The Operative Bleachers, Dyers and Finishers Association, also known as the Bolton Amalgamation, was a trade union representing cotton finishers in the vicinity of Bolton.
In its early years, it focused on paying welfare benefits to members and promoting their high skill levels.
By 1892, the union was also organising in Bury, Chorley, Great Lever, Middleton and Pendleton, and its membership had grown to 3,583.
[1] The union continued to grow under the leadership of Alfred Smalley, and appointed Robert Kay as a full-time organiser.
[1] In 1936, the union merged with the Amalgamated Society of Dyers, Finishers and Kindred Trades and the National Union of Textile Workers to form the National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers.