Amalgamated Union of Machine and General Labourers

Amalgamated Union of Machine and General LabourersMerged into| National Union of General Workers

|

Founded| 1890
Dissolved| 1916
Headquarters| 77 St Georges Road, Bolton
Location|

* England

Members

| 2,000 (1896)

Key people

| Robert Tootill (Gen Sec)
Affiliations| TUC

The Amalgamated Union of Machine and General Workers was a general union representing workers in and around Lancashire in England.

The union was founded in 1890 in Bolton as the Amalgamated Machine and General Labourers' Union, and quickly developed a large membership, which peaked at 2,000 in 1896. That year, 210 members left to form the rival Heywood and District Union of Machine and General Labour, and the membership in general dropped dramatically, falling to a low of only 77 members in 1897.[1][2]

Despite this dramatic fall in membership, the union survived and slowly rebuilt. By 1904 it had 650 members, and by the end of 1915 it was over 1,000. The following year, it joined the National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers. As a result of the merger, the Gasworkers Union renamed itself as the National Union of General Workers.[1]

## General Secretaries[edit]

1890: Robert Tootill
1901: Sam Fielding
1906: Robert Tootill

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Marsh, Arthur Ivor; Smethurst, John B. (2006). Historical Directory of Trade Unions. Vol. 5\. Aldershot: Ashgate. pp. 445. ISBN 085967990X.
2. ^ Smethurst, John B.; Carter, Peter (June 2009). Historical Directory of Trade Unions. Vol. 6\. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. p. 201. ISBN 9780754666837. LCCN 80-151653.