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[4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accrington | 1858 | 1884 | Merged into Accrington, Church & Oswaldtwistle in 1949 |
| Ashton | 1877 | 1884 | Merged into South-East Lancashire and Cheshire in 1972 |
| Bacup | 1888 | ? | Merged into Todmorden, Bacup and District in 1952 |
| Bamber Bridge | 1884 | 1884 | Merged into Preston and District in 1940 |
| Barnoldswick | 1880s | ? | |
| Blackburn | 1854 | 1884 | |
| Bolton | 1865 | 1884 | Left 1885, rejoined 1892 |
| Burnley | 1870 | 1884 | Merged into Burnley & Nelson in 1966 |
| Bury | 1884 | ? | |
| Chorley | 1855 | 1884 | Dissolved 1956 |
| Church | 1858 | 1884 | Merged into Accrington, Church and Oswaldtwistle in 1949 |
| Clayton | 1858 | 1884 | Dissolved 1962 |
| Clitheroe | by 1860 | 1884 | |
| Colne | 1879 | 1884 | |
| Darwen | 1857 | 1884 | Merged into Blackburn in 1960 |
| Glossop | 1871 | 1892 | Merged into Hyde in 1922 |
| Harwood | 1858 | 1884 | |
| Haslingden | 1858 | 1884 | Merged into Rossendale in 1961 |
| Heywood | 1877 | 1884 | |
| Hyde | 1880 | 1884 | Merged into South-East Lancashire and Cheshire in 1972 |
| Longridge | 1878 | 1884 | Dissolved 1964 |
| Macclesfield | 1886 | 1886 | Dissolved in 1920s |
| Manchester | 1908 | 1909 | Merged into Ashton 1951 |
| Nelson | 1870 | 1884 | Merged into Burnley & Nelson in 1966 |
| Oldham | 1859 | 1884 | |
| Padiham | 1856 | 1884 | |
| Preston | 1858 | 1884 | |
| Radcliffe | 1852 | ? | Merged into Bury in 1911 |
| Ramsbottom | 1857 | 1884 | |
| Rishton | 1878 | 1884 | Merged into Harwood in 1964 |
| Rochdale | 1878 | 1884 | Left in 1896, rejoined 1906 |
| Rossendale | 1873 | 1892 | |
| Sabden | 1884 | 1884 | Merged into Harwood in 1932 |
| Saddleworth | 1894 | 1890s | Dissolved about 1900 |
| Skipton | 1902 | ? | |
| Stockport | 1867 | 1884 | Dissolved 1900, refounded 1906 |
| Todmorden | 1880 | 1884 | Merged into Todmorden & Bacup in 1952 |
| Whitworth | 1882 | Merged into Rochdale in 1935 | |
| Wigan | 1890 | 1893 | 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.[5] 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.[6][7]
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
- ↑ Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.91-124
- ↑ 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.
