[1] The Manchester and Salford Trades Council was concerned about conflict between the two unions, and in 1909 it was asked to adjudicate on the dispute.
The leaders of the women's union were dubious about the idea, and when they took it to a ballot, the members voted unanimously against affiliation.
The following year, the editor of the Cotton Factory Times offered to arbitrate between the two, but Bardsley stated that he planned to organise the women's union out of existence.
[1] The women's union retained full membership in a few mills over the next years, but disappeared during World War I.
Heap doubled membership within four years, but by 1934 he was eager for a new challenge, and was replaced by his assistant, Bert Starkie.