{{short description, Former trade union of the United Kingdom
The United Builders' Labourers Union was a
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...
representing labourers in the construction industry 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
The union was founded in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1889, and began recruiting members nationally from 1892. As a result, it grew rapidly, to 4,650 members in 1896, and around 10,000 in 1900. It was an early member of the Labour Representation Committee, and also joined the
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O ...
.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of British Trade Unions'', vol.3, p.129
In 1902, the union took part in a merger conference with the Navvies, Bricklayers' Labourers and General Labourers Union, the Hull and District Builders' Labourers Union, the
National Amalgamated Union of Labour
The National Amalgamated Union of Labour (NAUL) was a general union in the United Kingdom.
History
The trade union was founded in Feb 1889 as the United Tyne and District Labourers Association and in March 1889 the Amalgamated Society of Shipyar ...
National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers
The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) was an early general union in the United Kingdom, the most important general union of its era.
History
The union was founded in 1889 as the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers by Will ...
. The meetings lasted several months, but no agreement was reached, and a legacy of distrust between the unions resulted.
In 1920, the United Builders' Labourers applied to join the
National Federation of Building Trade Operatives The National Federation of Building Trades Operatives (NFBTO) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom, consisting of unions with members in construction and related industries.
History
In 1914, a group of workers attempted to form the B ...
. As a condition of membership, the federation insisted it attend a merger conference with its main rivals, by now the
National Association of Builders' Labourers
The Altogether Builders' Labourers and Constructional Workers' Society was a trade union representing labourers in the construction industry in the United Kingdom.
The union originated around the turn of 1889 and 1890 as the National Associati ...
, the United Order of General Labourers of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Navvies', Bricklayers' Labourers' and General Labourers' Union. This was not successful; the Navvies and the United Order had little interest in amalgamation, while the National and the United Builders could not agree on a way forward. Instead, the United Builders reconstituted itself as the National Builders' Labourers and Constructional Workers' Society (NBLCWS). This survived until 1952, when it merged into the
Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers
The Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers (AUBTW) was a British trade union.
History
The AUBTW was founded in 1921 when the Operative Society of Masons, Quarrymen and Allied Trades of England and Wales, the Operative Bricklayers' Society ...
.
General Secretaries
:1889: W. Stevenson
:1905: Dennis Haggerty
:1928: George Elmer
:1949: Ted Lamerton