The union attracted hostility from mine owners, and members risked victimisation, so it initially operated secretively.
He worked with local Methodist preachers, who led hymn-singing at union meetings, and also organised co-operation with the neighbouring South Yorkshire Miners' Association (SYMA).
Owners in Hucknall and Kimberley then locked out miners, and the three areas brought in strikebreakers from across Britain.
[1] The dispute continued into 1867, with the local union receiving support from the MNU, the Organised Trades Association of Nottingham and the London Trades Council, but by the summer, funds were running low, and most of the strikers had either agreed to leave the union, or had moved away to find work elsewhere.
In 1873, an early conciliation board was set up with the Butterley Company in an attempt to avoid industrial action, but this was unable to resolve various matters, leading to a strike in 1874 and another in 1875.