William Brown (1824 or 1825 – 21 September 1900) was a

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coal miner who became a prominent

trade unionist 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 Employee ben ...

. Born in Rothwell, West Yorkshire, Brown worked as a coalminer from the age of ten. He settled in

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

, near

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, working at Waterloo Colliery near

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. In March 1858 when the West Yorkshire coal owners implemented a 15% wage cut, the miners at Waterloo came out on strike and were supported by a levy raised from men at nearby pits. In September, the owners closed all the collieries throughout the West Yorkshire coalfield and introduced a lockout. Brown was one of the platform speakers at a large rally of miners on Woodhouse Moor, Leeds, called to protest the lockout. A few years later, Brown was sacked for his activity on behalf of the West Yorkshire Miners' Association (WYMA). Unable to find work in the mines, he became a

greengrocer A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United ...

, and also earned money as a singer at a

Methodist New Connexion The Methodist New Connexion, also known as Kilhamite Methodism, was a Protestant nonconformist church. It was formed in 1797 by secession from the Wesleyan Methodists, and merged in 1907 with the Bible Christian Church and the United Methodist F ...

chapel. In 1863, following wage cuts, the WYMA was re-established, and employed Brown as its secretary and agent. While in this role, he was probably responsible for compiling and publishing the ''Miners' Hymn Book''. When he held union meetings, they were opened and closed with songs from the book. Brown was also active in the

Miners' National Association The Miners' National Union (MNU) was a trade union which represented miners in Great Britain. History The union was founded in November 1863 at a five-day long conference at the People's Hall in Leeds. It was originally known as the National Ass ...

(MNA), and in 1866 it sent him as the full-time organiser for the

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was an early union representing coal miners in parts of the East Midlands of England. The union was founded around the turn of 1863 and 1864 by two miners: William Ball, and one other who died ...

. In 1867, members of the union at several mines objected to having their hours increased, and went on an unofficial strike. Although Brown initially discouraged this, he made the strike official as it spread to other pits. However, the union was unable to fund strike pay for so many miners, and eventually the strike collapsed, taking with it much of the union's membership. In 1869, Brown was appointed by the MNA as the agent for the new

North Staffordshire Miners' Federation The North Staffordshire Miners' Federation was a trade union representing miners in the area of Stoke-on-Trent, located in Staffordshire, in England. The union was established in 1869 as an affiliate of the Miners' National Association (MNA). The ...

. There, he was able to rapidly increase membership, which was more than 12,000 by 1871. Under his leadership, the union affiliated to 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 ...

(AAM). Drawing on his experiences from previous posts, he always advocated

arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

in disputes rather than strikes, but when a strike occurred, he supported it. Brown was an accomplished public speaker and addressed many large gatherings in his role as a miners agent. By 1874, coal prices had fallen, and Brown received criticism for not taking a cut in his own wages. Some lodges left the federation, but Brown kept the majority of the union together, reorienting it back towards the MNA and strongly criticising the now-disintegrating AAM. In 1875, Brown was elected to the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

, but following protests that he belonged to the same trade as another member, he withdrew before the council was constituted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William 1820s births 1900 deaths Year of birth uncertain English miners English trade unionists People from Hunslet