redundancies in the industry. It changed its name again to the Amalgamated Textile Warehouse Operatives Association, and developed strong links with the Amalgamated Textile Workers Union, the two sharing a general secretary.[1]
Most of the association's branches amalgamated or left the association in the early 1980s.[1] The Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union itself merged into the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union (GMBATU) in 1985,[3] and the Warehouse Operatives was dissolved the following year.[1] Two remaining affiliates, in Bolton and Hyde, then merged into GMBATU,[4] while Colne merged into GMBATU only in 1990, Nelson dissolved in 1991, and Padiham continued in existence.
General Secretaries
- 1896: W. Riley
- 1900s: Edward Strong
- 1926: John Lee
- 1950: Thomas Ashe
- 1971: Frank Walker
- 1972: A. Birtwistle
- 1970s: Jack Brown
References
- Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.4, pp.186-187
- Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.182–209
- Gary N. Chalson, Union mergers in hard times: the view from five countries, pp.91-92
- Jurgen Hoffman et al, A Comparison of the Trade Union Merger Process in Britain and Germany, p.55
