The National Amalgamated Coal Workers' Union 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 ( ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

which existed between 1889 and 1922. It represented

coal porters The Coal Porters were a British-American bluegrass band headquartered in London and led by Sid Griffin ( mandolin, autoharp, harmonica and vocals) and Neil Robert Herd (guitar and vocals). The group disbanded in July 2018. The other members ...

and

carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

History

The union was formed as the National Amalgamated Coal Porters Union of Inland and Seaborne Coal Workers in 1890, and affiliated with the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

in 1890. Union membership grew rapidly from 5000 in 1891 to 12,000 in 1892. A major three-week strike occurred in London in 1892, involving 6,000 members of the union, over the employment on a non-union worker and the failure of some employers to pay standard wages. The strike was unsuccessful, but it was agreed through conciliation that the strikers would be re-employed. Following the failure of the strike, the union 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 ...

, but its membership fell, to 4,000 in 1896 and 1,535 in 1910. By 1920 it had recovered somewhat, with a membership of 10,000. In 1922 it merged with 13 other British trade unions to form the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

General Secretaries

:1890: George Shelley :1893: James O'Connor :1890s: J. Hopkin :1910s: Alfred Walton

References

{{Transport and General Workers' Union Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Transport trade unions in the United Kingdom Transport and General Workers' Union amalgamations Trade unions established in 1889 Trade unions disestablished in 1922 Trade unions based in London

History

General Secretaries

See also

References