As the main industry in the town, the union has been influential in its history, and some of its leaders became significant national figures.
In the early 1850s, cotton industry workers in Darwen could join the Blackburn Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association, but disputes over attempts to form a federation of weavers' unions led members in Darwen to split away and form their own union in 1857.
The following year, the North East Lancashire Amalgamated Weavers' Association was established, Darwen joining while Blackburn remained outside.
Following World War I, the industry went into decline, with many job losses, and by 1960 the union was down to only 1,000 members.
That year, it finally merged back into the Blackburn union.