Scottish Operative Tailors' and Tailoresses' Association
The Scottish Operative Tailors' and Tailoresses' Association was a trade union representing clothing workers in Scotland.
The union was established in the 1850s as the Scottish National Operative Tailors' Trade Protection Society, and in 1860 it became the Scottish National Association of Tailors. By 1867, it had 4,500 members in 84 branches, although these initially had a great deal of autonomy, and many of the union's activities were localised until the 1890s. Already in the 1860s, its secretary and the editor of its journal worked full-time for the union, while its treasurer and president each received £12 per year.[1]
Initially, the union campaigned for shorter working hours, the same pay for the same work among different employers, spreading work among members during times of recession, and for employers to allow
The
In 1900, the union admitted its first nineteen women members, and became the Scottish Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses, but despite the name change, very few women were admitted, and in 1910 only five women held membership. In 1903, the union suffered a significant defeat, with employers thereafter refusing union officials the right to enter workshops, and began employing temporary workers in any number they desired.[1]
The union merged with the
General Secretaries
- 1880s: Neil McLean
- 1895: Robert Girvan
- c.1918: A. C. Craig