The Union of Jute, Flax and Kindred Textile Operatives was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing workers in the textile trades in and around

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The union was founded after a major strike in the industry in Dundee. The strikers had no official union representation, as the Dundee and District Mill and Factory Operatives Union opposed the action. As a result, in 1906,

Mary Macarthur Mary Reid Anderson (née Macarthur; 13 August 1880 – 1 January 1921) was a Scottish suffragist (although at odds with the national groups who were willing to let a minority of women gain the franchise) and was a leading Trade Union, trades ...

and John Reed of Dundee Trades Council founded it as the Dundee and District Union of Jute and Flax Workers. On formation, it had 3,964 members, of whom two-thirds were women, rising to 5,000 by 1910.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.4, p.304

John Sime John Sime (died 1943) was a Scottish trade union leader. In 1906, Sime was the founding president of the Dundee and District Union of Jute and Flax Workers. Two years later, he became its general secretary, and for many years the union thrived. ...

became prominent in the union as its president, then as its general secretary. Under his leadership, the union came into conflict with the rival Dundee and District Mill and Factory Operatives Union, eventually coming to dominate the industry in the city. By the 1920s, membership had reached a peak of 20,000, but this gradually declined due to redundancies in the industry. By 1979, the union had fewer than 2,000 members remaining, and it merged into the

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. It amalgamated with the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1982. History The union was founded in 1936 with the merger of the N ...

General Secretaries

:1906: William Egerton :1908:

:1940: Thomas Matthew Ferguson :1947: John Duffy :1958: Robert Doyle :1971: Margaret Fenwick

Presidents

:1906: John Sime :1908: Nicholas Marra :1911: Mary Wood : :1924: Rachel Devine :1930: Jeannie Spence :1933: Robert Doyle :1937: :1945: Robert Doyle :1956:

References

Defunct trade unions of Scotland 1906 establishments in the United Kingdom Politics of Dundee Jute industry trade unions Trade unions established in 1906 Trade unions disestablished in 1979