Darwen Weavers' Association
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The Darwen Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association 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 cotton industry workers in
Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road, A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, in England. As the main industry in the town, the union has been influential in its history, and some of its leaders became significant national figures. In the early 1850s, cotton industry workers in Darwen could join the Blackburn Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association, but disputes over attempts to form a federation of weavers' unions led members in Darwen to split away and form their own union in 1857. The following year, the
North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association The North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association was a trade union federation of local weavers' unions in part of Lancashire in England, in the 19th century. History The federation was founded in 1858 as the East Lancashire Amalgamat ...
was established, Darwen joining while Blackburn remained outside. However, Darwen soon left this "First Amalgamation", only rejoining in 1863. In 1885, it also joined the new
Amalgamated Weavers' Association The Amalgamated Weavers' Association, often known as the Weavers' Amalgamation, was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Initially, it operated in competition with the North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association in part of its area, ...
. Membership of the union grew steadily, reaching 5,500 in 1888, and 8,298 in 1907. Following
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the industry went into decline, with many job losses, and by 1960 the union was down to only 1,000 members. That year, it finally merged back into the Blackburn union.


General Secretaries

:1857: Entwistle Entwistle :1892: Joseph Cross :1894:
David Shackleton Sir David James Shackleton (21 November 1863 – 1 August 1938) was a cotton worker and trade unionist who became the third Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, following the formation of the British Labour Pa ...
:1907: John Parkington :1922: Joseph Kay Bailey :1933:
Harold Bradley Harold Bradley may refer to: Others * Harold Bradley (guitarist) (1926–2019), American country and pop guitarist * Harold Bradley (pianist) (1906–1984), Canadian pianist * Harold Bradley (trade unionist) (1895–1979), British trade union leade ...


References

{{UTFWA Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Darwen Cotton industry trade unions 1857 establishments in England 1960 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1857 Trade unions disestablished in 1960 Trade unions based in Lancashire