The General Union of Textile Workers was a trade union representing textile workers in England, most of its members being weavers in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The union was founded in 1881 following a strike at Newsome Mills in Huddersfield.
The union added "Woollen Operatives" to its name, gradually attracting a more diverse membership.
It also began accepting members elsewhere in the West Riding, and in 1894 became the West Riding of Yorkshire Power Loom Weavers' Association, with membership over 3,000.
Under his leadership, it survived through a decline to only 2,300 members in 1898, and changed its name to the General Union of Weavers and Textile Workers the following year.