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
Dissolved1986
HeadquartersBury, Lancashire
Location
Members
11,000 (1921)
AffiliationsGFTU, NCTTF, TUC

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]

Union Founded Affiliated Notes[2]
Accrington 1906 1906 Dissolved 1950s
Ashton 1901 1901 Dissolved 1960s
Bacup 1906 1906 Merged into Rochdale
Blackburn 1894 1895 Dissolved 1976
Bolton 1906 1906
Burnley 1890s 1895
Bury 1890s 1895
Chorley 1907 1907 Dissolved 1978
Clitheroe ? ? Dissolved about 1970
Colne 1903 1903
Colne & Nelson 1891 1895 Split into Colne and Nelson in 1903
Darwen 1919 1919 Dissolved about 1970
Farnworth & Hyde 1900 1900 Merged into Bolton 1907
Great Harwood 1894 1895 Merged into Blackburn 1940s
Haslingden 1907 1907 Dissolved 1970s
Horwich ? ? Dissolved about 1960
Hyde 1900 1900
Macclesfield 1910 1910 Dissolved 1910s
Manchester & Salford 1920 1920 Merged into Bury 1950s
Nelson 1903 1903
Oldham 1907 1907 Dissolved 1970s
Padiham 1890s 1895
Preston 1906 1906 Dissolved 1970s
Rawtenstall 1919 1919 Dissolved 1930s
Rochdale 1902 1902 Dissolved 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

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1896: W. Riley
1900s: Edward Strong
1926: John Lee
1950: Thomas Ashe
1971: Frank Walker
1972: A. Birtwistle
1970s: Jack Brown

References

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  1. ^ a b c d 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