The Northern Carpet Trades Union (NCTU) 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 ...
. It was first formed in 1892 in
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...
, later expanding to cover all of Northern England. The NCTU was formed later than the
Power Loom Carpet Weavers' and Textile Workers' Association
The Power Loom Carpet Weavers' and Textile Workers' Union (PLCWTWU) was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in the Kidderminster area of England.
The union was founded in 1865 and was initially named the Power Loom Brussels ...
, based in Kidderminster, and was considerably smaller. Approximately a fifth of eligible workers were members of the NCTU in 1939, compared to 50 percent for the Kidderminster union. Attempts to amalgamate all unions in the carpet trade failed, but in 1917 the
National Affiliation of Carpet Trade Unions
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
was established with equal representation from the NCTU,
Scottish Carpet Workers' Union
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
,
National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers
The National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers (NUDBTW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
History
The union was founded in 1936 with the merger of the National Union of Textile Workers, which was the main union representing ...
and
Power Loom Carpet Weavers' and Textile Workers' Union
The Power Loom Carpet Weavers' and Textile Workers' Union (PLCWTWU) was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in the Kidderminster area of England.
The union was founded in 1865 and was initially named the Power Loom Brussel ...
.
The NCTU originally only represented carpet
weavers
Weaver or Weavers may refer to:
Activities
* A person who engages in weaving fabric
Animals
* Various birds of the family Ploceidae
* Crevice weaver spider family
* Orb-weaver spider family
* Weever (or weever-fish)
Arts and entertainment
...
, but later came to represent all employees in the carpet industry including a staff section for supervisors and management.
It merged with 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 ...
in 2000.
General Secretaries
:1915: Ellis Crowther
[Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of British Trade Unions'', vol.4, p.498]
:
:1950: H. H. Clee
:1954: H. D. Pickles
:1967: Reginald Townsend
:1972: Leslie R. Smith
:1980s: Keith Edmondson
See also
*
TGWU amalgamations
The Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) was created in 1922 from a merger of fourteen unions and continued to grow through a series of mergers, amalgamations and transfers of engagements. This process, which is recorded below in chronologi ...
References
Further reading
*
Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom
Textile and clothing trade unions
Transport and General Workers' Union amalgamations
Trade unions disestablished in 2000
Trade unions based in West Yorkshire
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