The Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses (AST&T) 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

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

s 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 ...

. The union was founded in 1866 when Peter Shorrocks convened a conference in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

of local societies of tailors. The conference was hugely successful, with 67 societies sending representatives, and 31 others sending messages giving their support to the formation of a national union. By the end of the year, membership of the new Amalgamated Society of Journeymen Tailors was more than 7,000, with the large majority of local societies in England and Ireland signing up, although the

Scottish Amalgamated Society of Tailors The Scottish Operative Tailors' and Tailoresses' Association was a trade union representing clothing workers in Scotland. The union was established in the 1850s as the Scottish National Operative Tailors' Trade Protection Society, and in 1860 it b ...

remained separate.Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.5, pp.427-428 The union campaigned for agreements on local wages, and where disputes arose, the union generally won by launching strike action in a single town. The union also campaigned against subcontracting and homeworking, and the employment of women. This last point became increasingly controversial within the union and, in 1900, it finally created a female section, and changed its name to the "Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses". Members of the Female Section paid lower contributions, but also receive fewer benefits from the union. In 1905, 900 members in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

split away, led by James MacDonald, to form the London Society of Tailors and Tailoresses, after their requests to operate on a largely independent, federal basis were rejected. Despite this, the Amalgamated Society continued to grow, reaching 12,000 members in 1911, and including workers in closely related trades from 1927, when it adopted the name Amalgamated Society of Tailors, Tailoresses and Kindred Workers. This enabled it to maintain membership levels despite a reduction in the number of jobs in the industry, due to increased

mechanisation Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows: In some fields, mechanization includes the ...

. In 1932, on the suggestion 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 ...

, it merged into the Tailors and Garment Workers' Union, which was renamed as the

National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

General Secretaries

:1866: Peter Shorrocks :1886?: George Keir :1894: T. A. Flynn :1925: Gurney Rowlerson

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1866 Trade unions disestablished in 1932 Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Clothing industry trade unions 1866 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions based in Greater Manchester