The Midland Counties Miners' Federation 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

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

s in the

West Midlands region The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists ...

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 Old Hill is a small village in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands, England, situated around north of Halesowen and south of Dudley. Initially a separate village it is now part of the much larger West Midlands conurba ...

and

Highley Highley is a large village in Shropshire, England, on the west bank of the River Severn and 7 miles south east of Bridgnorth. The closest cities being Wolverhampton and Birmingham. History Highley began as a rural farming community, includin ...

District Miners, Enginemen and Surfacemen's Association, the

Pelsall Pelsall is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. Forming part of the borough's border with Staffordshire, Pelsall is located 4 miles north of central Walsall, midway between the towns of Bloxwich and Brown ...

District Miners, the

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

Miners' Association, and the

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

District Miners. It affiliated to the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...

. By 1893, the federation's affiliates also included the

Bristol Miners' Association The Bristol Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in Bristol and Bedminster in England. The union was founded in June 1889 with around 2,000 members. It recruited Northumberland miner William Whitefield as its first a ...

Forest of Dean Miners' Association The Forest of Dean Miners' Association was a trade union for coal miners in the Forest of Dean area of England. The union was founded in 1870, based in Cinderford in Gloucestershire. It initially prioritised calling for waste ground to be sold ch ...

, Somerset Miners' Association, 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 ...

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

Affiliates

Leadership

Presidents

:1886:

Enoch Edwards Enoch Edwards may refer to: * Enoch Edwards (trade unionist) Enoch Edwards (April 1852 – 28 June 1912) was a British trade unionist and politician. Biography Edwards was born at Talk-o'-the Hill Staffordshire on 10 April 1852. He was the ...

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

Secretaries

:1886:

Samuel Henry Whitehouse Samuel Henry Whitehouse (14 February 1849 – 20 December 1919) was a British trade unionist. Early life Born in Swan Village in Staffordshire, Whitehouse began working underground at a coal mine when he was eight years old. He took part in ...

: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 Albert Stanley may refer to: * Albert Stanley (Liberal politician) (1863–1915), British Member of Parliament, 1907–1915 * Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield (1874–1948), British Conservative MP, Managing Director & Chairman ...

:1915: John Baker? : :1930s: George Henry Jones :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