| Pattern Weavers' Society | |
| Location Country: | United Kingdom |
| Members: | 350 (1931) |
| Founded: | 1930 |
| Dissolved: | c.2000 |
| Merged Label: | Dissolved |
| Headquarters: | New Field End, Cumberworth[1] |
| Key People: | Gordon Hawley (gen. sec.) |
| Affiliation: | NAUTT, TUC |
The Pattern Weavers' Society was a small trade union representing textile workers in the United Kingdom.
During the 1920s, workers employed in weaving patterned material were represented by the National Union of Textile Workers. However, with a trade depression starting at the end of the decade, employers were looking to cut wages, and the pattern weavers believed that they would have a stronger bargaining position if they were represented separately from workers they felt to be lower skilled.[2]
The society was established in 1930, and within a year had 350 members. However, membership gradually declined as the industry contracted, falling to 250 members by 1968, and 100 in 1979. It joined the Trades Union Congress in 1968,[3] but disaffiliated in 1987.[4] It continued in existence, and for the first time accepted a woman as a member. By 1993, its membership was down to 60, and it appears to have dissolved around the year 2000.
1940s: A. Kelk
1960s: Willie Lockwood
1960s: J. D. Townend
c.1980: Gordon Hawley
1990s: David Mellor