{{short description, Former trade union of the United Kingdom
The National Society of Brushmakers and General Workers 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 ...
.
The union dated its establishment to 1747, when the Manchester Society of Brushmakers was founded. By 1839, the United Society of Brushmakers had been established, which appears to have incorporated the Manchester Society, and gradually absorbed local unions of brushmakers from around the country.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.3, p.407
Initially, the union focused on welfare payments for members, and set a high entrance fee - 20 shillings by the 1880s. Perhaps as a result of this, membership in the 19th-century never reached 2,000. In about 1900, it was renamed as the National Society of Brushmakers, and was recognised by 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 ...
(TUC) as the oldest union in the country.
The union was known for never undertaking a strike. By the end of the 1960s, it had around 6,000 members,Michael Parkin, "Brushmakers bristle at proposed reforms", ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 12 May 1969 and in 1971 it added "and General Workers" to its name. Two years later, it was expelled from the TUC for registering with the government, in defiance of the congress' policy, but it was permitted to rejoin the following year. In 1983, the union merged into the
Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union
The Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union (FTAT) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
History
The union was founded in 1971 by the merger of the National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives (NUFTO) and the Amalgamated Society of Woodcu ...
.
General Secretaries
:1900s: S. G. Porter
:1920: George Mayes
:1960: Thomas Bowen Thomas
:1973: A. W. Godfrey