The Ashton-under-Lyne and District Power Loom Weavers' 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 cotton weavers in the

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

area of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, in England. After a dispute at Wellington Mills in Ashton, in 1877, local weavers decided to form a union, establishing it in 1877. One of the largest cotton unions of the 19th-century, it had 6,000 members in seven branches by the 1890s. The union was also a founder member 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), in 1884. Membership of the union peaked at 7,766 in 1913, but fell a little in the 1920s. While it continued to decline, along with the Lancashire cotton industry in general, its secretary

Lewis Wright Lewis Tatham Wright, Baron Wright of Ashton-under-Lyne, CBE (born Stiles; 11 October 1903 ...

came to prominence as leader of the AWA, and he was later knighted. The union received a small boost in 1951, when the

Manchester, Salford and District Weavers' Association The Manchester and Salford Weavers' Association was a trade union representing weavers in part of Lancashire, in England. In 1902, a group of women weavers founded the Salford and District Power Loom Weavers' Association. Unlike other local un ...

merged in. In 1972, the union merged with the

Hyde and District Weavers', Winders', Warpers' and Doublers' Association The Hyde and District Weavers', Winders', Warpers' and Doublers' Association was a trade union representing workers in the cotton industry around Hyde, then in Cheshire and Derbyshire in England. There was a friendly society of weavers in the ...

and the Stockport and District Weavers', Winders', Warpers' and Reelers' Association, forming the South East Lancashire and Cheshire Weavers' and Winders' Association.

General secretaries

:1877: William Booth :1907: Sam T. Goggins :1935:

Lewis Wright Lewis Tatham Wright, Baron Wright of Ashton-under-Lyne, CBE (born Stiles; 11 October 1903 ...

:1953:

Fred Hague Fred Garfield Hague (29 September 1911''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007'' – 13 November 1984) was a British trade unionist. Hague was born in Dixon Street, Crossbank, Waterhead, Oldham. He worked as a cotton weave ...

References

{{UTFWA Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Ashton-under-Lyne Cotton industry trade unions 1877 establishments in the United Kingdom 1972 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1877 Trade unions disestablished in 1972 Trade unions based in Greater Manchester