Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Encyclopedia
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) is a trade union
in the United Kingdom
. Consisting of over 405,000 members, USDAW is the UK's fourth largest and fastest growing trade union. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most USDAW members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades. It has a reputation as one of the less militant unions, rarely organising industrial action
.
The union was formed in 1947 by the merger of the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers and the National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks.
There is also a managerial and supervisory section called Sata - the Supervisory, Administrative and Technical Association. This is a special section of the union representing employees in middle and lower management or with administrative or technical responsibilities.
USDAW have the biggest recognition agreement in private sector by been the recognised trade union of Tesco, with more than 160,000 members in this company. Amongst the companies who signed the Parnership Agreements with USDAW are Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Cooperative, Primark, Boots etc.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Consisting of over 405,000 members, USDAW is the UK's fourth largest and fastest growing trade union. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most USDAW members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades. It has a reputation as one of the less militant unions, rarely organising industrial action
Industrial action
Industrial action or job action refers collectively to any measure taken by trade unions or other organised labour meant to reduce productivity in a workplace. Quite often it is used and interpreted as a euphemism for strike, but the scope is much wider...
.
The union was formed in 1947 by the merger of the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers and the National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks.
There is also a managerial and supervisory section called Sata - the Supervisory, Administrative and Technical Association. This is a special section of the union representing employees in middle and lower management or with administrative or technical responsibilities.
USDAW have the biggest recognition agreement in private sector by been the recognised trade union of Tesco, with more than 160,000 members in this company. Amongst the companies who signed the Parnership Agreements with USDAW are Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Cooperative, Primark, Boots etc.
General Secretaries
- 1947: Joseph Hallsworth
- 1949: Alan BirchAlan BirchAlan Birch is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger, making over 400 career appearances.-Career:...
- 1962: Alf AllenAlfred Allen, Baron Allen of FallowfieldAlfred Walter Henry Allen, Baron Allen of Fallowfield CBE was a British unionist and governor of the BBC....
- 1979: Bill Whatley
- 1986: Garfield DaviesGarfield Davies, Baron Davies of CoityGarfield Davies, Baron Davies of Coity, CBE is a Labour Co-operative peer in the House of Lords and a former trade union leader....
- 1997: Bill ConnorBill ConnorWilliam Joseph Connor was a professional football player who spent two seasons in the National Football League with the Boston Bulldogs in 1929 and the Newark Tornadoes in 1930.-Notes:...
- 2004: John Hannett
Presidents
- 1948: Walter PadleyWalter PadleyWalter Ernest Padley was a British Labour politician.Padley was educated at Chipping Norton Grammar School and Ruskin College, Oxford with a TUC scholarship...
- 1964: Richard Seabrook
- 1967: James HughesJames HughesJames J. Hughes Ph.D. is a sociologist and bioethicist teaching health policy at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in the United States.-Biography:...
- 197x: Sydney TierneySydney TierneySydney Tierney was a British Labour Party politician and former President of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers .-Union career:...
- 1991: Audrey WiseAudrey WiseAudrey Wise was a British Labour Party politician...
- 1997: Marge Carey
- 2006: Jeff Broome