Cumberland Iron Ore Miners' and Kindred Trades' Association













































Cumberland Iron Ore Miners' and Kindred Trades' Association
Cumberland Iron Ore Miners badge.jpg
Founded 1891
Predecessor National Association of Blastfurnacemen
Date dissolved 1929
Merged into National Union of General and Municipal Workers
Members 3.000 (1926)
Affiliation
Blastfurnacemen
Cumberland & N Lancs Fed
Key people
Thomas Gavan Duffy (Gen Sec)
Office location Alva House, Moor Row
Country England

The Cumberland Iron Ore Miners' and Kindred Trades' Association was a trade union, principally representing iron ore miners in the Cumberland area of North West England.




Contents






  • 1 History


  • 2 Election results


  • 3 General Secretaries


  • 4 References





History


Although there were some attempts among iron ore miners in Cumberland to form a union in the 1860s and 1870s, the first successful union was the Dalton and District United Workmen's Association, established in 1882. This affiliated to the Cumberland Miners' Association, from which Andrew Sharp frequently spoke in its support. Despite this, it was unable to successfully organise miners outside Dalton, leaving the field open for the National Association of Blastfurnacemen. The Blastfurnacemen did build up membership among iron ore miners in the area, but struggled to operate as a national union. As part of a restructure which formed the National Federation of Blastfurnacemen, in 1891 the Cumberland iron ore miners registered their own union, the West Cumberland Workmen's Association. It had about 800 members and, despite its name, was restricted to iron ore miners.[1][2] It worked with the Cumberland Miners, the Cumberland County Colliery Enginemen's Association, local branches of the Blastfurnacemen and also some branches of the Typographical Association in the Cumberland and North Lancashire Federation.[2]


Over time, the union settled on a structure of seven branches, in Cleator Moor, Egremont, Frizington, Kirkland, Moor Row, Rowrah, and Whitehaven, and by 1907 membership had grown to 2,500.[3] In about 1894, James Flynn was appointed as general secretary of the union. By 1907, he had become frustrated with its structure, where each branch had a high degree of autonomy, and elected one member of its council for each 100 members of the branch. He proposed a reorganisation wherein each mine would become its own lodge and elected one delegate of the council. Much of the existing council opposed this change, in particular those from the large branch at Egrement, and the union voted to give Flynn notice.[3]


In place of Flynn, the union appointed Thomas Gavan Duffy as its general secretary. Gavan Duffy was a member of the Independent Labour Party who had recently been on a speaking tour of Cumberland. The union's members voted 1,644 to 108 for his appointment, but Flynn refused to recognise him, or hand over account books and the union banner. Flynn used the union's office to set up a rival National Iron Ore Miners' Association, with his supporters, this union gaining favour with mine owners by proving more flexible in negotiations.[1][4]


Gavan Duffy initially worked from temporary offices in Moor Row, and successfully rebuilt the union. He invested some funds in the Workington Iron and Steel Company, through this mechanism gaining accurate information on the finances of the mine owners. By 1914, the union was able to open new offices in Bowthorn. At the 1918 UK general election, it sponsored Gavan Duffy as a Labour Party candidate in Whitehaven. Although he did not win on this occasion, he won the seat in 1922, holding it until the 1924 UK general election.[4]


While the union long remained a member of the National Federation of Blastfurnacemen,[3] when in 1909 the federation became the more centralised National Federation of Blastfurnacemen, Ore Miners and Kindred Trades, the union chose to remain independent. Its membership rebounded, reaching 3,000 by 1926.[2] The Blastfurnacemen continued to try to interest the union in a merger, but in 1929, against their protests, the Iron Ore Miners voted 2,005 to 216 to merged into the National Union of General and Municipal Workers.[2][5]



Election results


The union sponsored Gavan Duffy as a Labour Party candidate in several Parliamentary elections.[6]











































Election Constituency Candidate Votes Percentage Position
1918 general election Whitehaven Thomas Gavan Duffy 9,016 45.6 2
1922 general election Whitehaven Thomas Gavan Duffy 10,935 45.3 1
1923 general election Whitehaven Thomas Gavan Duffy 12,419 53.0 1
1924 general election Whitehaven Thomas Gavan Duffy 11,741 47.2 2


General Secretaries



1894: James Flynn

1907: Thomas Gavan Duffy



References




  1. ^ ab Marshall, John Duncan; Walton, John K. (1981). The Lake Counties from 1830 to the Mid-twentieth Century. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 134&ndash, 135. ISBN 0719008247..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ abcd Smethurst, John B.; Carter, Peter (June 2009). Historical Directory of Trade Unions. 6. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 257, 490. ISBN 9780754666837. LCCN 80-151653.


  3. ^ abc "Iron-ore miners' union: position of general secretary". Whitehaven News. 3 July 1907. Retrieved 27 September 2018.


  4. ^ ab Duffy, Sean. "Thomas Gavan Duffy". Cleator Moor: Cumbria. Retrieved 27 September 2018.


  5. ^ "Cumberland iron ore miners: amalgamation of unions". Manchester Guardian. 13 May 1929.


  6. ^ Parker, James (2017). Trade unions and the political culture of the Labour Party, 1931-1940 (PDF). Exeter: University of Exeter. p. 125.








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