Other Workers

Article Index

Printers and Unions

GPMU

the-chapel

printing-craft-unions

ta-tuc

NUPB&W

pressrooms

warehouse

paper-mill-workers

other-workers

NATSOPA

Sogat

GPMU

Unite - The Union

All Pages

Other Workers

Until 1926, circulation representatives of newspapers were members of the NUPBMR&PW’s London Central Branch. One result of the 1926 general strike was that circulation representatives, including circulation managers, split from the London Central Branch to create the Circulation and Publishing Association. In 1931, circulation representatives of newspapers returned to the NUPB&PW as a new branch entitled the Travellers and Circulation Branch.

In 1961, the Book Edge Guilders’ Trade Society members transferred into the London Bookbinders Branch of the NUPB&PW. It had been founded in 1889 and organised those who gilded and polished with an agate the edges of books. In the following year, two other unions joined the NUPB&PW – the Monotype Casters and Type founders and the Paper mould and Dandy Roll Makers’ Society. The last named union’s members made the “dandy rolls” which had a raised wire design that was incorporated with the papermaking machine and run lightly upon wet pulp to produce a watermark. The “dandy rolls” at that time made the watermark in banknotes, passports, driving licences, government document and cup final tickets. In July 1963 the Pattern Card Makers’ Society founded in Manchester in 1865, transferred its 176 members into the NUPB&PW. Its member’s jobs were skilled and included assembling “swatches” of clothes into pattern cards, the operation of serration machines and mounting ranges of dyed clothes. The Society’s membership was dependent on the cotton industry for their work.

Support Us: There are a number of ways you can help to support us. You can donate online. You can join the Library as an individual member and get your union branch to affiliate. If you are a retired or working print worker and would like to volunteer to take groups around the Collection, you can apply here to join our panel of volunteers.
Order your brochure: The Printers’ Collection was launched in February 2009 by Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of UNITE. To mark the opening a full-colour and richly illustrated 64-page brochure has been published. It is available here priced £5.
Share Memories: We are preparing an online book of memories of print workers. You may want to share with us your experience of being an apprentice, of your working life or activity as a trade unionist. If so, please write here and we will include all or parts of it in the forthcoming section.
Donate Items: Unite the union - graphical, paper and media section has kindly donated a substantial part of its collection of print ephemera, memorabilia and records in the Printers’ Collection. But some of our best and most surprising items have been donated by individuals or local union chapels and branches. If you have a print related item, which, you believe, would be of interest to others and you wish to donate it or simply loan it, to the Collection include a short description of it here.

Main Menu

About the library