The Midland Counties Miners' Federation was a trade union, representing coal miners in the West Midlands region of England.

History

The union was founded in 1886. It initially had seven affiliates, including the North

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

Miners' Association, the Old Hill and Highley District Miners, Enginemen and Surfacemen's Association, the Pelsall District Miners, the Shropshire Miners' Association, and the West Bromwich District Miners. It affiliated to the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. By 1893, the federation's affiliates also included the Bristol Miners' Association, Forest of Dean Miners' Association,

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

Warwickshire Miners' Association The Warwickshire Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in the Warwickshire area of England. In 1885, the Newdegate family leased their Warwickshire coal mine to a Sheffield-based company, who attempted to cut costs by re ...

. The first three of these accepted reductions in wages which went against federation policy, and therefore left in 1894, recombining as the South-Western Federation. In 1945, the union became the Midland Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, with less autonomy than before. It dissolved in 2011.

Trade Union Certification Officer The Trades Union Certification Officer was established in the United Kingdom by Act of Parliament in 1975. They head the Certification Office for Trade Unions and Employers' Associations. Responsibilities The Certification Officer is responsible f ...

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Annual Return for a Trade Union: National Union of Mineworkers (Midlands Area): 2010

Affiliates

Leadership

Presidents

:1886: Enoch Edwards :1912:

Samuel Finney Samuel Finney (1857 – 14 April 1935) was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. Life and career Born at Talk-o'-th'-Hill, Finney began working when he was ten years old, and later became a coal miner. In 1881, he was appointed ...

:1930s:

F. J. Hancock Frederick James Hancock (born 1873) was a British trade union leader. Hancock was born in Talke in Staffordshire. He attended the Butt Lane National School, and then spent some time studying at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. Hancock worked ...

:1941: John Blakemore? :1950s: Arthur Baddeley :1963: Jack Lally :1983: John Connon

Secretaries

:1886: Samuel Henry Whitehouse :1888:

Benjamin Dean Benjamin Dean (August 14, 1824 – April 9, 1897) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Early life Born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, U.K., fifth child of Alice Lofthouse and Benjamin Dean, he moved ...

:1890: Albert Stanley :1915: John Baker? : :1930s:

George Henry Jones George Henry Jones (1884 – December 1958) was a British trade unionist and politician. Born in Hednesford, Jones began working as a pit-boy at an early age. He became active in the Cannock Chase Miners' Association, and was elected as its presi ...

:1948: J. H. Southall :1963: A. M. Jones : :1983: Jim Colgan :1990s: Joe Wills

References

{{National Union of Mineworkers (UK) Mining trade unions National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) Politics of the West Midlands (region) 1886 establishments in England Mining in England Trade unions established in 1886 Trade unions disestablished in 2011 Trade unions based in Staffordshire