The Durham Miners' Association (DMA) 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 ...

History

The union was founded in 1869 and its membership quickly rose to 4,000, but within a year had fallen back to 2,000. In December 1870, William Crawford became the union's president, and was able to rebuild its membership, the DMA soon becoming the largest miners' union in the UK.

Sidney Webb Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, (13 July 1859 – 13 October 1947) was a British socialist, economist and reformer, who co-founded the London School of Economics. He was an early member of the Fabian Society in 1884, joining, like Geo ...

, ''The Story of the Durham Miners'' The union saw rapid success, with the abolition of the unpopular Yearly Bond in 1872, while a short strike in 1874 began a process of agreeing wages across the county. A longer strike in 1879 was unsuccessful in preventing cuts to wages, but action in 1890 ensured that the district was the first in the county to adopt a standard seven-hour day. The prolonged strike of 1892 against a proposed 15% cut in wages ended with an agreement to accept a 10% cut. In these early days, the DMA was part of the Miners' National Union, and supported Lib-Lab candidates; both Crawford and John Wilson serving local constituencies. Although the union affiliated to the

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales, Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' ...

(MFGB) in 1892, it was expelled the following year after refusing to join the national strike. It again attempted to join in 1897, but asked to be bound only on questions of wages, which was not permitted. In particular, the Durham union opposed the Eight Hours Bill, which was strongly promoted by the MFGB. The union finally joined the MFGB in 1908, following the passage of the Eight Hours Bill. In addition, by 1900, membership had risen to 80,000. While the union represented the large majority of miners in County Durham, some in specialist roles were represented by the Durham County Colliery Enginemen's Association, the Durham Colliery Mechanics' Association, and the Durham Cokemen's Association. The four unions worked together in the Durham County Mining Federation Board, the secretary of which was invariably the secretary of the DMA. The union became the Durham Area of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945 and later officially became the North East Area of the NUM, although it was generally known by its former name. It was dissolved in 2018.

General Secretaries

:1869: John Richardson :1870: A. Cairns :1871: William Crawford :1890: William Hammond Patterson :1896: John Wilson :1915: Thomas Cann :1924: W. P. Richardson :1930: Peter Lee :1935: John Swan :1945: Sam Watson :1963: Alfred Hesler :1970: J.C. (Kit) Robinson :1972: W. Malt :1979: Tom Callan :1985: David Hopper :2016: Alan Cummings :2019: Alan Mardghum

Presidents

:1869: William Crake :1870: William Crawford :1871: John Forman :1900: William House :1917: James Robson :1935: James Gilliland :1945: Edward Moore :1953: James Kelly :1961: Charles Pick :1967: J.C. (Kit) Robinson :1970: Walter Malt :1972: Tom Callan :1979: Harold Mitchell :1985: David Guy :2012: Alan Cummings :2016: Joseph Whitworth :2019: Alan Mardghum :2020: Stephen Guy

Treasurers

:1869: Nicholas Wilkinson :1882: John Wilson :1886: William Hammond Patterson :1890: John Johnson :1896: Thomas Cann :1915: Thomas Trotter :1932: Sam Watson

References

External links

''A Visit to Russia: A Report of Durham Miners on their Visit to the U.S.S.R.''
a 1937 pamphlet published by the Durham Miners' Association
Catalogue of DMA records at Durham County Record Office
records deposited at Durham County Record Office {{Authority control History of mining in the United Kingdom Mining trade unions National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) Politics of County Durham 1869 establishments in England Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Mining in County Durham Trade unions established in 1869 Trade unions disestablished in 2018 Trade unions based in County Durham