Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing and Ring Room Operatives | |
Merged into | Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union |
---|---|
Founded | 1886 |
Dissolved | 1974 |
Headquarters | 81 Fountain Street, Manchester |
Location | |
Members | 52,000 (1910) |
Affiliations | TUC, UTFWA |
The Cardroom Amalgamation or Cardroom Workers' Amalgamation (CWA) [1] was a British trade union which existed between 1886 and 1974. It represented workers in the cotton textile industry.
The union was founded in 1886 as the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing Room Operatives, by the amalgamation of a few small, local unions. This followed the Oldham weavers' strike of 1885, which had led to non-unionised cardroom workers being locked out and losing their wages. [2]
Affiliates of the union were:
Union [3] | Founded | Affiliated | Membership (1907) [4] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Accrington | 1886 | 1886 | 1,415 | Merged into North East Lancashire |
Ashton | 1865 | 1886 | N/A | Merged into South East Lancashire 1887 |
Bacup and District | 1889 | 1890 | 82 | Disaffiliated 1893 |
Bamber Bridge and District | 1922 | 1922 | N/A | Dissolved 1960s |
Blackburn and District | 1883 | 1886 | 1,755 | Merged into Wigan, Blackburn and District about 1970 |
Bollington | 1880s | 1890 | N/A | Disaffiliated 1892 |
Bolton and District | 1858 | 1886 | 8,500 | |
Bury and District | 1879 | 1886 | 1,340 | |
Glossop | 1886 | 1886 | 133 | Merged into Hyde and District 1909 |
Hadfield | 1860 | 1886 | 164 | Merged into Hyde and District 1908 |
Heywood | 1864 | 1888 | 1,356 | Merged into Rochdale 1967 |
Huddersfield and District | 1891 | 1892 | Disaffiliated 1892 | |
Hull | c.1890 | 1892 | N/A | Dissolved about 1894 |
Hyde and District | 1860 | 1886 | 2,128 | Merged into South East Lancashire and Cheshire 1967 |
Macclesfield and District | 1885 | 1886 | 153 | Dissolved 1921 |
Manchester | c.1880 | 1886 | N/A | Disaffiliated 1889–1891 and from 1893 |
Mossley | 1875 | 1886 | 743 | Dissolved 1942 |
North East Lancashire | 1886 | 1886 | ||
Oldham | 1880 | 1886 | 16,211 | |
Oldham Cop-Packers | 1908 | 1914 | N/A | Dissolved 1967 |
Preston | 1897 | 1897 | 1,000 | Predecessor held membership 1886–1891; merged into North East Lancashire 1961 |
Rochdale | 1879 | 1886 | 2,900 | |
Radcliffe | Unknown | 1886 | N/A | Merged into Bury 1890 |
Roller Coverers | 1920 | 1920 | N/A | Dissolved 1960s |
Salford and District | 1895 | 1895 | N/A | Dissolved 1898 |
South East Lancashire | 1887 | 1887 | 5,333 | Merged into South East Lancashire and Cheshire 1967 |
Stalybridge | 1885 | 1886 | N/A | Merged into South East Lancashire 1887 |
Sowerby Bridge and District | 1892 | 1892 | N/A | Disaffiliated later in 1892 |
Stockport | 1859 | 1886 | 1,700 | Merged into South East Lancashire and Cheshire 1967 |
Warrington | 1892 | 1893 | N/A | Disaffiliated 1894, predecessor affiliated in 1889 |
Wigan and District | 1888 | 1888 | 1,647 | Merged into Wigan and Blackburn 1967 |
The union represented a wide range of workers in the textile industry, and did not discriminate on the basis of occupation or skill. The core of the union's membership were the strippers and grinders, skilled adult male mechanics, who maintained the carding engines. Almost all strippers and grinders were union members. [5] The CWA also organised less skilled female ring spinners and other mill operatives. From 1904 onwards the only members required to have completed an apprenticeship were the strippers-and-grinders. [2]
The CWA grew rapidly and by 1910 it had 52,000 members. [5] In 1924, it changed its name to the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing and Ring Room Operatives, and in 1952 it became the National Association of Card, Blowing and Ring Room Operatives, before adopting its final name, the National Union of Textile and Allied Workers (NUTAW), in 1968. [3]
The CWA was more aggressive in its attitude towards negotiating with employers than the other major cotton unions and by the mid-1960s the wages of strippers and grinders equalled those of mule spinners, traditionally the highest-paid textile workers. [6]
In 1974, the union merged with the Amalgamated Weavers' Association, to form the Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union. [3]
The Northern Textile and Allied Workers' Union was a trade union representing cotton factory workers in northern Lancashire in England.
The Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners and Twiners, also known as the Amalgamation, was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1870 and 1970. It represented male mule spinners in the cotton industry.
James Mawdsley was an English trade unionist. Alongside Winston Churchill, he stood as a Conservative Party candidate in the double Oldham by-election of 1899. He was born in Preston, Lancashire, to cotton spinner James Mawdsley and his wife, Jane.
The United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA) was a trade union federation in Great Britain. It was active from 1889 until 1975.
William Mullin was a British trade unionist.
William Henry Carr was a British trade unionist and political activist.
Joseph King was a British trade unionist.
The Northern Counties Textile Trades Federation was a trade union federation in northern England.
William Thomasson was a British trade unionist.
The Oldham Provincial Card and Blowing Room and Ring Frame Operatives' Association was a trade union representing cotton industry workers in Oldham, Lancashire, in England. Long the largest union in the industry, it played a leading role in establishing a regional federation of cardroom workers.
Archibald Colin Campbell Robertson was a British trade unionist who served as president of the United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA).
The Bolton and District Card, Blowing and Ring Room Operatives' Provincial Association was a trade union representing cotton industry workers in the Bolton area of Lancashire in England. The longest-established union of cardroom workers, it was central to early attempts to establish a national union for the industry.
The South East Lancashire Provincial Card and Blowing Room Operatives' Association was a trade union representing cotton industry workers in Ashton-under-Lyne and surrounding areas of Lancashire in England.
Harold Chorlton was a British trade union leader and politician. He served as the council leader in Rochdale, and also as a leading figure in the Lancashire cotton trade unions.
The Hyde and District Card, Blowing and Ring Frame Operatives' Association was a trade union representing cotton industry workers in Hyde and surrounding areas of Cheshire in England.
The Rochdale Card and Blowing Room Operatives' Association was a trade union representing cotton industry workers in the Rochdale area of Lancashire in England.
Stockport Card, Blowing and Ring Room Operatives' Association was a trade union representing cotton industry workers in the Stockport area of Cheshire in England.
Joseph Dominic Frayne was a British trade union leader, who served as President of the Cardroom Amalgamation and Chair of the General Federation of Trade Unions.
James Browning was a British trade union leader.
John Greenhalgh was a British trade union leader.