The Amalgamated Society of Dyers, Finishers and Kindred Trades 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 dyers and workers in related jobs 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

The union was founded in 1878 as the Bradford and District Amalgamated Society of Dyers, Crabbers, Singers and Finishers. Initially extremely small, with only 77 members at the end of the 1870s, it won a strike in 1880, and it thereafter recruited rapidly, membership reaching 700 by 1884 and 1,801 in 1891.Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.4, pp.400-401 From 1890 to 1891, the union led a strike at Manningham Mills. This lasted six months and became nationally prominent. Although it ended in defeat, almost all local dyers joining the union, which by 1894 was over 4,000. In 1892, it was renamed as the Amalgamated Society of Dyers, adding "Bleachers and Kindred Trades" in about 1900. It began recruiting nationally, and from 1909 also admitted women, taking membership over 10,000 by 1910. Several local unions merged into the Amalgamated Society: the Glasgow Calendermens Protective and Funeral Association in 1912, the Nottingham Dyers Association in 1922, the Amalgamated Society of Stuff and Woollen Warehousemen in 1926 and the Radcliffe and District Dyers, Bleachers and Sizers Association in 1927. In the 1920s, it added "Finishers" to its name before, in 1936, merging with the

National Union of Textile Workers The National Union of Textile Workers was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in England, principally in Yorkshire. History The union was founded in 1922 when the General Union of Textile Workers merged with the Natio ...

and the

Operative Bleachers, Dyers and Finishers Association The Operative Bleachers, Dyers and Finishers Association, also known as the Bolton Amalgamation, was a trade union representing cotton finishers in the vicinity of Bolton. History The union was founded in 1866 in Bolton and by 1871 already had m ...

to form the National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers.

Election results

The union sponsored

Willie Brooke Willie Brooke (18 December 1895 – 21 January 1939) was a British Trade Union administrator and Labour Party politician. Brooke, the son of a woolsorter, was born in Bradford. He went to Carlton Street Secondary School; his first job was as a ...

as a Labour Party candidate at each general election from 1929 to 1935, twice winning a seat.

General Secretaries

:1885: William Otty :1888: Henry Robinson :1893:

Joseph Hayhurst Joseph Hayhurst (1864 – 13 June 1919) was a British politician and trade union leader. Born in Lancaster, Lancashire, Hayhurst worked at the Manningham Mills in Bradford, where he joined the Bradford and District Amalgamated Society of Dye ...

:1919: William Rushworth :1929: Edward Verity :1933: George Bagnall

References

{{Authority control Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1878 Trade unions disestablished in 1936 1878 establishments in the United Kingdom Textile and clothing trade unions Trade unions based in West Yorkshire