The United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA) was a

trade union federation Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. It was active from 1889 until 1975.

Objectives

The federation was founded in 1889, to represent the various textile workers' unions in political matters.D. A. Farnie, ''Region and Strategy in Britain and Japan'', p.117 A successor to the Northern Counties Factory Acts Reform Association, it had a broader outlook, not just campaigning on the implementation and extension of the

Factory Acts The Factory Acts were a series of acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom beginning in 1802 to regulate and improve the conditions of industrial employment. The early acts concentrated on regulating the hours of work and moral wel ...

. The UTFWA initially represented around 125,000 workers, three-quarters within twenty miles of

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. By the early twentieth century, its members were organised in the Amalgamated Association of Card and Blowing Room Operatives, Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners, Amalgamated Association of Beamers, Twisters and Drawers,

Amalgamated Weavers' Association The Amalgamated Weavers' Association, often known as the Weavers' Amalgamation, was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Initially, it operated in competition with the North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association in part of its area, ...

, General Union of Loom Overlookers and Operative Bleachers, Dyers and Finishers Association. Later members included the Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen, the General Warp Dressers' Association of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the Ball Warpers' Association. Labour Party, ''Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party'', p.77 The new federation had a General Council with about two hundred members of local unions, and a Legislative Council of full-time leaders. However, its member unions did not always engage with its structures, and the General Council did not meet between 1896 and 1899.

Early years

In its early years, the association attempted to introduce a bill reducing working hours, but dropped the proposal after it was only narrowly passed in a ballot of members. It also hoped to sponsor parliamentary candidates for both the Conservative Party and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, but decided not to pursue this following a lack of interest from the Conservatives and opposition from James Mawdsley. However, it did achieve some success in campaigning against Indian tariffs on

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

imports, as the rates were reduced to below those on other materials. In 1902, breaking with its previous policy, the UTFWA supported

David Shackleton Sir David James Shackleton (21 November 1863 – 1 August 1938) was a cotton worker and trade unionist who became the third Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, following the formation of the British Labour Pa ...

's candidature for the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) in

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

. He was elected and, the following year, the Association affiliated to the LRC. The Cardroom Workers quit the association a few years later after none of its members were adopted as parliamentary candidates, but rejoined in 1916. In 1920, some of its member unions moved for the association to extend its remit to industrial matters, but this was not adopted.

Demise

The federation was dissolved on 1 December 1975, following the decline of the industry and the merger of its two largest affiliates into the

Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union The Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union (ATWU) was a trade union in Great Britain.G. P. and S. P. A. Henderson, ''Directory of British Associations & Associations in Ireland'' (8th Edition), p.7 History The union was founded in 1974, when the Ama ...

.Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union
, Archives Hub

Election results

The federation sponsored a large number of Labour Party candidates, many of whom won election.

Leadership

Secretaries

:1889:

Thomas Birtwistle Thomas Birtwistle (16 October 1833 – 22 March 1912) was an English trade unionist and factory inspector. Born in Great Harwood, Lancashire, he worked in a cotton mill from the age of six, becoming a power-loom weaver at the age of fourteen. In s ...

:c.1892: James Mawdsley :1902: Joseph Cross :1925: James Bell :1931: Cephas Speak :1943:

Ernest Thornton Ernest Thornton (18 May 1905 – 5 February 1992) was a British Labour Party politician. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Farnworth Farnworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, s ...

:1953:

Harold Bradley Harold Bradley may refer to: Others * Harold Bradley (guitarist) (1926–2019), American country and pop guitarist * Harold Bradley (pianist) (1906–1984), Canadian pianist * Harold Bradley (trade unionist) (1895–1979), British trade union leade ...

:1958: James Milhench :1968: Joseph Richardson

Presidents

:1889: David Holmes :1890s: William Mullin :1913: William C. Robinson :1919: Walter Gee :1924: William Thomasson :1935: Archie Robertson :1953: William Roberts :1958: Harold Chorlton :1964: Jim Browning