The General Union of Textile Workers 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 textile workers in England, most of its members being weavers in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

History

The union was founded in 1881 following a strike at Newsome Mills in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

. Initially known as the Huddersfield and District Power Loom Weavers' Association, it led a major strike of 4,000 weavers for thirteen weeks in 1883. The strike was ultimately defeated; although a

pay scale __NOTOC__ A pay scale (also known as a salary structure) is a system that determines how much an employee is to be paid as a wage or salary, based on one or more factors such as the employee's level, rank or status within the employer's organizat ...

was agreed, this was a maximum rate, and mills could pay lower rates. The union added "Woollen Operatives" to its name, gradually attracting a more diverse membership. It also began accepting members elsewhere in the West Riding, and in 1894 became the West Riding of Yorkshire Power Loom Weavers' Association, with membership over 3,000.Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of British Trade Unions'', vol.4, p.245

Allen Gee Allen Gee (6 September 1852 – 12 August 1939) was a British trade unionist and politician. Professional background Gee worked in the woolen industry in Huddersfield, and was involved in a major, but unsuccessful, strike in 1883. This experi ...

became the union's general secretary in 1888. Under his leadership, it survived through a decline to only 2,300 members in 1898, and changed its name to the General Union of Weavers and Textile Workers the following year. Now seeing itself as an

industrial union Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

accepting as members all workers in the industry, this marked the start of rapid growth. Membership rose to 4,500 in 1910, of which almost half were women - unusual for a union of the period - then to 13,400 in 1914, when it became the "General Union of Textile Workers", and 64,000 by 1918. In 1922, the union merged with the National Society of Dyers and Finishers and the Yeadon, Guiseley and District Factory Workers' Union, forming the

National Union of Textile Workers The National Union of Textile Workers was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in England, principally in Yorkshire. History The union was founded in 1922 when the General Union of Textile Workers merged with the Natio ...

Election results

The union sponsored Ben Turner as a Labour Party candidate in several Parliament elections, and from 1922 he served as a Member of Parliament. {, class="wikitable sortable" ! Election !! Constituency !! Candidate !! Votes !! Percentage !! Position , - , 1908 by-election , ,

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

, , , , 2,446 , , 20.2 , , 3 , - , 1918 general election , , Batley and Morley , , , , 12,051 , , 47.1 , , 2 Labour Party (1918), ''Report of the Seventeenth Annual Conference of the Labour Party'', p.192 , - , 1922 general election , , Batley and Morley , , , , 15,005 , , 46.2 , , 1{{cite journal , title=Appendix III: List of sanctioned candidates, June, 1922 , journal=Report of the Twenty-second Annual Conference of the Labour Party , date=1922 , pages=116–126. Note that this list is of the sanctioned candidates as of June 1922, and there were some changes between this date and the general election.

General Secretaries

:1881: Albert Shaw :1888:

Hugh Armstrong Clegg Hugh Armstrong Clegg (22 May 1920 – 9 December 1995) was a British academic who was a founder of the "National Board for Prices and Incomes" (1965–71) and later presided over the " Standing Commission on Pay Comparability" set up by James Cal ...

, ''A History of British Trade Unions Since 1889: 1889-1910'', p.184Ben Pimlott and Chris Cook, ''Trade unions in British politics: the first 250 years'', p.32

References

Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom 1881 establishments in the United Kingdom Textile and clothing trade unions Trade unions established in 1881 Trade unions disestablished in 1922 Trade unions based in West Yorkshire