FOOTNOTES:
[577]During the whole course of the nineteenth century the Government failed to ascertain, with any approach to accuracy, how numerous the Trade Unionists were. Until the appointment of Mr. John Burnett as Labour Correspondent of the Board of Trade in 1886, no attempt was made to collect, officially, any information about Trade Unionism. The five annual volumes published by Mr. Burnett between 1886 and 1891 contained a fund of information on Trade Union statistics, and the returns became year by year more complete. The report for 1891 gave particulars of 431 Unions with 1,109,014 members, whilst that for 1892 covered a slightly larger total. But, restricted as he was to societies making returns in the precise form required, Mr. Burnett was unable to get at many existing Unions, whilst a considerable deduction had to be made from his total for members counted both in district organisations and in federations. The Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies gave particulars, in his Report for 1892 (House of Commons Paper, 146—II. of March 28, 1893), of 1,063,000 members in 442 registered Trade Unions alone, after deducting organisations which are not Trade Unions, and many duplicate entries. A large number of societies, such as the Northern Counties Amalgamated Weavers’ Association, many of the Miners’ Unions, the English and Scottish Typographical Associations, the United Kingdom Society of Coachmakers, the Flint Glass Makers, the Yorkshire Glass Bottle Makers, and others were then (as most of them still are) unregistered. Thus our own statistics revealed a 50 per cent greater Trade Union membership than the Government figures. It is difficult to state with exactness the number of separate organisations included, as this must depend upon the manner in which federal bodies are regarded. These exhibit almost infinite variations in character, from the mere “centre of communication” maintained by the thirty-two completely independent local societies of Coopers, to the rigid unity of the forty district organisations which make up the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton-spinners. The number of independent societies may be reckoned at either 930 or at anything up to 1750, according to the view taken of federal Unions and federations. We put it approximately at 1100.
[578]See our Industrial Democracy and Problems of Modern Industry: also Men’s and Women’s Wages, should they be Equal? by Mrs. Sidney Webb, 1919.
[579]There were, at this date, altogether about 45,000 Unionists in Oldham, but of these some 20,000 were women.
[580] Of these, some 80,000 were women. Fully four-fifths of all the organised women workers were, at this date, included in the Lancashire textile Trade Unions.
[581]Including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, which contained together about 1285 Trade Unionists.
[582]Included in the above total were 99,650 women in 52 Unions, distributed among the groups as follows:
| Engineering and Metal Trades | 2,850 |
| Building and Furniture Trades | 300 |
| Mining | ... |
| Textile Manufactures | 80,900 |
| Clothing and Leather Trades | 8,650 |
| Printing Trades | 400 |
| Miscellaneous Crafts | 3,450 |
| Labourers and Transport Workers | 3,100 |
| ——— | |
| 99,650 |
We may add that the subsequently published Board of Trade statistics for 1892, arranged on a slightly different classification, gave the following totals by industrial groups:
| Metal, Engineering and Shipbuilding | 279,534 |
| Building | 157,971 |
| Mining and Quarrying | 315,272 |
| Textile | 204,022 |
| Clothing | 83,299 |
| Transport | 154,947 |
| Other Trades | 307,313 |
| ————— | |
| 1,502,358 |
See Report on Trade Unions for 1901 (Cd. 773).
[583]The Boilermakers claim only to have been established since 1834, but there is evidence of the existence of the Society in 1832. In a few other cases, notably those of the Stonemasons, Plumbers, and Bricklayers, we have been able to carry the history of the organisation further back than has hitherto been suspected.
[584]The equally archaic port Unions of the Sailmakers, dating, like those of the Shipwrights, from the last century, were united in the Federation of Sailmakers of Great Britain and Ireland (established 1890), with 1250 members.
[585]Of these the most important were the Steam-Engine Makers’ Society (established 1824, 6000 members), the Associated Blacksmiths’ Society (a Scottish organisation, established 1857, 2300 members), the United Kingdom Pattern Makers’ Association (established 1872, 2500 members), the National Society of Amalgamated Brassworkers (established 1872, 6500 members), the United Journeymen Brassfounders’ Association of Great Britain and Ireland (established 1866, 2500 members), and the United Machine Workers’ Association (established 1844, 2500 members).
[586]The makers of tin plates had a Union in South Wales (established 1871, and reorganised 1887) which claimed a membership of 10,000. The National Amalgamated Tinplate Workers’ Association of Great Britain (established 1876) had 3000 members, and the General Union of Sheet Metal Workers (established 1861) had 1250 members.
[587]The Alliance Cabinetmakers’ Association (established 1865, 5500 members) and the National Association of Operative Plasterers (established 1862, 7000 members).
[588]The South Wales miners were, at this date, in a transition state. The Miners’ Federation had gained a considerable following in Monmouthshire and Glamorgan, but the bulk of the men still adhered to the Sliding Scale machinery, claiming 36,000 members, for the maintenance of which a fortnightly contribution was usually deducted by the employers from the miners’ earnings. The Forest of Dean Miners’ Association (4000 members) seceded from the Federation in 1893. A small Miners’ Union (2250 members) at West Bromwich also held aloof.
[589]The Cotton-spinners’ Union was then composed exclusively of adult males, the boy “piecers” being brigaded in subordinate organisations. In the Cotton-weavers and Card-room Operatives’ Unions women formed a large majority of the members.
[590]The United Kingdom Society of Coachmakers (established 1834) had 5500 members. The Mutual Association of Coopers (established 1878) was then a loose federation of old-fashioned local Unions, with about 6000 members.
[591]We did not include in the above statistics the Unions in classes not included among the manual workers. The National Union of Teachers, established 1870, was, already in 1892, a powerful organisation with 23,000 members. The Telegraph Clerks, Life Assurance Agents, and Shop Assistants also had Unions varying from 1000 to 5000 members, and there were two organisations of postal employees. The National Unions of Clerks and Domestic Servants were less definitely established. There were also small societies among the London Dock Foremen and Clerks and the Poplar Ships’ Clerks.
Nor did we include such essentially benefit societies as the Marine Engineers’ Union (9500 members) and the United Kingdom Pilots’ Association, which were composed largely of workmen belonging for trade purposes to particular Trade Unions.
[592]The census figures for 1891 merge, for each trade, “workmen, assistants, apprentices, and labourers.” They do not, for instance, distinguish between Bricklayers and Bricklayers’ Labourers, who belong to very different Trade Unions. Under Hosiers or Hatters are included shop-keepers and their assistants, as well as the manufacturing operatives.
[593]Old members often recall the days when the men used to come to the club straight from work, and “in their dirt.” They frequently ascribe the orderly behaviour at club meetings at the present time, as compared with the rowdiness of the past, largely to this change of habit, itself a direct result of the reduction of the hours of labour.
[594]Many Unions forbid all drinking during the branch meeting.
[595]In the great Amalgamated Societies District Committees, composed of representatives of local branches, are formed in the great industrial Centres, and decide on the trade policy to be adopted by their constituent branches. These decisions must be confirmed by the Central Executive.
[596]The travelling card, formerly called a “blank,” is now, in most cases, a small book of receipt forms. On it is recorded the particulars of his membership, and the date to which he has paid his contributions. Along with it he receives a complete list of the public-houses which serve as the Society’s Lodge-houses, and also a list of the names and addresses of the Lodge secretaries.
[597]We did not include in this figure a large class of men who are indirectly paid officials of Trade Unions, such as the checkweighers among the coal-miners, and the “collectors” among the cotton-weavers, cardroom-workers, etc. The checkweigher, as we have stated (p. 305), is elected and paid weekly wages, not by the members of the Trade Union, but by all the miners in a particular coal-pit. But as Trade Unionism and the election of a checkweigher are practically coincident, he frequently serves as lodge secretary, etc. The collectors employed by certain Trade Unions to go from house to house and collect the members’ contributions are remunerated by a percentage on their collections. Though not strictly salaried officials, they serve as Trade Union recruiting agents, as well as intermediaries between members and the central office, for complaints, appeals, and the circulation of information.
[598]We have here another instance of the deeply rooted objection on the part of workmen to “sack” their officials. A Society will make the life of an unpopular official unbearable, and will thwart him in every direction; but so long as he hangs on he has a safe berth.