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Amalgamated Weavers' Association

(Redirected from Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of Weavers)

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

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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]

Union Founded[1] Affiliated[1] Members (1907)[5] Notes[6]
Accrington and District 1858 1884 4,409 Merged into Accrington, Church & Oswaldtwistle in 1949
Ashton-under-Lyne and District 1877 1884 5,319 Merged into South-East Lancashire and Cheshire in 1972
Bacup and District 1888 ? 1,889 Merged into Todmorden, Bacup and District in 1952
Bamber Bridge and District 1884 1884 796 Merged into Preston and District in 1940
Barnoldswick and District 1880s ? 990
Blackburn and District 1854 1884 14,800
Blackburn Protection 1885 1900 4,369 Merged into Blackburn in 1949
Bolton and District 1865 1884 5,059 Left 1885, rejoined 1892
Burnley and District 1870 1884 18,500 Merged into Burnley & Nelson in 1966
Bury and District 1884 ? 4,087 Merged into North-West Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1973
Chorley and District 1855 1884 4,620 Dissolved 1956
Church and Oswaldtwistle 1858 1884 3,232 Merged into Accrington, Church and Oswaldtwistle in 1949
Clayton-le-Moors 1858 1884 1,750 Dissolved 1962
Clitheroe 1870 1884 2,700
Colne and District 1879 1884 6,258
Darwen 1857 1884 8,298 Merged into Blackburn in 1960
Glossop and District 1871 1892 1,118 Merged into Hyde in 1922
Great Harwood 1858 1884 4,750
Haslingden 1858 1884 2,400 Merged into Rossendale in 1961
Heywood, Castleton, Norden and District 1877 1884 2,500 Merged into North-West Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1973
Hyde and District 1880 1884 7,150 Merged into South-East Lancashire and Cheshire in 1972
Leek 1919 1951 N/A Disaffiliated in 1955
Longridge 1878 1884 625 Dissolved 1964
Macclesfield 1886 1886 589 Dissolved in 1920s
Manchester, Salford and Pendleton 1907 1909 270 (1908) Merged into Ashton 1951
Nelson and District 1870 1884 11,000 Merged into Burnley & Nelson in 1966
Oldham and District 1859 1884 4,900
Padiham and District 1856 1884 6,010
Preston and District 1858 1884 7,000
Radcliffe 1852 ? 1,326 Merged into Bury in 1911
Ramsbottom and District 1857 1884 2,116
Rishton 1878 1884 1,762 Merged into Harwood in 1964
Rochdale and District 1878 1884 3,300 Left in 1896, rejoined 1906, merged into North-West Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1973
Rossendale 1873 1892 2,800
Sabden 1884 1884 133 Merged into Harwood in 1932
Saddleworth and District 1894 1890s 485[7] Disaffiliated 1921
Skipton and District 1902 ? 1,421
Stockport and District 1867 1884 1,590 Dissolved 1900, refounded 1906
Todmorden and District 1880 1884 4,166 Merged into Todmorden & Bacup in 1952
Whitworth Vale 1882 1892 1,150 Merged into Rochdale in 1935
Wigan and District 1890 1893 454 Left 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

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

Year Membership[1]
1884 37,539
1890 46,102
1900 81,500
1910 114,434
1920 211,621
1930 162,601
1940 86,843
1950 75,849
1960 55,647
1968 33,066

Leadership

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General Secretaries

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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

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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

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  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b "Amalgamated Weavers' Association Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine", Archives Hub
  4. ^ a b 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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