The National Amalgamated Coal Workers' Union 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 1889 and 1922. It represented coal porters and

carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

History

The union was formed as the National Amalgamated Coal Porters Union of Inland and Seaborne Coal Workers in 1890, and affiliated with the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

in 1890. Union membership grew rapidly from 5000 in 1891 to 12,000 in 1892. A major three-week strike occurred in London in 1892, involving 6,000 members of the union, over the employment on a non-union worker and the failure of some employers to pay standard wages. The strike was unsuccessful, but it was agreed through conciliation that the strikers would be re-employed. Following the failure of the strike, 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' ...

, but its membership fell, to 4,000 in 1896 and 1,535 in 1910. By 1920 it had recovered somewhat, with a membership of 10,000. In 1922 it merged with 13 other British trade unions to form the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

General Secretaries

:1890: George Shelley :1893: James O'Connor :1890s: J. Hopkin :1910s: Alfred Walton

References

{{Transport and General Workers' Union Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Transport trade unions in the United Kingdom Transport and General Workers' Union amalgamations Trade unions established in 1889 Trade unions disestablished in 1922 Trade unions based in London

History

General Secretaries

See also

References