The Alliance Cabinet Makers' Association was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing skilled furniture makers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

History

In 1865, cabinet makers in London went on strike and won a 10% increase in wages. This success inspired them to form the "Alliance Cabinet Makers' Association". This largely followed a

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 s ...

model, requiring high contributions from members, and insisting that members only took on

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

s who were closely related to union members. However, the union accepted all workers in the trade into membership, and was able to make high payments to members in need.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of British Trade Unions'', vol.III, p.318 The union was long associated with radical politics, and it affiliated to the

First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as ...

in 1866. It was also an early affiliate of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

. Adam Weiler, a prominent

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, was an executive member during the 1870s. In 1875, the

London Trades Council The London Trades Council was an early labour organisation, uniting London's trade unionists. Its modern successor organisation is the Greater London Association of Trades (Union) Councils History Leading figures in the London trade union mov ...

encouraged the association to test the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1871's provisions on

picketing Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in (" crossing the pick ...

; five members of the union including London secretary Harry Ham were imprisoned, but they were soon released, and the law was changed shortly after.Stan Shipley, "The libraries of the Alliance Cabinet Makers' Association", ''History Workshop'', 1976:1, pp.180-184 By 1867, membership of the union was only 800, but the union's high income permitted it to employ its first full-time general secretary, J. R. Smith. Membership appears to have fallen back to just 200 in two branches in 1872, but a trade boom allowed it to spread across the country, reaching 2,000 members in 1877, in 28 branches. Although branches existed in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, more than half of the membership was in London, where branches represented different sections of the trade: for example, the "Fancy Cabinet Branch" and the "Chairmakers and Carvers Branch". During the 1880s, the union led a successful campaign against subcontracting. The union also built up a substantial library of 1,500 volumes for members to educate themselves. Membership peaked at 5,251 in 1901. The following year, it merged with the United Operative Cabinet and Chairmakers Society of Scotland to form the

National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association The National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association (NAFTA) was a trade union representing workers involved in making furniture in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1902 from the merger of the Alliance Cabinet Makers' Assoc ...

General Secretaries

:1865: J. R. Smith{{cite book , last1=Reid , first1=Hew , title=The Furniture Makers , date=1986 , publisher=Malthouse Press , isbn=0948720069 , page=35 :1886: Harry Ham

References

Trade unions established in 1865 Trade unions disestablished in 1902 Furniture industry trade unions Trade unions based in London