The association was founded in 1872 to represent skilled patternmakers in England,[3] following a strike by patternmakers along the River Tyne and River Wear for a nine-hour day.
[5] The Associated Patternmakers of Scotland union merged into the UPA in 1912.
[7] It retained a strong craft unionist approach, and resisted the prevailing trend of admitting workers in allied trades.
[8] In 1969, the union renamed itself the Association of Patternmakers and Allied Craftsmen.
He ran for that party again in 1935, on this occasion without official backing from the union, although it did set up a voluntary fund for his support, to which members could choose to donate.