Durham Colliery Mechanics' Association

Last updated

The Durham Colliery Mechanics' Association was a trade union representing mechanics working at coal mines in County Durham, in England.

Contents

A predecessor of the union was founded in 1874 as the National Amalgamated Society of Colliery Mechanics, but it quickly lost members and by the end of 1878 was nearly defunct. At the start of 1879, a new union was formed, covering only the Durham coalfield. The Durham Miners' Association saw it as a sectional, breakaway, group, and in its early years it was a conservative organisation, seeking to maintain the privileges of the mechanics as opposed to other colliery workers. [1] [2] [3]

By 1892, the union had 2,477 members, and this grew further, to 4,908 in 1911. That year, it was a founding member of the National Federation of Colliery Mechanics' Associations, with other similar organisations in Northumberland and Scotland – in other areas of the country, mechanics remained part of the main miners' unions. [1] It also worked with the Durham Miners' Association, Durham County Colliery Enginemen's Association and the Durham Cokemen's Association in the Durham County Mining Federation Board. [4]

From 1897 to 1923, the union was led by John Wilkinson Taylor. It sponsored him as a Labour Party candidate, and he sat as a Member of Parliament from 1906 until 1919. Under his leadership, the union continued its growth, membership peaking at 9,509 in 1925. [1]

In 1944, the union became part of Group Number 1 of the National Union of Mineworkers, along with the Northumberland Colliery Mechanics and the Yorkshire Winders and Enginemen. [2] [5] During the UK miners' strike of 1984–1985, it was led by Bill Etherington. Some members split away, forming an anti-strike Colliery Mechanics' Association which hoped to establish itself on a national basis, but the majority of members remained with the union. [6]

General secretaries

1874: F. Storar
1879: George Dover
1881: Launcelot Trotter
1897: John Wilkinson Taylor
1923: W. S. Hall
1983: Bill Etherington

Further reading

Related Research Articles

William Etherington is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Sunderland North from 1992 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)</span> British coal mining trade union

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is a trade union for coal miners in Great Britain, formed in 1945 from the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB). The NUM took part in three national miners' strikes, in 1972, 1974 and 1984–85. Following the 1984–85 strike, and the subsequent closure of most of Britain's coal mines, it became a much smaller union. It had around 170,000 members when Arthur Scargill became leader in 1981, a figure which had fallen in 2023 to an active membership of 82.

The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in England, Scotland and Wales whose associations remained largely autonomous. At its peak, the federation represented nearly one million workers. It was reorganised into the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Lawther</span>

Sir William Lawther was a politician and trade union leader in the United Kingdom.

John Wilkinson Taylor was a British Labour Party politician.

The National Amalgamated Union of Enginemen, Firemen, Mechanics, Motormen and Electrical Workers was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It represented stationary engine drivers and cranemen in a wide variety of industries, as well as less skilled workers in the electrical industry and miscellaneous workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Wales Miners' Federation</span> Miners union in Wales

The South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF), nicknamed "The Fed", was a trade union for coal miners in South Wales. It survives as the South Wales Area of the National Union of Mineworkers.

The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation (LCMF) was a trade union that operated on the Lancashire Coalfield in North West England from 1881 until it became the Lancashire area of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottinghamshire Miners' Association</span>

The Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in Nottinghamshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northumberland Miners' Association</span>

The Northumberland Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durham Miners' Association</span>

The Durham Miners' Association (DMA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.

The North Wales Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abe Moffat</span> Scottish trade unionist and communist activist

Abraham Moffat was a Scottish trade unionist and communist activist. He was elected repeatedly to high office in the trade unions and represented the union on government coal boards. He held major union offices: President of the National Union of Scottish Mine Workers; member of the executive committee of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain; Vice-chairman Scottish Regional Coal Board; and member National Coal Board. He served as president of the union from 1942 to his retirement in 1961, when he was succeeded by his younger brother Alex Moffat, also an activist.

Nicky Wilson is a British trade unionist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Browell Charlton</span> British trade union leader

William Browell Charlton was a British trade union leader.

The Durham County Colliery Enginemen's Association was a trade union representing engine operators at coal mines in County Durham.

The National Federation of Colliery Enginemen and Boiler Firemen was a union federation in the United Kingdom. Its membership changed over time, but was centred on unions representing enginemen at coal mines.

The National Federation of Colliery Officials was a trade union representing colliery workers in the United Kingdom who were not involved in manual labour.

The National Federation of Colliery Mechanics' Associations (NFCMA) was a federation bringing together unions representing mechanics at coal mines in Great Britain.

The Old Hill and Highley District Miners', Enginemen's and Surfacemen's Association, usually known as the Old Hill Miners' Association, was a trade union representing mineworkers in the Old Hill district of the West Midlands, in England.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Smethurst, John B.; Carter, Peter (June 2009). Historical Directory of Trade Unions. Vol. 6. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. p.  525. ISBN   9780754666837. LCCN   80-151653.
  2. 1 2 "Durham Colliery Mechanics Association". National Archives. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Renouf, Jonathan (1989). A striking change: political transformation in the Murton miners' and mechanics' branches of the national union of mineworkera, County Durham, 1978-1988 (PDF). Durham: University of Durham. pp. 101, 127. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  4. ↑ "Personal notes". Colliery Guardian. 5 October 1934. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Records of the National Union of Mineworkers, Northumberland Mechanics branch". National Archives. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "Scargill tries to rally breakaway loyalists". The Guardian. 8 July 1985.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.