The Pattern Weavers' Society was a small trade union representing textile workers in the United Kingdom.
| Founded | 1930 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | c.2000 |
| Headquarters | New Field End, Cumberworth[1] |
| Location | |
Members | 350 (1931) |
Key people | Gordon Hawley (gen. sec.) |
| Affiliations | NAUTT, TUC |
During the 1920s, workers employed in weaving patterned material were represented by the National Union of Textile Workers. However, with a trade depression starting at the end of the decade, employers were looking to cut wages, and the pattern weavers believed that they would have a stronger bargaining position if they were represented separately from workers they felt to be lower skilled.[2]
The society was established in 1930, and within a year had 350 members. However, membership gradually declined as the industry contracted, falling to 250 members by 1968, and 100 in 1979.[2] It joined the Trades Union Congress in 1968,[3] but disaffiliated in 1987.[4] It continued in existence, and for the first time accepted a woman as a member. By 1993, its membership was down to 60,[2] and it appears to have dissolved around the year 2000.
General Secretaries edit
- 1940s: A. Kelk
- 1960s: Willie Lockwood
- 1960s: J. D. Townend
- c.1980: Gordon Hawley
- 1990s: David Mellor
References edit
- ^ Eaton, Jack; Gill, Colin (1981). The Trade Union Directory. London: Pluto Press. p. 181. ISBN 0861043502.
- ^ a b c Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.4, p.249
- ^ Annual Report of the 1968 Trades Union Congress, p.141
- ^ Roger Undy, Managing the Unions, pp.298-300