Flint Glass Makers' Sick and Friendly Society

Last updated April 16, 2024

The Flint Glass Makers' Sick and Friendly Society, often known as the Flint Glass Makers' Friendly Society (FGMFS) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.

The union was founded in 1844 as the United Flint Glass Makers Society.^[1] This union was bankrupted by an unsuccessful strike at the Five Ways Flint Glass Works in 1848, and it was therefore reorganised as the FGMFS at a meeting in Manchester the following year. Initially, it included members from Lancashire, Yorkshire, the West Midlands, Edinburgh and Dublin. By 1850, the union had nearly 1,000 members.^[2]

The union's Central Secretary had considerable power, including the ability to appoint the entire Central Committee. However, they were initially subject to election every three years, and only one Secretary was ever re-elected: T. J. Wilkinson in 1870. The union also published the monthly Flint Glass Makers' Magazine,^[3] and was supportive of George Potter and the early Trades Union Congress (TUC), Wilkinson serving as its President in 1869.^[4]

The FGMFS was the richest union of its day, and was able to pay pensions and ill health benefits to its members.^[5] It campaigned for the repeal the Master and Servant Act, but the revised 1867 Act met most of its demands, and it ceased political intervention.^[6]

In 1899, the union was renamed as the National Flint Glass Makers' Society of Great Britain and Ireland.^[7] A group of members in Leeds left in 1903 to form the rival National Glass Bottle Makers' Society.^[8] The remaining union against changed its name in 1935, becoming the National Flint Glass Makers' Friendly Society of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1948, it merged with the National Union of Glass Cutters and Decorators, and changed its name to the National Union of Flint Glass Workers.^[7]

The new union did not affiliate to the Trades Union Congress or any other trade union organisations. Although it had members across the UK, its small membership was concentrated in Stourbridge, where it had its headquarters.^[9] Its long-term secretary died in 2005, and with only 149 members and a weak financial position, it dissolved in 2006.^[10]

Related Research Articles

In British politics, an affiliated trade union is one that is linked to the Labour Party. The party was created by the trade unions and socialist societies in 1900 as the Labour Representation Committee and the unions have retained close institutional links with it.

The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 560,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (NHS), ambulance service and local government.

The Transport and General Workers' Union was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate itself from the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union – with 900,000 members. It was founded in 1922 and Ernest Bevin served as its first general secretary.

Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 2011 UK census recorded the town's population as 63,298.

The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick</span> Archive centre of the University of Warwick

The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collection on British industrial relations, as well as archives relating to many other aspects of British social, political and economic history.

The General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) is a national trade union centre in the United Kingdom. It has 35 affiliates with a membership of just over 214,000 and describes itself as the "federation for specialist unions".

The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992.

The National Glass Workers' Trade Protection Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom.

The National Glass Bottle Makers' Society was a trade union representing workers involved in the manufacture of glass bottles in the United Kingdom.

The Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers (ASB) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Many of its members worked in shipbuilding, in which industry it was the leading trade union, while over time it also developed strength in engineering and construction.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of about 5.5 million members. Paul Nowak is the TUC's current General Secretary, serving from January 2023.

The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friendly Society of Iron Founders of England, Ireland and Wales</span> UK trade union

The Friendly Society of Iron Founders of England, Ireland and Wales (FSIF) was an early trade union representing foundry workers in the United Kingdom.

The Tobacco Workers' Union (TWU) was a trade union representing workers in all areas of the tobacco industry in the United Kingdom.

The Plumbing Trades Union (PTU) was a trade union representing plumbers in Britain and Ireland.

The National Federation of Building Trades Operatives (NFBTO) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom, consisting of unions with members in construction and related industries.

References

↑ Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical directory of trade unions, Volume 6, p.86
↑ Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, pp.87-88
↑ Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, pp.89-91
↑ Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, pp.167-168
↑ Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, p.105
↑ Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, p.167
1 2 "National Flint Glass Makers' Friendly Society of Great Britain and Ireland", Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
↑ University of Warwick, "National Glass Bottle Makers' Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1903-1925"
↑ Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.1, p.341
↑ "Annual Return for a Trade Union: The National Union of Flint Glassworkers". Trade Union Certification Officer. The National Archives. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2019.

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.

[1] Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical directory of trade unions, Volume 6, p.86

[2] Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, pp.87-88

[3] Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, pp.89-91

[4] Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, pp.167-168

[5] Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, p.105

[6] Takao Matsumura, The Labour Aristocracy Revisited: The Victorian Flint Glass Makers 1850-80, p.167

[mrc-7] 1 2 "National Flint Glass Makers' Friendly Society of Great Britain and Ireland", Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick

[8] University of Warwick, "National Glass Bottle Makers' Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1903-1925"

[9] Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.1, p.341

[10] "Annual Return for a Trade Union: The National Union of Flint Glassworkers". Trade Union Certification Officer. The National Archives. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]