He was a founder member of the Leeds Wholesale Clothing Operatives' Union in 1889, and was elected as its first general secretary.
Employers in Leeds announced that any members of the union would be blacklisted, but Young avoided this by recording membership in secret.
Although the Factory Times complained that it should not have avoided confrontation in this way, the tactic proved successful, and by 1893 the union had more than 1,000 members.
However, the action was backed by the Amalgamated Jewish Tailors', Machinists' and Pressers' Trade Union, and also by the new Independent Labour Party.
That year, the AUCO merged into the United Garment Workers' Trade Union and, although Young was in poor health, he was elected as its secretary, serving until 1920, when it became part of the Tailor and Garment Workers' Union.