The Padiham and District Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' 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 cotton weavers in the

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Calder, Lancashire, River Calder, in the Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, Lancashire, England. It is located north west of Burnley, and north ea ...

area of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, in England. The foundation date of the union is unclear, having been given variously as 1850, 1856 or 1858. It definitely existed by 1858, when it became a founder constituent of the North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association.Edwin Hopwood, ''A History of the Lancashire Cotton Industry and the Amalgamated Weavers' Association'', pp.47-52 The following year, it led a 29-week strike. In 1884, the union was a founding constituent of the

Amalgamated Weavers' Association The Amalgamated Weavers' Association, often known as the Weavers' Amalgamation, was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Initially, it operated in competition with the North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association in part of its area, ...

. Membership of the union was over 4,000 by 1892, and peaked at just under 6,010 in 1907. Unlike many other cotton industry unions, in 1915 it voted against funding the Labour Party. It then decided to register with the government, but almost immediately changed its mind, and deregistered. Union membership declined along with employment in the Lancashire cotton industry, and by 1960 the union had only 900 members remaining. It remained independent until 1977, when it merged into the

Burnley, Nelson and District Textile Workers' Union The Burnley, Nelson, Rossendale and District Textile Workers' Union (BNRDTWU) was a trade union representing cotton industry workers in the Burnley and Nelson, Lancashire, Nelson areas of Lancashire in England. The union was formed in 1966 wit ...

General Secretaries

:1850s: Abraham Pinder :Robert Hargreaves :1910s: Thomas Y. Sutcliffe :1916: David Russell :1944: T. Taylor :1960: J. Mannion

References

{{UTFWA Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Padiham Cotton industry trade unions 1856 establishments in the United Kingdom 1977 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1856 Trade unions disestablished in 1977 Trade unions based in Lancashire