The Yorkshire Miners' Association was founded in 1881 as a result of the merger of the South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Miners' associations. In 1889, it affiliated to the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) as a founding member. In 1932, the federation was renamed the Mineworkers' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB). The Yorkshire Miners' Association retained its status as an independent trade union until 1945 when the MFGB was reorganised to become the National Union of Mineworkers. At this point the Yorkshire Miners' Association became an area of the national union, and as a result it became the National Union of Mineworkers, Yorkshire Area.