The Amalgamated Slaters', Tilers' and Roofing Operatives' Society was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing

slater A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesperson who covers buildings with slate. Tools used The various tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged. The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucible-cast steel, and has a lea ...

s in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The union was founded in 1873 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, as a federation of local unions from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. In 1885, the federation was reconstituted as an amalgamated union named the Amalgamated Slaters of England Provident Society, by which time it was based in Newcastle, and had only a very low membership - just 167 workers in 1887.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of British Trade Unions'', vol.3, p.94 In its early years, the union focused on the welfare of its members, and secondarily on regulation of the trade, to prevent too many people competing for work. In order to encourage this, men aged under twenty-one could join the union for free, but older men had to pay increasingly high entry fees. Membership of the union grew steadily, reaching 318 in 1890, 1,039 by 1896 and peaking at 1,497 in 1900. In 1896, the Regular Operative Slaters' Society of Dublin merged in, although a minority of that union objected to the merger and instead formed the National Operative Slaters and Tilers of Dublin. Around this time, the Amalgamated Slaters changed its name to the Amalgamated Slaters and Tilers Provident Society of England and Ireland, but it generally remained known by its earlier title. In 1906, R. Wilson was appointed as its first full-time general secretary, but he was unable to aid with recruitment, membership falling below 1,000 by 1910. The union adopted its final name, the "Amalgamated Slaters', Tilers' and Roofing Operatives' Society", in 1963, then merged into the

Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers The Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers (AUBTW) was a British trade union. History The AUBTW was founded in 1921 when the Operative Society of Masons, Quarrymen and Allied Trades of England and Wales, the Operative Bricklayers' Societ ...

in 1969. It was one of the last small

craft union Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the sa ...

s in the industry to join a larger union.

General Secretaries

:1906: Robert Wilson :1937: C. G. Davison :1954: Laurie Poupard

References

{{reflist

External links

Catalogue of the Society archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, 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 collect ...

Trade unions established in 1873 Trade unions disestablished in 1969 Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom 1873 establishments in the United Kingdom Roofing trade unions British builders Trade unions based in the East Riding of Yorkshire