The National Amalgamated Association of Tin Plate Workers of Great Britain 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 sheet metal workers in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1876 in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, when the Wolverhampton Tin Plate Workers' Society merged with the Birmingham Tin Plate Workers' Society, forming the Amalgamated Tin Plate Workers' Society of Birmingham, Wolverhampton and District. Membership was one shilling, and workers involved in strikes or lockouts received 8 shillings per week for up to 20 weeks. Initially, the one district appointed the secretary and the other the president, with the two swapping every three years. This arrangement continued until 1889, when the United Tin Plate Workers' Association and the Gas Meter Makers' Association of Edinburgh and Leith merged into the union, which took its final name. Membership at this time was still only 1,400, but the growth led to increased confidence, and the union affiliated to the

Trades 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 ...

.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.2, pp.117-118 The union continued to grow, with societies based in Aberdeen, Bradford, Bristol, Exeter, Halesowen, Leeds, London, Lowestoft, Norwich and Oldham also joining - by 1902, all the local tin plate workers' unions had affiliated, and membership had reached 6,261. J. C. Gordon was appointed as the union's first full-time general secretary. However, in 1909, the Birmingham branch left following a disagreement about payments to members involved in disputes, forming the

Birmingham and Midland Sheet Metal Workers' Society The Birmingham and Midland Sheet Metal Workers' Society (BMSMWS) was a trade union representing sheet metal workers in the English Midlands. The union's origins lay in the Birmingham Tin Plate Workers' Society, which was formed in 1859. In 1876 ...

.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.2, p.105 In 1920, the union merged into the

National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Braziers The National Union of Sheet Metal Workers, Coppersmiths, Heating and Domestic Engineers was a trade union in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History The union was founded in July 1920 as the National Union of Sheet Metal Workers and Braziers wit ...

Secretaries

:1876: Edward Davies :1879: H. Rickett :1882: John Deans :1886: John Valentine Stevens :1902: Charles Gordon

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1876 1876 establishments in the United Kingdom 1920 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Sheet metal workers' trade unions Trade unions based in the West Midlands (county)