Skip Navigation

Social History of Medicine 2003 16(1):79-95; doi:10.1093/shm/16.1.79
© 2003 by Society for the Social History of Medicine
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (9)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bowden, S.
Right arrow Articles by Tweedale, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Mondays without Dread: The Trade Union Response to Byssinosis in the Lancashire Cotton Industry in the Twentieth Century

Sue Bowden1 and Geoffrey Tweedale2

1 Department of Economics, University of Sheffield, 9 Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 4DT. E-mail: S.Bowden{at}Sheffield.ac.uk 2 Centre for Business History, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, Aytoun Street, Manchester M1 3GH. E-mail: G.Tweedale{at}mmu.ac.uk

Trade unions have often been criticized for their failure to address occupational health issues. This article explores their response to byssinosis—a chronic respiratory disease caused by exposure to cotton dust that was rife in the Lancashire cotton industry in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Using the archives of the cardroom and spinning unions, it is demonstrated that trade union efforts to combat byssinosis began before the First World War and were sustained for over 70 years. During that period, byssinosis became a recognized medical condition and a compensatable disease, due in no small measure to the trade unions campaigning tirelessly for better dust control, compensation for all affected workers, and more medical research.

Keywords: byssinosis; cotton; trade unions; occupational health; compensation; respiratory disease; pneumoconiosis


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Soc Hist MedHome page
J. Silvestre
Workplace Accidents and Early Safety Policies in Spain, 1900-1932
Soc Hist Med, April 1, 2008; 21(1): 67 - 86.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Soc Hist MedHome page
R. Johnston and A. McIvor
Marginalising the Body at Work? Employers' Occupational Health Strategies and Occupational Medicine in Scotland c. 1930-1974
Soc Hist Med, April 1, 2008; 21(1): 127 - 144.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Soc Hist MedHome page
I. Lowy
The Social History of Medicine: Beyond the Local
Soc Hist Med, December 1, 2007; 20(3): 465 - 481.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.