The Lancashire Amalgamated Tape Sizers' Friendly Society 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 workers involved in the preparation of cotton in the

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 ...

area of England.

Tape sizing

Tape sizing is the process of adding polymers and wax to cotton yarn in order that it will be less likely to break when being woven. In the 19th- and early 20th-centuries, tape sizers were regarded as being the most skilled workers in the cotton industry and therefore were able to command relatively good wages and conditions of employment.

History

The society regarded itself as having been founded in 1882, although the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

gave 1880 as the year of formation. Impetus for forming the society appears to have come from the Haslingden and Rossendale District Cotton Sizers' Protective Society. It was initially known as the North and North East Lancashire Amalgamated Tape Sizers' Protective Society. By 1894, ten local unions held membership of the amalgamation, although as all were very small, it represented a total of only 910 workers. Early in the 1900s, it added "South Lancashire" to its name, probably in the hope of persuading the rival Amalgamated Tape Sizers' Friendly Protection Society to affiliate, although this

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

based union did not do so. Affiliates of the union were: In 1908, the union became the Lancashire Amalgamated Tape Sizers' Friendly Society, and it was later renamed as the Lancashire Amalgamated Tape Sizers' Association. Membership rose slightly to 1,157 in 1910, falling slightly when the Great Harwood union left, although it later rejoined. Membership in 1955 was still 955, but it then began falling rapidly, to only 496 in 1968. Affiliates began merging with each other, although there was a small boost to membership in 1979 when the Amalgamated Tape Sizers finally affiliated. By 1990, only two affiliates remained: the Amalgamated Tape Sizers and the Association of Preparatory Workers. In 1991, the union changed its organisation, so that all members would hold dual membership with the Association of Preparatory Workers. The Tape Sizers would conduct all trade union business, while the Preparatory Workers would only deal with matters relating to property. Membership continued to decline, and in 1993 the union merged into the

Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) was a British trade union. It merged with the MSF to form Amicus in 2001. History The union was founded in 1992, when the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) finally achieved a merger w ...

General secretaries

:as of 1896: R. Walkden :1913: John W. Ainsworth :1920s: W. Wallwork :c.1930: J. Ormerod :1930s: W. Burnett : :1974: Harry Howorth

References

{{Lancashire cotton Trade unions established in 1882 Trade unions disestablished in 1993 Cotton industry trade unions 1882 establishments in the United Kingdom Textile and clothing trade unions Trade unions based in Lancashire