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 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 ( ...

which existed between 1886 and 1974. It represented workers in the

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

History

The union was founded in 1886 as the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing Room Operatives, by the amalgamation of a few small, local unions. This followed the

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

weavers' strike of 1885, which had led to non-unionised cardroom workers being

locked out Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

and losing their wages. Affiliates of the union were: The union represented a wide range of workers in the textile industry, and did not discriminate on the basis of occupation or skill. The core of the union's membership were the strippers and grinders, skilled adult male mechanics, who maintained the carding engines. Almost all strippers and grinders were union members. The CWA also organised less skilled female ring spinners and other mill operatives. From 1904 onwards the only members required to have completed an apprenticeship were the strippers-and-grinders. The CWA grew rapidly and by 1910 it had 52,000 members. In 1924, it changed its name to the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing and Ring Room Operatives, and in 1952 it became the National Association of Card, Blowing and Ring Room Operatives, before adopting its final name, the National Union of Textile and Allied Workers (NUTAW), in 1968. The CWA was more aggressive in its attitude towards negotiating with employers than the other major cotton unions and by the mid-1960s the wages of strippers and grinders equalled those of

mule spinners The spinning mule is a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres. They were used extensively from the late 18th to the early 20th century in the mills of Lancashire and elsewhere. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with the help of two ...

, traditionally the highest-paid textile workers. In 1974, the union merged with 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, ...

, to form the Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union.

General secretaries

:1886:

William Mullin William Mullin (1844 or 1845 – 23 June 1920) was a British trade unionist. Mullin grew up in Oldham, and left school at the age of nine to work in a local cotton mill. He joined a local trade union, and was elected as its treasurer in 1880 ...

:1920: William Thomasson :1935:

Alfred Roberts Alfred Roberts (18 April 1892 – 10 February 1970) was an English grocer, preacher, and local politician. He served as alderman of Grantham from 1943 to 1952 and mayor of Grantham from 1945 to 1946. His second daughter, Margaret, was the ...

:1962: Joe King

Presidents

:1886: George Silk :c.1890: Enoch Jones :1896:

James Crinion James Crinion (1860 – 13 August 1932) was a British trade unionist. Born in Lees, near Oldham, Lancashire, he worked as a spinner in a cotton mill from an early age. When his family moved to Chadderton, he became involved in the Cardroom Amalg ...

:1926:

Joseph Frayne Joseph Dominic Frayne (26 February 1882 – 11 December 1942) was a British trade union leader, who served as President of the Cardroom Amalgamation and Chair of the General Federation of Trade Unions. Frayne was born in Reddish and worked fo ...

:1936: Archie Robertson :1953:

Harold Chorlton Harold Chorlton CBE (14 February 1898 – 4 January 1967) was a British trade union leader and politician. He served as the council leader in Rochdale, and also as a leading figure in the Lancashire cotton trade unions. Born in Rochdale, Lanca ...

:1964: Jim Browning :1972: Roy Bennett

References

{{Authority control Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom 1886 establishments in the United Kingdom Cotton industry trade unions Trade unions established in 1886 Trade unions disestablished in 1974 Trade unions based in Greater Manchester