By
1800 over thirty cotton towns in Lancashire, Cheshire and Derbyshire
had local spinners' friendly societies or trade clubs. The first documented
society was at Stockport in 1785. Other important spinning organizations
existed in Preston (1795), Manchester
(1795) and Oldham (1797). These societies
became illegal under the terms of the 1799 and 1800 Combination
Acts. Sometimes societies were reformed during industrial disputes
such as the spinners' strike in Manchester
in 1810.
After the repeal of the Combination Acts
in 1824 and 1825, spinners had more freedom to form associations of
workers. In 1828 John Doherty became leader
of the Manchester Spinners' Union. The following year textile factory
owners began imposing wage reductions on their workers. In an attempt
to persuade the employers to change their minds, members of the union
went on strike. The strike lasted for six months but in October the
spinners, facing starvation, were forced to accept the lower wages
being offered by the factory owners.
John Doherty realised that it was very
difficult for local unions to win industrial disputes so he organised
a meeting of spinners from all over Britain. The result of the meeting
was the formation of the Grand General Union of Operative Spinners
of the United Kingdom. Doherty's union only lasted two years and it
was not until 1845 that a similar organisation was formed. This time
it was a group of spinners in Bolton who created the Association of
Operative Cotton Spinners. Despite its name, few people joined from
outside that part of Lancashire.
Other attempts at forming a national union took place in Preston
in 1852 with the Friendly Association of Hand Mule Spinners. This
time membership included workers from Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire
and Derbyshire. However, it was not until 1870 with the establishment
of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners that the
trade had a real national union.
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