James Crinion (1860 – 13 August 1932) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade unionist 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 (s ...

. Born in Lees, near

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 ...

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 Lancash ...

, he worked as a spinner in a cotton mill from an early age. When his family moved to

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. ...

, he became involved in the

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 ...

, and was soon secretary of the local branch of its Oldham affiliate. The Amalgamation was nearly bankrupted by a strike in 1893, but Crinion worked with its secretary,

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 ...

, to rebuild it, and was rewarded in 1896, when he was elected as president."Obituary: Mr. James Crinion", '' Manchester Guardian'', 15 August 1932, p.6 Crinion was able to greatly increase membership of the Amalgamation, and gained prominence in the wider trade union movement. He served as a trustee of the General Federation of Trade Unions, and in 1911 was the

Trade Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

' delegate to the American Federation of Labour. He was critical of the Labour Party and took no part in it, although he was nominally a Labour candidate when he stood unsuccessfully in

Royton Royton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 21,284 in 2011. Close to the source of the River Irk, near undulating land at the foothills of the South Pennines, it is northwest of Old ...

at the 1918 general election. In later years, Crinion was known for stressing the importance of health and safety in cotton mills, particularly the need to reduce dust levels. He retired as president of the Amalgamation in 1926, after suffering poor health, and finally as President of its Oldham affiliate in 1930.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crinion, James 1860 births 1932 deaths Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates British trade union leaders People from Lees, Greater Manchester