The Furniture, Timber and Allied Trades Union (FTAT) 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 1971 by the merger of the National Union of Furniture Trade Operatives (NUFTO) and the Amalgamated Society of Woodcutting Machinists. In 1978, the National Union of Funeral Service Operatives merged with it, while the National Society of Brushmakers and General Workers joined in 1983. The following year, its total membership was 85,407. The union was a member of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions. Initially, the union had six trade groups, reduced to five in the 1980s: upholstery, soft furnishing and bedding, woodcutting machinists, funeral services, flat glass and processing, and supervisory and clerical. The union was known for its left-wing outlook, inherited from NUFTO. In the 1981 Labour Party deputy leadership election, it supported

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

. Some of FTAT's

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members, based in

Barnoldswick Barnoldswick (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. It lies within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic West Riding of Yorkshire, West Ri ...

, were involved in Britain's longest ever strike, from 1985 until 1987. By 1993, membership was down to 31,642, and the union merged with the GMB, forming the bulk of its new "Construction, Furniture, Timber and Allied" section.Jeremy Waddington et al, ''A comparison of the trade union merger process in Britain and Germany'', pp.159-160

Election results

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in several Parliamentary elections.

General Secretaries

:1971: Alf Tomkins :1975: Robert Shube :1978: Ben Rubner :1986: Colin Christopher

References

External links

Catalogue of the FTAT archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick {{Authority control Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1971 Trade unions disestablished in 1993 1971 establishments in the United Kingdom Furniture industry trade unions GMB (trade union) amalgamations Trade unions based in London