The Northumberland Miners' Association was a trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

The union was founded in 1864 to represent coal miners in Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, following the collapse of a short-live union covering both Northumberland and Durham miners. Originally named the Northumberland Miners' Mutual Confident Association, it aimed for respectability, requiring high subscriptions and avoiding strikes. It did not affiliate to the national body, the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, until 1907. In 1945, this became the National Union of Mineworkers, and the association became its Northumberland Area.

General Secretaries

1864: William Crawford

William Crawford (Durham politician)

William Crawford was an English miner, trade unionist and a Liberal politician.Crawford was born at Cullercoats Northumberland and worked in Hartley Coal Mines from the age of 10. In 1862 actively opposed the attempt of the Northumberland mine owners to impose the system of yearly hiring...

1865: Thomas Burt

Thomas Burt

Thomas Burt PC was a British trade unionist and one of the first working-class Members of Parliament.-Career:...

1913: William Straker

William Straker

William Straker was a British trade unionist.Born in Snitter, Straker moved to Widdrington at an early age and began working at the local colliery. He was a Primitive Methodist, known for his teetotalism...

1935: Jim Bowman

Jim Bowman

James Bowman, 1st Baronet was a British trade unionist.Born in Great Corby, near Carlisle, Bowman worked at Ashington colliery from the age of fifteen. He served in the Royal Marines during World War I, then returned to coal mining, where he became active in the Northumberland Miners' Association...

1950:

1970s: R. Main

1992: Ian Lavery

Ian Lavery

Ian Lavery is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Wansbeck since the 2010 general election. He was previously the President of the National Union of Mineworkers.-Early life:...

2002:

Presidents

John Nixon

1872: William Grieves

John Bryson

Hugh Boyle

1907: J. English

J. Hall Scott

1910:

1914: William Weir

William Weir (trade unionist)

William Weir was a British trade unionist.Born in Mickley Square, Northumberland, Weir studied at Prudhoe Colliery School and then worked at West Wylam Colliery from the age of twelve. He soon became active in the Northumberland Miners' Association, and was elected branch president in 1905, then...

1927: William Golightly

1940:

1970s: Tom Holliday

Financial Secretaries

1900s: John Cairns

1918: Ebby Edwards

Ebby Edwards

Ebenezer Edwards, known as Ebby Edwards , was a trade unionist and politician in Britain.Born in Chevington, Northumberland, Edwards went down the coal mine at the age of twelve. In 1906, he joined the Independent Labour Party, although he left after three years...

1929: John Carr

1939: