The Bristol Miners' 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

coal miners People have worked as coal miners for centuries, but they became increasingly important during the Industrial revolution when coal was burnt on a large scale to fuel stationary and locomotive engines and heat buildings. Owing to coal's strategic ro ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and Bedminster 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 union was founded in June 1889 with around 2,000 members. It recruited Northumberland miner

William Whitefield William Whitefield (4 January 1850 – 21 October 1926) was a British trade unionist. Born near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Whitefield became a coal miners at the age of ten. He became active in the Northumberland Miners' Association, and served as ...

as its first agent and secretary. He was immediately successful, winning a 10% pay increase for members, leading to membership rising to 3,035 in 1892. This proved to be the union's high point; the gradual closure of local mines reduced membership to 2,167 by 1910.

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

,
Trade unions
, Bristol Historical Resource From its foundation, the union was a member of the

Miners Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

, and from 1894 until 1904, it participated in the loose South Western Counties Miners’ Federation with the

Somerset Miners' Association The Somerset Miners' Association or Somersetshire Miners' Association was a coal mining trade union based in the Somerset coalfield, Somerset, England. The union was founded in 1872 as a section of the Amalgamated Association of Miners. However, ...

and the

Forest of Dean Miners' Association The Forest of Dean Miners' Association was a trade union for coal miners in the Forest of Dean area of England. The union was founded in 1870, based in Cinderford in Gloucestershire. It initially prioritised calling for waste ground to be sold ch ...

. Whitefield retired in 1921 and was succeeded by the union's treasurer, Charles Gill. However, membership continued to decline, to 1,635 in 1925, and by 1937 there was only one pit remaining in the district. Gill was forced to accept a pay cut, and the Bristol Miners' Association was merged into the Somerset Miners' Association, meaning that for the first time, one union covered all miners in Somerset.Archives Hub,
Somerset Miners' Association Archive
By 1945, when the Somerset Miners' Association became the West Country Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, there were fewer than 400 members in the Bristol district.

Secretaries

:1889:

:1912: Charles Gill

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1889 Trade unions disestablished in 1937 Mining trade unions National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) Politics of Bristol Mining in Somerset 1889 establishments in England Trade unions based in Bristol