The new union provided a formal structure to support strikers, and all miners in the district found themselves out of work after 7 October, when colliery owners agreed a general lock-out.
[1] Another recovery in the price of coal enable the union to successfully campaign for wage increases and some improvements in working conditions.
This led more miners to join the union, and in 1873 it was able to again employ an assistant secretary, Benjamin Pickard winning the post by an overwhelming majority of votes.
It increased benefits for ill and injured miners, and financially supported Thomas Burt and Alexander Macdonald's campaigns in the 1874 UK general election.
Low coal prices led to hardship among miners over the next few years, but there was relative industrial peace until 1878, when colliery owners unilaterally decided to introduce riddles, filtering coal dust from mined material and therefore reducing the weight of each cartload - a major issue for miners who were paid by weight.
But these hopes were not fulfilled, as wages were instead reduced by 2.5% in October, and some colleries imposed greater reductions, arguing that they would otherwise have to close.