The Wigan Miners' Association represented coal miners in parts of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, in England. The union was established in 1862, as the Wigan Miners' Provident Benefit Society. During the 1860s, it was one of the strongest miners' unions in the UK. It joined the

National Association of Coal, Lime and Ironstone Workers 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 ...

in 1863, and then in 1869, it joined the

Amalgamated Association of Miners The Amalgamated Association of Miners (AAM) was formed in 1869 in Lancashire, at a time of increasing industrial conflict in the British coalfields. History The union was founded by Thomas Halliday and William Pickard, two miners' union agents who ...

. It was led by

William Pickard William Pickard (10 February 1821 – 21 October 1887) was a British trade unionist. Born in Aspull Moor in Lancashire, Pickard worked at a colliery from an early age. He became active in the Wigan District Miners' Union and, despite being ...

. In the 1870s, the union suffered a large number of splits: the Skelmersdale District Miners' Association, and the

Tyldesley Miners' Association The Tyldesley Miners' Association represented coal miners in parts of Lancashire, in England. The union was established in 1874, as a split from the Wigan Miners' Association. It was led by Robert Isherwood. In the 1887, the union established ...

in 1874, and then the Aspull and District Miners' Association, Blackrod Miners' Association, Hindley Miners' Improvement Benefit Society, Leigh and District Miners' Association, Platt Bridge Miners' and Checkweigh Association, and Standish District Miners' Association in 1877. It was a founding affiliate of the

Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation (LCMF) was a trade union that operated on the Lancashire Coalfield in North West England from 1881 until it became the Lancashire area of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945. Background Colli ...

(LCMF) in 1881, by which point its membership was down to 2,000. It dissolved itself into the LCMF in 1908.

References

{{National Union of Mineworkers (UK) Mining trade unions National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) Trade unions established in 1862 Trade unions disestablished in 1908 Trade unions based in Greater Manchester Wigan