The Nottinghamshire Miners' Association 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 ...

representing

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

s in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. A

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association was an early union representing coal miners in parts of the East Midlands of England. The union was founded around the turn of 1863 and 1864 by two miners: William Ball, and one other who died ...

was founded in the 1860s, but became moribund by the 1870s, although some branches remained active, including trade unionists such as Samuel Smith,

Aaron Stewart Aaron Stewart (5 October 1845 – 30 November 1910) was a British people, British trade unionist. Life Born in Coleorton in Leicestershire, Stewart's father died when he was two years old, and he began working underground in a coal mine, i ...

and William Hardy. In 1881, they constituted a new Nottingham Miners' Federation based on the rules of the old union, and by 1884 membership had risen to more than 2,000. That year, two unsuccessful strikes took place and membership halved. In response, the union elected new officials and adopted a new name, the "Nottinghamshire Miners' Association", and constitution. In 1889, the Association was a founder member of 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' ...

. In 1926, at the height of the

General Strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

, General Secretary George Alfred Spencer, on behalf of the Nottinghamshire Miners Association, negotiated a deal with the local mine owners which brought him into conflict with the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, who wished to see the strike continue. Unhappy with the influence of the MFGB, Spencer led a breakaway from the NMA, supported by moderates such as

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...

, setting up the Nottinghamshire and District Miners' Industrial Union (NMIU) based mostly in

The Dukeries The Dukeries is an area of the county of Nottinghamshire so called because it contained four ducal seats. It is south of Worksop, which has been called its "gateway". The area was included within the ancient Sherwood Forest Sherwood Fo ...

. The NMIU lasted for eleven years separate from the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. In 1937, an agreement was reached between the NMA and the NMIU and they merged to form the Nottinghamshire Miners' Federated Union, with Spencer becoming the President. In 1945, the union became the Nottinghamshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers. Following the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the majority of members broke away to form the Union of Democratic Mineworkers.

Presidents

:1881: Joseph Allen :1883: Joseph Hopkin :1884: Charles West :1888:

:1897: William Hardy :1899: John E. Whyatt :1907: Charles Bunfield :1909: William Carter :1910: John E. Whyatt :1912: George Alfred Spencer :1918: Frank Varley :1929: Bill Bayliss :1930: Val Coleman :1932: Herbert Booth :1937: Bernard Taylor :1937: George Alfred Spencer :1945: Bill Bayliss :1952: E. J. Lee :1956: Alf Eggleshaw :1957: Jack Tighe :1971: Len Clarke :1979: Ray Chadburn :Keith Stanley

General Secretaries

:1881: William Kay :1884:

:1887: William Bailey :1893:

:1897:

:1910: Charles Bunfield :1914: :1918: George Alfred Spencer :1926: William Carter :1932: Val Coleman :1945: Herbert Booth :by 1955: Albert Martin :1971: Len Martin :1977: Joe Whelan :1983: Henry Richardson

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1881 Mining trade unions National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) Politics of Nottinghamshire 1881 establishments in England Mining in Nottinghamshire Trade unions based in Nottinghamshire