Coopers' Federation of Great Britain

The Coopers' Federation of Great Britain was a trade union representing coopers in the United Kingdom and, initially, also in Ireland.

Coopers' Federation of Great Britain
Merged intoNational Union of General and Municipal Workers
Founded1926
Dissolved1979
Headquarters269 Burdett Road, Limehouse, London
Location
  • United Kingdom
Members
10,000+ (1950s)
AffiliationsTUC

The union was founded in 1926 as the Coopers' Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. It brought together five unions which retained a high level of independence:[1]

Union Founded Affiliated Merged
Amalgamated Society of Coopers 1878 1926 1970
Liverpool Coopers' Friendly, Trade and Burial Society 1843 1926 1965
Manchester, Salford and District Society of Brewers' and General Coopers 1845 1926 N/A
National Association of Coopers 1821 1926 1947
National Trade Union of Coopers 1947 1947 1970
Philanthropic Society of Journeymen Coopers of Burton-on-Trent and Vicinity 1853 1926 c.1969

With the long-term decline of the industry, its affiliates gradually merged. In 1970, the Amalgamated and the National merged and became an integral part of the union, leaving only the Manchester Coopers as an affiliate.[1]

Membership of the union was more than 10,000 in the 1950s, but declined to only 1,000 in 1979. In 1978, the union renamed itself as the Coopers' and Allied Workers' Federation of Great Britain in an attempt to reposition itself, but it decided instead to merge into the National Union of General and Municipal Workers in 1979.[1]

General Secretaries

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1926: George William Harrison
1927: R. W. Mann
1942: J. S. Wilkie
1948: Ted Pettengell
1970s: W. Marshall

References

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  1. ^ a b c Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of British Trade Unions, vol.3, pp.389-401