Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union
The Amalgamated Textile Workers' Union (ATWU) was a trade union in Great Britain. History. The union was founded in 1974, when the Amalgamated Weavers' Association merged with the National Union of Textile and Allied Workers. The Amalgamated Textile Warehousemen's Association developed close links with the new union, and the two shared a general secretary. In 1983, the important Burnley, Nelson, Rossendale and District Textile Workers' Union decided to leave the ATWU, and argued that as its largest affiliate, it should be entitled to a proportionate share of the union's funds. The ATWU disagreed, and  the disputed went to the High Court of England and Wales, which rejected the Burnley and Nelson union's claim. With widespread redundancies in the industry, the union lost two-thirds of its members before it merged into the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union in 1985. Based in Rochdale, the union's final general secretary was Jack Brown. Affiliates. By 1982, the union had the following affiliates: