Luke Park (1840 – 28 September 1921) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

leader. Born in

Kirkham, Lancashire Kirkham aka Kirkam-in-Amounderness Hundred, Amounderness is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England, midway between Blackpool and Preston, Lancashire, Preston and adjacent to the ...

, Park began working as a handloom weaver when he was only eight years old. About ten years later, he moved to Preston to work on powerlooms in a mill, and he was an early member of the

Preston and District Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association The Preston and District Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association was a trade union representing cotton weavers in the Preston, Lancashire, in England. The union was founded in 1858 as the Preston Power Loom Weavers' Association, although a p ...

. In 1875, Park was appointed as the general secretary of the Preston Weavers, and in this role, he supported the formation of the

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, ...

(AWA). The Preston Weavers affiliated to the new union, and Park was elected as one of six members of its first central committee, alongside president David Holmes of Burnley, agent Joshua Barrows of Padiham, George Barker of Blackburn, A. Buckley of Oldham, and William Booth of Ashton. In 1916, the AWA made Park an honorary member of its central committee, in recognition of his long service. He retired in 1919, and was given 100 guineas as a

golden handshake A golden handshake is a clause in an executive employment contract that provides the executive with a significant severance package in the case that the executive loses their job through firing, restructuring, or even scheduled retirement. Thi ...

. When he died, two years later, the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described him as "the oldest trade union official in North and Mid Lancashire".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Luke 1840 births 1921 deaths General secretaries of British trade unions People from Kirkham, Lancashire