In 1876, Chandler became secretary of the London United Trades Committee, a body bringing together various building trades unions in the city. The following year, there was a major strike among union members in Manchester, and Chandler co-ordinated fund-raising in London, sending £50 to £60 each week to the striking trade unionists. As a result of his efforts, his health suffered, and he stood down as secretary soon afterwards.[1]
Chandler retired in 1919, but maintained his connection with the union and its successor, the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers, which marked his seventy-year-long membership shortly before his death in 1937.[3]