The National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO) 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 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

which existed between 1873 and 1971. It represented workers in the

footwear industry Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and similar garments ease ...

History

The union was founded in 1873, when many

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...

ers and finishers left the Amalgamated Society of Boot and Shoe Makers. They were dissatisfied by their low status within the old union, and instead formed the National Union of Boot and Shoe Rivetters and Finishers (NUBSRF).National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives
, Trade Union Ancestors Membership in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

grew rapidly, with the next largest branches being Glasgow, London and

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

. In total, by 1877, the union had about 4,000 members. A few women joined the union in the late 1880s, making it the first union outside the textile trades to admit both men and women. At this point, membership in the important shoe making centre of

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

was low, with only about 600 of 15,000 shoe workers in the town holding union membership. That year, a five-week lock-out of members resulted in a settlement favourable to the union. This brought in hundreds of new members, and by the end of the year, its national membership reached 10,000. The General Union of Clickers and Rough-stuff Cutters merged into the NUBSRF in 1892, but most of its members left again in 1895. During the late 1880s and early 1890s, socialists came to prominence in the union. They led campaigns against

sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a cramped workplace with very poor and/or illegal working conditions, including little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting and ventilation, or uncomfortably or dangerously high or low temperat ...

working and outworking, where people worked from their own homes and were paid by item completed. Under their influence, the union organised a 34-week strike in 1897, in support of a

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

and a 54-hour week, but this was unsuccessful. In 1897, the union renamed itself as the "National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives", and joined the General Federation of Trade Unions the following year. Membership rose over 100,000 by 1920, although it soon fell to around 80,000. Members in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

left in 1953, to form the Irish Shoe and Leather Workers' Union.John B. Smethurst and Peter Carter, ''Historical directory of trade unions, vol.6'', p.101 A major decline in the British shoe-making industry led the union to merge with the Amalgamated Society of Leather Workers, the National Union of Glovers and Leather Workers and the National Union of Leather Workers and Allied Trades in 1971, forming National Union of Footwear, Leather and Allied Trades.

Election results

The union was affiliated to the Labour Party, and sponsored numerous Parliamentary candidates, many of whom won election.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1874: Thomas Smith :1878:

George Sedgwick George Sedgwick (28 October 1846 – 24 March 1934)Ned Newitt, ''A People's History of Leicester'', p.18 was a British people, British trade union leader. Born in Ironbridge in Shropshire, Sedgwick was educated in Birmingham before becoming a ...

:1886: William Inskip :1899: W. Boyd Hornidge :1908: Edward L. Poulton :1930: George Chester :1949: Lionel Poole :1960: Richard Gregson :1968: T. A. Moore

General Presidents

:1878: Edward Kell :1890: T. Horrabin :1892: Jabez Leedham :1892: John Judge :1893: W. Boyd Hornidge :1899: Charles Freak :1910: Thomas Frederick Richards :1930: W. R. Townley :1938: Len Smith :1944: James Crawford :1957: Sydney Robinson

References

External links

Catalogue of the NUBSO archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collect ...

{{Authority control Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Footwear industry trade unions 1873 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1873 Trade unions disestablished in 1971 Trade unions based in Northamptonshire