Sheffield Wool Shear Workers Union

Last updated
SWSWU
Full nameSheffield Wool Shear Workers Union
Founded1890
Date dissolvedAugust 7, 2007
Members9
Affiliation TUC
Key peopleBob Whomersley, Final General Secretary
Office location Sheffield, South Yorkshire
CountryEngland

The Sheffield Wool Shear Workers Union was based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It was listed in the Guinness Book of Records (2000 edition) as being the smallest trades union in the world with just 10 members. In its last listing to the Trades Union Certification Officer it was down to nine members - six male and three female.

Contents

History

The union was established in 1890 to raise funds to organise, protect and advance the trade. Other functions include legal assistance, securing better working conditions for workers and to look after elderly wool shear workers. All their members were employed by steel firm Burgon & Ball.

The union was originally known as the Sheffield Shear Makers, Grinders, Finishers and Benders Union. It affiliated to the National Amalgamated Union of Labour in 1914, but left again in 1920, adopting its final name. [1]

Its final officer was Bob Whomersley, General Secretary, and it had headquarters in Rotherham. In 2004 it received an income of £112.95, all of which was spent on administrative expenses. [2]

It was affiliated to the Trades Union Congress until its removal from the list of recognised Trades Unions on 7 August 2007 on the grounds that it had ceased to exist.

General Secretaries

1890s: W. Wild
1900s: R. Oldfield
1900s: W. Ellis
1910s: H. Brammer
1923: J. Clixby
1943: P. Shaw
1951: G. W. Gore
1957: F. Timmins
1960: Jim Billard
1980s: Ray Cutler
1990s: Bob Whomersley

Related Research Articles

National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)

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. After 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 2015 to an active membership of around 100.

Ceramic and Allied Trades Union

The Ceramic and Allied Trades Union (CATU) was a trade union representing pottery workers in the United Kingdom.

Australian Workers Union

The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 100,000 members. It has exercised an influence on the Australian trade union movement and on the Australian Labor Party throughout its history.

The 1890 Australian maritime dispute was an industrial dispute that began on 15 August 1890 when the Mercantile Marine Officers' Association directed its members to give 24 hours' notice to their employers after negotiations broke down with the Steamship Owners' Association of Victoria over longstanding pay and conditions claims. Industrial action quickly spread to seamen, wharf labourers, then gas stockers. Coal miners from Newcastle, Broken Hill, and even New Zealand were locked out after refusing to dig coal for non-union operated vessels. By September 1890, 28,500 workers were on strike.

Queensland Council of Unions

The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) is a representative, peak body of Queensland trade union organisations, also known as a labour council, in the Queensland, Australia. As of 2020, 26 unions and 13 regional branches were affiliated with the QCU. The QCU represents unions covering around 350,000 Queensland workers. It is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Its offices are located in the suburb of South Brisbane, Queensland. As a peak body for the Queensland trade unions, the objective of the QCU is to achieve industrial, social and political justice for Queensland workers. The management structure of the QCU is made up of a committee of management and an executive of representatives comprised from affiliated unions.

1891 Australian shearers strike

The 1891 shearers' strike is one of Australia's earliest and most important industrial disputes.

Community is a UK trade union which formed in 2004. The union represents workers in a diverse range of sectors, including iron and steel, domestic appliance manufacturing, clothing, textiles, footwear, road transport, betting and gaming and call centres, as well as workers in voluntary organisations, workshops for visually impaired and disabled people, community-care providers and housing associations. Although the former trade unions which amalgamated to form Community were all craft unions or industrial unions, Community is now a general union. Community has merged or transferred engagements with a number of smaller unions, some of which have become sections within Community. These include the National League of the Blind and Disabled (NLBD), the National Union of Domestic Appliance and General Operatives (NUDAGO), the National Union of Knitwear, Footwear & Apparel Trades (KFAT), the British Union of Social Work Employees (BUSWE), the Prison Service Union and the UFS.

Sheffield Trades and Labour Council

The Sheffield Trades and Labour Council, usually known as the Sheffield Trades Council, is a labour organisation uniting trade unionists in Sheffield.

The Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation (TULO) is a labour organisation in the United Kingdom that was set up in 1994 by a motion to the Labour Party's Annual Conference. It had several forerunning organisations that coordinated trade union support for the Labour Party at election times such as Trade Unions for a Labour Victory and Trade Unionists For Labour. TULO is different in that, as a more formal organisation, it serves the dual purposes of not only coordinating trade union support for the Labour Party at elections, but also of acting as the channel of communication between the Party Leadership and its affiliated trade unions.

The National Amalgamated Union of Labour (NAUL) was a general union in the United Kingdom.

Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions Confed

The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), often known as the Confed is a trade union confederation in the United Kingdom.

Labor Council of New South Wales

The Labor Council of New South Wales, branded Unions NSW, is the peak body for trade unions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Council, representing 800,000 workers in NSW. It is registered as the State Peak Council of Employees under Section 215 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW). The Council is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).

Queensland Shearers Union

The Queensland Shearers Union was one of the first Australian unions, founded in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The union was instrumental in the development of the 1891 Australian shearers' strike, seen today as a key development in the Australian labour movement. Together with other unions the Queensland Shearers Union was the genesis of the Australian Workers' Union.

National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives

The National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1873 and 1971. It represented workers in the footwear industry.

London Trades Council

The London Trades Council (1860–1953) was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades (Union) Councils

Glasgow Trades Council is an association of trade union branches in Glasgow in Scotland.

The National Union of Lock and Metal Workers (NULM) was a trade union representing workers involved in the manufacture of metal items in the United Kingdom.

Charles Hobson was a British trade unionist.

The Bristol Trades Council is a trades council representing workers in Bristol in England.

Aberdeen Trades Union Council

Aberdeen Trades Union Council (ATUC) is the body made up of affiliated trade union branches and organisations working in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire area to promote the interests of workers in the region. The ATUC provides services to affiliated branches on a wide range of industrial, social and community issues and is affiliated to the STUC. It has an office based in Aberdeen, Scotland.

References

  1. John B. Smethurst and Peter Carter, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, Vol.6, p.252
  2. Trades Union Certification Officer Return 2004