General Union of Textile Workers

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General Union of Textile Workers
Merged intoNational Union of Textile Workers
Founded1881
Dissolved1922
Headquarters1 Kirkgate Buildings, Kirkgate, Huddersfield
Location
  • United Kingdom
Members
64,000 (1918)
Key people
Allen Gee (Gen Sec)
AffiliationsTUC, Labour

The General Union of Textile Workers was a trade union representing textile workers in England, most of its members being weavers in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

History

The union was founded in 1881 following a strike at Newsome Mills in Huddersfield. Initially known as the Huddersfield and District Power Loom Weavers' Association, it led a major strike of 4,000 weavers for thirteen weeks in 1883. The strike was ultimately defeated; although a pay scale was agreed, this was a maximum rate, and mills could pay lower rates. The union added "Woollen Operatives" to its name, gradually attracting a more diverse membership. It also began accepting members elsewhere in the West Riding, and in 1894 became the West Riding of Yorkshire Power Loom Weavers' Association, with membership over 3,000.[1]

industrial union accepting as members all workers in the industry, this marked the start of rapid growth. Membership rose to 4,500 in 1910, of which almost half were women - unusual for a union of the period - then to 13,400 in 1914, when it became the "General Union of Textile Workers", and 64,000 by 1918.[1]

In 1922, the union merged with the National Society of Dyers and Finishers and the Yeadon, Guiseley and District Factory Workers' Union, forming the National Union of Textile Workers.[1]

Election results

The union sponsored Ben Turner as a Labour Party candidate in several Parliament elections, and from 1922 he served as a Member of Parliament.

Election Constituency Candidate Votes Percentage Position
1908 by-election Dewsbury Ben Turner 2,446 20.2 3
1918 general election
 Batley and Morley Ben Turner 12,051 47.1 2[2]
1922 general election
 Batley and Morley Ben Turner 15,005 46.2 1[3]

General Secretaries

1881: Albert Shaw
1888: Allen Gee[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of British Trade Unions, vol.4, p.245
  2. ^ Labour Party (1918), Report of the Seventeenth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, p.192
  3. ^ "Appendix III: List of sanctioned candidates, June, 1922". Report of the Twenty-second Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 116–126. 1922.. Note that this list is of the sanctioned candidates as of June 1922, and there were some changes between this date and the general election.
  4. Hugh Armstrong Clegg
    , A History of British Trade Unions Since 1889: 1889-1910, p.184
  5. ^ Ben Pimlott and Chris Cook, Trade unions in British politics: the first 250 years, p.32
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