The Oldham Operative Cotton Spinners' Provincial Association 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 cotton spinners across eastern Lancashire, in England. It was often the large spinners' union, and provided much of the leadership of the Spinners' Amalgamation.

History

A union of spinners existed in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

by 1797, and may have been in continuous existence thereafter. In 1843, it was reconstituted under the name of the Oldham Provincial Cotton Spinners' and Self Actor Minders' Association, and established an office on Roch Street in the town. From the start, the union had branches in Lees,

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada *Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village *Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton *Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...

and Waterhead, in addition to Oldham, and it soon expanded to included branches in

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. Hi ...

, Hollinwood, Middleton and Royton. By 1868, it had 2,226 members. The union was a member of the Association of Operative Cotton Spinners, Twiners and Self-Actor Minders of the United Kingdom from its formation in 1845, but left in 1853, and held membership intermittently thereafter. In 1870, it was a founder member of the new

Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners The Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners and Twiners, also known as the Amalgamation, was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1870 and 1970. It represented male mule spinners in the cotton industry. Histor ...

, but it retained control over the welfare benefits it paid members, and over wage negotiations. Initially its second-largest province, after Bolton, it grew steadily. By 1919, it provided 40% of the entire membership of the amalgamation, but when piecers were admitted, it again fell behind Bolton. In 1939, it still had 10,000 members, spread over 15 branches. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, membership of the union declined rapidly, and in 1973 it stood at only 12 people. Despite this, it survived until 1980, when it was dissolved.

General Secretaries

:1868: Thomas Ashton :1913: Fred Birchenough :1936:

Albert Knowles Albert Knowles (1885 – July 1953) was a British trade union leader. Born in Turton, near Bolton, Knowles began working in a cotton mill at the age of eleven, also joining a local union. In 1908, he moved to Oldham and transferred to the ...

:1953: Walter Lee :1967: Frederick Mayall

References

{{UTFWA Oldham Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Cotton industry trade unions Trade unions established in the 1840s Trade unions disestablished in 1980 1843 establishments in the United Kingdom 1980 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions based in Greater Manchester