Amalgamated Weavers' Association

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]

Amalgamated Weavers' Association
Merged intoAmalgamated Textile Workers' Union
Founded1884
Dissolved1974
HeadquartersChronicle Buildings, 74 Corporation Street, Manchester
Location
Members
219,329 (1921)[1]
AffiliationsTUC, GFTU, NCTTF, UTFWA

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]

UnionFounded[1]Affiliated[1]Members (1907)[5]Notes[6]
Accrington and District185818844,409Merged into Accrington, Church & Oswaldtwistle in 1949
Ashton-under-Lyne and District187718845,319Merged into South-East Lancashire and Cheshire in 1972
Bacup and District1888 ?1,889Merged into Todmorden, Bacup and District in 1952
Bamber Bridge and District18841884796Merged into Preston and District in 1940
Barnoldswick and District1880s ?990
Blackburn and District1854188414,800
Blackburn Protection188519004,369Merged into Blackburn in 1949
Bolton and District186518845,059Left 1885, rejoined 1892
Burnley and District1870188418,500Merged into Burnley & Nelson in 1966
Bury and District1884 ?4,087Merged into North-West Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1973
Chorley and District185518844,620Dissolved 1956
Church and Oswaldtwistle185818843,232Merged into Accrington, Church and Oswaldtwistle in 1949
Clayton-le-Moors185818841,750Dissolved 1962
Clitheroe187018842,700
Colne and District187918846,258
Darwen185718848,298Merged into Blackburn in 1960
Glossop and District187118921,118Merged into Hyde in 1922
Great Harwood185818844,750
Haslingden185818842,400Merged into Rossendale in 1961
Heywood, Castleton, Norden and District187718842,500Merged into North-West Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1973
Hyde and District188018847,150Merged into South-East Lancashire and Cheshire in 1972
Leek19191951N/ADisaffiliated in 1955
Longridge18781884625Dissolved 1964
Macclesfield18861886589Dissolved in 1920s
Manchester, Salford and Pendleton19071909270 (1908)Merged into Ashton 1951
Nelson and District1870188411,000Merged into Burnley & Nelson in 1966
Oldham and District185918844,900
Padiham and District185618846,010
Preston and District185818847,000
Radcliffe1852 ?1,326Merged into Bury in 1911
Ramsbottom and District185718842,116
Rishton187818841,762Merged into Harwood in 1964
Rochdale and District187818843,300Left in 1896, rejoined 1906, merged into North-West Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1973
Rossendale187318922,800
Sabden18841884133Merged into Harwood in 1932
Saddleworth and District18941890s485[7]Disaffiliated 1921
Skipton and District1902 ?1,421
Stockport and District186718841,590Dissolved 1900, refounded 1906
Todmorden and District188018844,166Merged into Todmorden & Bacup in 1952
Whitworth Vale188218921,150Merged into Rochdale in 1935
Wigan and District18901893454Left 1897, rejoined 1909

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]

YearMembership[1]
188437,539
189046,102
190081,500
1910114,434
1920211,621
1930162,601
194086,843
195075,849
196055,647
196833,066

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. "Amalgamated Weavers' Association Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine", Archives Hub
  4. Mary Agnes Hamilton, Women at Work: A Brief Introduction to Trade Unionism for Women, p.117
  5. Report on Trade Unions in 1905-1907. London: Board of Trade. 1909. pp. 30–35.
  6. Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.91-124
  7. Membership figure for 1910
  8. Ross M. Martin, The Lancashire Giant: David Shackleton, Labour Leader and Civil Servant, p.20
  9. 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.
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