Mid and East Lothian Miners' Association
Scottish trade union
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The Mid and East Lothian Miners' Association (MELMA) was a trade union representing coal miners in parts of the Lothian area of Scotland.
The union described itself as having been founded in 1873 under the leadership of David Moffat,[1] but it disbanded the next year after an unsuccessful strike.[2] Moffat had to relocate to Fife due to victimisation for union activism.[3][4]
The union was re-established in 1887 by George Young and Robert Brown.[2] MELMA officially registered in 1889, by which time it had a membership of about 2,000 workers.[1]
In 1894, MELMA was one of the constituent unions in the founding of the Scottish Miners' Federation,[5] and played a leading role in that year's miners strike in Scotland.[2] Other major strikes involving MELMA workers took place in 1912 and 1921.[2]
In 1945, the Mid and East Lothian Miners' Association merged with several other unions to represent the Stirling and Lothians Area of the National Union of Mineworkers.[6]
General Secretaries
- 1890: Robert Brown
- 1917: Joseph Young
- 1919: Andrew Clarke
- 1940: Alexander Cameron
Presidents
- 1889: William Shaw
- 1900: George Young
- 1912: Andrew Clarke
- 1918: James Ormiston