The Darwen Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' 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

Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the sout ...

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. As the main industry in the town, the union has been influential in its history, and some of its leaders became significant national figures. In the early 1850s, cotton industry workers in Darwen could join the Blackburn Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association, but disputes over attempts to form a federation of weavers' unions led members in Darwen to split away and form their own union in 1857. The following year, 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 ...

was established, Darwen joining while Blackburn remained outside. However, Darwen soon left this "First Amalgamation", only rejoining in 1863. In 1885, it also joined the new Amalgamated Weavers' Association. Membership of the union grew steadily, reaching 5,500 in 1888, and 8,298 in 1907. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the industry went into decline, with many job losses, and by 1960 the union was down to only 1,000 members. That year, it finally merged back into the Blackburn union.

General Secretaries

:1857: Entwistle Entwistle :1892:

Joseph Cross Joseph or Joe Cross may refer to: People * Joseph Cross (actor) (born 1986), American actor * Joseph Cross (cartographer) (1821–1865), English cartographer * Joseph Cross (cricketer) (1849–1918), English cricketer * Joseph Cross (judge) (1843� ...

:1894:

David Shackleton Sir David James Shackleton (21 November 1863 – 1 August 1938) was a cotton worker and trade unionist who became the third Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, following the formation of the Labour Representation Committee. He ...

:1907: John Parkington :1922: Joseph Kay Bailey :1933:

Harold Bradley Harold Ray Bradley (January 2, 1926 – January 31, 2019) was an American guitarist and entrepreneur, who played on many country, rock and pop recordings and produced numerous TV variety shows and movie soundtracks. Having started as a session ...

References

{{UTFWA Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Darwen Cotton industry trade unions 1857 establishments in England 1960 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1857 Trade unions disestablished in 1960 Trade unions based in Lancashire