The Burnley and District Weavers', Winders' and Beamers' Association was a

trade union 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 ...

representing workers in the cotton industry in the

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

area of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, in England. As cotton manufacturing dominated the town's economy, the trade union played an important role in the town, and several union officials became prominent national figures.

History

A union of weavers had existed in Burnley from the 1840s until about 1863, while a second was formed in 1866, but both collapsed, following opposition from employers. This concerned the

North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association The North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association was a trade union federation of local weavers' unions in part of Lancashire in England, in the 19th century. History The federation was founded in 1858 as the East Lancashire Amalgamat ...

, which saw an opportunity to organise in the town, and it began recruiting local weavers to the Chorley Weavers' Association, one of its affiliates. By 1870, the Chorley union had enough members in Burnley that they were able to form their own, independent, union, the Burnley and District Weavers' Winders' and Beamers' Association. The end of the decade saw a downturn in the trade and the new union organised industrial action. It struggled to keep going, but did survive, and in 1884 it affiliated to the new

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). By 1892, the union had 10,043 members, and this grew to a peak of 27,000 in 1920. It was the largest union affiliated to the AWA. In 1892, the union declared itself in support of

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, and that it politically and financially support efforts to form an independent socialist party. A member of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

(SDF) was elected as vice-president in 1895, and this led the SDF's leader,

H. M. Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 22 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first socialist p ...

, to unsuccessfully contest the Burnley constituency at the

1895 UK general election The 1895 United Kingdom general election was held from 13 July to 7 August 1895. The result was a Conservative parliamentary majority of 153. William Gladstone had retired as prime minister the previous year, and Queen Victoria, disregarding G ...

. The following year, Liberal-Labour members of the union, such as president David Holmes, overturned the socialist policies, leading SDF supporters to form a small breakaway union. This survived for several years, but did not grow, and was eventually dissolved. The period from 1920 saw a long downturn in the Lancashire cotton trade, and membership of the union fell to little over 2,000. As a result, in 1966 it merged with the

Nelson and District Weavers' Association The Nelson Weavers' Association (NWA) was a trade union representing cotton weavers in the area of Nelson, Lancashire. As the main industry in the town, the union has been influential in its history, and some of its leaders became significant n ...

, forming the

Burnley, Nelson and District Textile Workers' Union The Burnley, Nelson, Rossendale and District Textile Workers' Union (BNRDTWU) was a trade union representing cotton industry workers in the Burnley and Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson areas of Lancashire in England. The union was formed in 1966 wit ...

General Secretaries

:1894: Fred Thomas :1912:

James Hindle James Hindle (13 April 1871''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 31 July 1942) was a British trade unionist. Born in Heywood, Hindle became a weaver at an early age. In 1888, he moved with his family to Burnley and became involved in the B ...

:1940:

Robinson Graham Robinson Graham (1878 – 13 May 1953) was a British trade unionist and politician. Born in Burnley, Graham became a weaver and was active in the Burnley Weavers' Association, becoming its assistant secretary in 1911 and serving for many years ...

:1947: Harold Dickinson

Presidents

:1871: David HolmesDuncan Bythell,
Holmes, David
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' :1906: Robert Pollard :1915: Edward Ellis Birtwistle :Harold Hudson

References

{{UTFWA Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Burnley Cotton industry trade unions 1870 establishments in the United Kingdom 1966 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1870 Trade unions disestablished in 1966 Trade unions based in Lancashire