David Morgan (Dai o'r Nant; 14 February 1840 – 5 July 1900) was a Welsh miners' agent and trade unionist who played a prominent role in the history of industrial relations in the South Wales Coalfield from the 1870s until his death in 1900.
The early 1870s was a time that saw frequent industrial disputes in South Wales and there is evidence that Morgan was actively involved in these events.
[3] At this meeting, he supported a proposal that the miners of the Aberdare Valley join forces with those of the Rhondda and Monmouthshire to achieve their aims.
[6] In 1872, Alexander Macdonald and Thomas Halliday, the national leaders of the AAM had visited Aberdare and addressed a meeting at the Temperance Hall.
[7] Within the month, Morgan was addressing a meeting at Mountain Ash, reminding his fellow miners, 'in a temperate and telling speech', that as trade unionists they had a responsibilities to discuss their grievances with the owners before embarking on strike action.
In the 1870s, for example, both Morgan and Mabon opposed the hardline stance of Thomas Halliday and accepted that the miners would have to return to work on the owners' terms.
[13] Soon after, he became embroiled in a bitter dispute at Mountain Ash having supported his preferred candidate for the post of physician at the Deep Duffryn and Navigation collieries.
[17] From the 1880s, Morgan became actively involved in local government and was elected to the Aberdare School Board and, in 1892, to Glamorgan County Council where he was later made an alderman.
In early 1888, David Morgan and Mabon set aside their differences to establish the South Wales and Monmouthshire Colliery Workmen's Federation.