Alice Foley

Alice Foley (28 November 1891 – 1 July 1974) was a British trade unionist, known as the first woman to work full-time as the leader of a trade union in the cotton industry.

Born in Bolton in Lancashire, Foley attended her local Roman Catholic school. Her mother was illiterate, but her Irish father enthused her about literature, particularly Shakespeare, and the cause of Irish Home Rule. While she excelled in education, the local Catholic schools were not eligible for any scholarships, so Foley had to leave to work at a local cotton mill at the age of thirteen.

Alice's older sister, Cissy, preceded her into the mill, and her involvement in the Bolton and District Weavers', Winders' and Warpers' Association, the local Labour Church and the suffragette movement all inspired Alice. When her father died, Alice joined the local socialist club, and became active in the trade union herself.

Foley worked her way to becoming a winder at the mill. When the National Insurance programme was set up, in 1912, the Bolton Weavers employed her as a full-time health visitor. During World War I, she studied shorthand and gained some part-time experience of weaving, hoping to further her position in the union. In this role, she asked to be permitted to represent the union at meetings and conferences, but permission was refused, the union leadership preferring to be unrepresented than represented by a woman. In 1934, she obtained a one-year scholarship to study literature with the Workers' Educational Association (WEA), and subsequently became president of the Bolton WEA.

The Bolton Weavers were affiliated to the Amalgamated Weavers' Association, and in 1947, Foley became the first woman to win election to its Central Committee. The following year, she was elected as secretary of the Bolton Weavers. At the time, the Manchester Guardian noted that she was "believed to be the first full-time woman trade union secretary in the cotton industry".

Under Foley's leadership, working hours for weavers in Bolton were reduced, and wages increased. In 1956/57, she was the first woman to serve as president of the Bolton Trades Council. She retired in 1961, and was succeeded by her assistant, Hilda Unsworth. In retirement, she wrote her autobiography, which was published in 1973 as A Bolton Childhood.

Foley was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1950, and received an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of Manchester in 1961.