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The union's main rival was the Union of Block Chain Makers, but by the 1910s, the two shared a general secretary in Thomas Sitch, and the Block Chain Makers was merged into the Chain Makers in 1919, leading membership to peak at 1,941 in 1925. On Thomas' death in 1923, his son
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In light of its increased remit, in 1899 the union renamed itself as the "Chain Makers' and
Strikers' Association". It had 1,000 members by the end of the century, a majority of unionised workers in the industry. The small Factory Chain Makers' Union joined in 1904.
192:
became general secretary, and from 1918 to 1931, he served as a Member of
Parliament sponsored by the union. However, in 1933, he was discovered to have embezzled funds and misrepresented its level of membership. He was removed from office, and later imprisoned,
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Head remained leader for more than fifty years, the longest-serving trade union leader in the UK. However, the industry was in a long decline, and membership also fell, dropping to only 228 in 1972. The union was long affiliated to the
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in 1910, when employers tried to get workers to agree in writing to accept less than agreed rates for their work. The strike succeeded in ending this practice.
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United Chain Makers' and Chain
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in 1972. This led the union to collapse, and it was dissolved in 1977.
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Trade unions and the political culture of the Labour Party, 1931-1940
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600:. Vol. III. Brighton: Harvester Press. pp. 330–331.
577:. Dudley: Black Country Living Museum Trust. 2009. p. 14
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in the United
Kingdom, principally in the West Midlands.
479:"Records of the Chainmakers' and Strikers' Association"
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candidate in each general election from 1918 to 1931.
544:. Vol. 2. Aldershot: Gower Publishing. p.
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representing workers employed in the manufacture of
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678:Trade unions based in the West Midlands (county)
145:, by workers at the H. Wood & Co factory in
217:The union sponsored its general secretary as
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646:. Exeter: University of Exeter. p. 125.
180:The union was involved in a major strike in
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623:Eric Taylor, "Head, Albert (Bert) Edward",
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596:Stenton, Michael; Lees, Stephen (1979).
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123:Chain Makers' and Strikers' Association
20:Chain Makers' and Strikers' Association
538:Marsh, Arthur; Ryan, Victoria (1984).
141:The union was founded in 1889 as the
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541:Historical Directory of Trade Unions
515:Historical Directory of Trade Unions
668:Trade unions disestablished in 1977
207:General Federation of Trade Unions
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663:Trade unions established in 1889
625:Dictionary of Labour Biography
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627:, vol.VII, pp.111–113
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517:. Vol. 6. Routledge.
58:Unity Villa, Sidney Road,
43:31 December 1977
169:, and most importantly
637:Parker, James (2017).
97:Thomas Sitch (Gen Sec)
408:1931 general election
376:1929 general election
344:1924 general election
312:1923 general election
280:1922 general election
248:1918 general election
203:Trades Union Congress
28:6 July 1889
441:General Secretaries
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673:Metal trade unions
571:Women Chain Makers
446:1889: Thomas Sitch
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579:. Retrieved
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487:. Retrieved
483:Archives Hub
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413:Kingswinford
381:Kingswinford
349:Kingswinford
317:Kingswinford
285:Kingswinford
253:Kingswinford
230:Constituency
219:Labour Party
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102:Affiliations
87:1,941 (1925)
55:Headquarters
127:trade union
657:Categories
607:0855273259
555:0566021617
463:References
239:Percentage
155:Pontypridd
93:Key people
47:1977-12-31
32:1889-07-06
457:Bert Head
242:Position
233:Candidate
195:Bert Head
159:St Helens
83:Members
40:Dissolved
227:Election
66:Location
190:Charles
163:Shifnal
147:Chester
137:History
45: (
30: (
25:Founded
604:
581:6 June
552:
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489:6 June
485:. Jisc
455:1934:
449:1923:
428:19,495
396:22,479
364:17,235
332:15,174
300:15,232
268:10,397
167:Tipton
131:chains
114:Labour
644:(PDF)
575:(PDF)
236:Votes
151:Crewe
602:ISBN
583:2018
550:ISBN
519:ISBN
491:2018
431:47.1
399:53.2
367:51.5
335:49.5
303:51.6
271:47.6
165:and
121:The
110:GFTU
546:166
106:TUC
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