William Mullin (1844 or 1845 – 23 June 1920) 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 unionist 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 ...

. Mullin grew up in

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

, a town in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

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 ...

, and left school at the age of nine to work in a local cotton mill. He joined a local trade union, and was elected as its treasurer in 1880."Mr. William Mullin", ''

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 ...

'', 26 June 1920, p.9 Most cardroom workers in the town were not unionised and were locked out and lost their wages following the Oldham weavers' strike of 1885. Many of these workers formed a new union, the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing Room Operatives, and Mullin was elected as its first general secretary. As secretary, Mullin's most famous contribution was leading the union through a 21-week strike in 1892/93. Around that time, he served as president of the

United Textile Factory Workers' Association The United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA) was a trade union federation in Great Britain. It was active from 1889 until 1975. Objectives The federation was founded in 1889, to represent the various textile workers' unions in polit ...

, a loose federation bringing together textile workers' unions. However, the Cardroom Amalgamation left the association in 1913 after its member

William Henry Carr William Henry Carr (1855 – 27 October 1953) was a British trade unionist and political activist. Born in the East End of London, Carr grew up in Bacup where he began working in a mill at the age of eleven. He then moved to work as a grinder a ...

was not re-adopted as Parliamentary candidates. Mullin was active in the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, 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 ...

(TUC), and served as

President of the TUC The president of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serve just for the d ...

in 1911. In this capacity, he was invited to attend the

Coronation of King George V The coronation of George V and his wife, Mary, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Thursday 22 June 1911. This was the second of four such events held during the 20 ...

."Mr. William Mullin", ''

'', 1 June 1911, p.5 He was noted as one of the first trade unionists to be appointed as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, and he served on the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

and the Cotton Control Board. Mullin became ill and underwent an operation in January 1920. Although his health improved enough for him to resume some of his trade union duties, this was temporary, and he died in June.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullin, William 1840s births 1920 deaths General secretaries of the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing Room Operatives Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Oldham Presidents of the Trades Union Congress Presidents of the United Textile Factory Workers' Association