North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association
- United Kingdom
The North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association was a trade union federation of local weavers' unions in part of Lancashire in England, in the 19th century.
History
The federation was founded in 1858 as the East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Friendly Association, with a membership of 4,645. It was organised by Thomas Birtwistle, who believed that a federation of the many local weavers' unions in the county would improve the workers' position in wage negotiations. Initially, the Over Darwen, Church, Accrington, Harwood, Padiham, Chorley and Haslingden unions joined; larger unions such as those in Burnley and Nelson did not, as they felt able to manage their own affairs.[1]
Birtwistle became the federation's first general secretary, and was felt to have succeeded in his limited remit. By the end of the 1860s, the Clitheroe, Enfield and Ramsbottom unions had also joined, taking membership over 8,000.[1] The Burnley and Nelson unions both collapsed in the 1860s; the association established branches in these towns in 1870, which grew rapidly and became independent affiliates in 1871.[1][2] [3]
Encouraged by its success, during the 1870s, the federation ran a major campaign for shorter hours. In 1878, it organised a strike against a 10% cut in wages; employers responded by locking out workers not already taking part, but the strike was lost after nine weeks. This led to a restructuring of the federation, which took the new name of the "North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association" and began paying death benefits to members, and representing them in disputes relating to work stoppages, unfair treatment, fines and the breakdown of machinery.[1]
In 1884, Birtwistle founded the Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of Weavers, covering a broader area, and this soon eclipsed the North East Lancashire association, which became informally known as the First Amalgamation. Despite this, Birtwistle remained secretary until 1892, when he retired. At this point, most of the affiliates left, but the federation was not dissolved until 1903.[1]
Affiliates
As of 1884, the association's affiliates were:[1]
Union | Founded[4] | Affiliated[1] |
---|---|---|
Accrington | 1858 | 1863 |
Bamber Bridge | 1884 | 1884 |
Burnley | 1870 | 1871 |
Chorley | 1855 | 1858 |
Church and Oswaldtwistle | 1858 | 1858 |
Clayton-le-Moors | 1858 | 1866 |
Clitheroe | 1870 | 1870 |
Colne | 1879 | 1880 |
Great Harwood and Billington | 1858 | 1858 |
Haslingden | 1858 | 1858 |
Nelson | 1870 | 1871 |
Padiham | 1856 | 1858 |
Ramsbottom | 1857 | 1860s |
Rishton | 1878 | 1878 |
General Secretaries
- 1861: Thomas Birtwistle
- 1892: E. J. Holmes
- 1896: A. H. Cottam
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Edwin Hopwood, A History of the Lancashire Cotton Industry and the Amalgamated Weavers' Association, pp.47-52
- ^ Marsh, Arthur; Ryan, Victoria; Smethurst, John B. (1994). Historical Directory of Trade Unions. Vol. 4. Farnham: Ashgate. pp. 102–103. ISBN 9780859679008.
- ^ Fowler, Alan; Fowler, Lesley (n.d.). The History of the Nelson Weavers' Association. Manchester: Manchester Free Press.
- ^ Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.91-124
- v
- t
- e
- David Bellhouse
- Bradshaw Gass & Hope
- F.W. Dixon & Son
- Edward Potts
- Stott
- Stott and Sons
- Sidney Stott (later Sir Philip)
- Daniel Adamson
- Ashton Frost
- Ashworth & Parker
- Bateman & Sherratt
- Boulton & Watt
- Browett, Lindley & Co
- Buckley & Taylor
- Carels Frères
- Clayton, Goodfellow & Co
- Earnshaw & Holt
- Fairbairn
- W & J Galloway & Sons
- Benjamin Goodfellow
- B. Hick and Sons / Hick, Hargreaves & Co
- John Musgrave & Sons
- J & W McNaught
- Petrie of Rochdale
- William Roberts & Co of Nelson
- George Saxon
- Scott & Hodgson
- Urmson & Thompson
- Yates & Thom / Yates of Blackburn
- Willans & Robinson
- J & E Wood
- Woolstenhulmes & Rye
- Brooks & Doxey
- Butterworth & Dickinson
- Curtis, Parr & Walton
- Dobson & Barlow
- John Hetherington & Sons
- Joseph Hibbert
- John Pilling and Sons
- Harling & Todd
- Howard & Bullough
- Geo. Hattersley
- Asa Lees
- Mather & Platt
- Parr, Curtis & Madely
- British Northrop Loom Co
- Pemberton & Co
- Platt Brothers
- Taylor, Lang & Co
- Textile Machinery Makers
- Tweedales & Smalley
- T. Wildman & Sons
- Elkanah Armitage
- Henry Ashworth
- Hugh Birley
- Hugh Hornby Birley
- Joseph Brotherton
- James Burton
- Peter Drinkwater
- Nathaniel Eckersley
- John Fielden
- William Gray
- Hannah Greg
- Samuel Greg
- Richard Howarth
- William Houldsworth
- John Kennedy
- George Augustus Lee
- Charles Macintosh
- Hugh Mason
- Samuel Oldknow
- Robert Peel
- John Rylands
- Thomas Whitehead and Brothers
- Oldham Limiteds
- Fine Spinners and Doublers
- Lancashire Cotton Corporation
- Bagley & Wright
- Combined Egyptian Mills
- Courtaulds
- James Burton & Sons
- Amalgamated Cotton Mills Trust
- Amalgamated Association of Beamers, Twisters and Drawers (Hand and Machine)
- Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners
- Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association
- Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union
- Amalgamated Weavers' Association
- Cardroom Amalgamation
- General Union of Lancashire and Yorkshire Warp Dressers' Association
- General Union of Loom Overlookers
- Lancashire Amalgamated Tape Sizers' Friendly Society
- North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association
- Northern Counties Textile Trades Federation
- The Textile Institute
- United Textile Factory Workers' Association
- Richard Arkwright
- Samuel Crompton
- Peter Foxcroft
- James Hargreaves
- Thomas Highs
- John Kay (flying shuttle)
- John Kay (spinning frame)
- Robert Owen