Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association

The Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in the United Kingdom, principally in Lancashire.

Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association
Founded1894
Date dissolved1986
Members11,000 (1921)
AffiliationGFTU, NCTTF, TUC
Office locationBury, Lancashire
CountryUnited Kingdom

The union was founded in 1894 as the Amalgamated Society of Clothlookers and Warehousemen, and initially had just 203 members across five autonomous branches. These branches were in Blackburn, Burnley, Bury, Colne and Nelson, Great Harwood and Padiham. Early in the 1900s, these branches established greater co-ordination and the organisation was renamed the General Amalgamation of Clothlookers and Warehousemen. New district associations were established in other towns in Lancashire and Cheshire on the initiative of the amalgamation, and by 1910 it had 21 branches with 2,790 members.[1]

UnionFoundedAffiliatedNotes[2]
Accrington19061906Dissolved 1950s
Ashton19011901Dissolved 1960s
Bacup19061906Merged into Rochdale
Blackburn18941895Dissolved 1976
Bolton19061906
Burnley1890s1895
Bury1890s1895
Chorley19071907Dissolved 1978
Clitheroe??Dissolved about 1970
Colne19031903
Colne & Nelson18911895Split into Colne and Nelson in 1903
Darwen19191919Dissolved about 1970
Farnworth & Hyde19001900Merged into Bolton 1907
Great Harwood18941895Merged into Blackburn 1940s
Haslingden19071907Dissolved 1970s
Horwich??Dissolved about 1960
Hyde19001900
Macclesfield19101910Dissolved 1910s
Manchester & Salford19201920Merged into Bury 1950s
Nelson19031903
Oldham19071907Dissolved 1970s
Padiham1890s1895
Preston19061906Dissolved 1970s
Rawtenstall19191919Dissolved 1930s
Rochdale19021902Dissolved 1970s

In 1913, the association took its best-known name, the "Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association", and membership rose rapidly, to a peak of 11,000 in 1921. By the 1970s, it was losing members rapidly due to redundancies in the industry. It changed its name again to the Amalgamated Textile Warehouse Operatives Association, and developed strong links with the Amalgamated Textile Workers Union, the two sharing a general secretary.[1]

Most of the association's branches amalgamated or left the association in the early 1980s.[1] The Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union itself merged into the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union (GMBATU) in 1985,[3] and the Warehouse Operatives was dissolved the following year.[1] Two remaining affiliates, in Bolton and Hyde, then merged into GMBATU,[4] while Colne merged into GMBATU only in 1990, Nelson dissolved in 1991, and Padiham continued in existence.

General Secretaries
1896: W. Riley
1900s: Edward Strong
1926: John Lee
1950: Thomas Ashe
1971: Frank Walker
1972: A. Birtwistle
1970s: Jack Brown
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References
  1. Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.4, pp.186-187
  2. Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.182–209
  3. Gary N. Chalson, Union mergers in hard times: the view from five countries, pp.91-92
  4. Jurgen Hoffman et al, A Comparison of the Trade Union Merger Process in Britain and Germany, p.55
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