Bolton Cardroom Union
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The Bolton and District Card, Blowing and Ring Room Operatives' Provincial 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 industry workers in the
Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The longest-established union of cardroom workers, it was central to early attempts to establish a national union for the industry. The union was founded in 1858 as the Bolton Card Grinders' and Strippers' Association, and became the longest-surviving union of cardroom workers. The new union founded a National Union of Associations of Cardroom Operatives, which succeeded in establishing new unions in Stockport and Chorley, but struggled during the following decade, coming only to cover unions local to Bolton. The federation dissolved in the 1880s. From the start, the union was open to women, and this policy allowed membership to reach 300 in the town by 1860. However, concerned that it was recruiting new members who were more likely to find themselves out of work and requiring union funds, that year, the union decided to stop accepting new members. By 1863, this had led membership to fall to only fifty, and membership was re-opened, albeit with a high entrance fee. However, recruitment was slow, with women in particular struggling to afford this new fee. By 1866, the union had no remaining women members, and decided to donate the funds of its women's section to a group of local women who had been involved in a strike. A women's section was re-established in 1873, and by the end of the year, around half of the union's 150 members were women. The 1870s saw the start of the
Long Depression The Long Depression was a worldwide price and economic recession, beginning in 1873 and running either through March 1879, or 1896, depending on the metrics used. It was most severe in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing st ...
, and over the decade, almost all of the union's members left. However, it was reorganised by Joseph Edge in 1879. He served as general secretary until 1926, taking the union into the new
Cardroom Amalgamation The Cardroom Amalgamation or Cardroom Workers' Amalgamation (CWA)Joseph L. White, ''The Limits of Trade Union Militancy'', p.240, note 9 was a British trade union which existed between 1886 and 1974. It represented workers in the cotton textil ...
, although it did not take part in the amalgamation's collective bargaining for many years. Membership increased greatly under his leadership, reaching 1,100 in 1885, 5,616 in 1905, and 15,339 in 1919. In 1886 the union was renamed as the Bolton and District Card, Blowing, Ring and Throstle Room Operatives' Association, reflecting its greater areas of recruitment. The union was reorganised into a number of branches, peaking at 11, although only four from 1910 until 1936, when a branch was established in
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...
. In 1910, the union was renamed as the "Bolton and District Card, Blowing and Ring Room Operatives' Provincial Association". Because Bolton was known for higher-quality cotton spinning than other districts, it was little affected by the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and so membership remained stable, peaking at 15,466 in 1936. By this stage, around 90% of union members were women. The cotton industry and union membership declined after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but only slowly in Bolton until the late 1950s. In 1968, it was renamed as the Bolton and District Union of Textile and Allied Workers. In 1982, it merged with the
Bolton and District Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association The Bolton and District Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association was a trade union representing cotton mill workers in the Bolton area of Lancashire in England. The union was the first in the Lancashire cotton industry to appoint a woman as i ...
, the
North Lancashire and Cumbria Textile Workers' Association The Preston and District Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association was a trade union representing cotton weavers in the Preston, Lancashire, in England. The union was founded in 1858 as the Preston Power Loom Weavers' Association, although a p ...
and the Chorley, Skelmersdale and Wigan Amalgamated Textile Workers' Unions to form the
North West Lancashire, Durham and Cumbria Textile Workers' Union The North West Lancashire, Durham and Cumbria Textile Workers' Union (NWLDCTWU) was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in part of North West England. The union was founded in 1982, when the Bolton and District Union of Texti ...
, which joined the GMB in 1986.


General Secretaries

:1879: Joseph Edge :1926: Albert Edge :1938: William Roberts :1950s: W. Prescott :1961: Jack Brown :1960s: F. Whiteside


References

{{UTFWA Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Bolton Cotton industry trade unions 1858 establishments in the United Kingdom 1982 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1858 Trade unions disestablished in 1982 Trade unions based in Greater Manchester