| AdminHistory | The Amalgamated Society of Wire Drawers, the oldest trade union operating in the wire industry, was founded in 1840 as a friendly society. Originally it was known as the Federated Wire Drawers Association and then underwent various name changes as follows: the Thick Iron and Steel Wire Drawers Association (by 1868); the Iron and Steel Wire Drawers Trade Superannuation Gift and Burial Society of Great Britain (1886); the Federated Wire Drawers Trade and Sick Benefit Society of the United Kingdom (1890); the Amalgamated Wire Drawers Trade and Sick Benefit Society of the United Kingdom (1901); the Amalgamated Wire Drawers Society of Great Britain (1908); the Amalgamated Society of Wire Drawers and Kindred Workers (1916). In 1922, the society merged (for a short period) into the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, but became an independent association again just two years later.
In 1924 the society extended its operations and thereafter was known as the Amalgamated Society of Wire Drawers and Kindred Workers. The headquarters of the union have always been in Sheffield but there were, at different times, branches in various parts of the country including Ambergate (Derbyshire), Birmingham, Halifax, Middlesborough and Warrington. From 1913 onwards, the registered office of the society was at Stirling Chambers, Campo Lane, Sheffield. By 1966, the office had relocated to Prospect House, Alma Street, Sheffield.
In 1985 the society changed its name to the Wire Workers Union. In 1991 the union merged with the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, which in turn later merged into the Community Union. |