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Usdaw
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
PredecessorNational Union of Distributive and Allied Workers
National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks
Founded1 January 1947
HeadquartersVoyager Building, 2 Furness Quay, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3XZ
Location
Members
Decrease 356,652 (2022)[1]
Key people
Paddy Lillis, General Secretary
Jane Jones, President
AffiliationsTUC, ICTU, STUC, Labour[2]
Websitewww.usdaw.org.uk

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of over 360,000 members.[3] Usdaw members work in a variety of occupations and industries including: shopworkers, factory and warehouse workers, drivers, call centres, clerical workers, milkround and dairy process, butchers and meat packers, catering, laundries, chemical processing, home shopping and pharmaceutical.

Usdaw relies upon a "partnership" model with large employers such as with Tesco, where there exists "privileged access" to the management of both organisations. This arrangement coupled with its actions has been met with criticism, such as where the union seemingly presents itself as being concerned more with maintaining its positive, comfortable position and easy membership supply than that of fair representation of its members.[4] This attitude has earned the union the pejorative backronym of Useless Seven Days A Week amongst workers and trade unionists.[4][5]

It is widely considered to be on the right-wing on the political spectrum,[6][7] occupying the "politically conservative" section of the Labour Party.[8][9] Usdaw is also affiliated to the Co-operative Party.[10] In November 2021, the union was criticised at its refusal to negotiate with a Nottingham-based employer who was proposing a 'fire-and-rehire' policy leading to workers having to negotiate for themselves.[11]

In September 2024, Udsaw won a Supreme Court battle against Tesco over so-called "fire and rehire" plans put forward by the supermarket giant. The row erupted in 2021 after Tesco proposed firing staff at some distribution centres and rehiring them on lower pay.[12]

History

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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. Some other unions have since merged in, including the Amalgamated Society of Boot and Shoe Makers and Repairers in 1955,[13] and the Scottish Union of Bakers and Allied Workers in 1978.[14]

Publications

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USDAW produces a quarterly membership magazine for members, Arena, as well as a bimonthly magazine for union activists, Network.

2022 annual survey report

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Statistics taken from the USDAW 2022 annual survey of over 7,700 of its retail members showed that high levels of verbal abuse, threats and assaults were common in the industry. The survey also found the number of incidents has come down since the exceptionally high levels during the pandemic, but remain higher than pre-Covid levels in 2019.[15]

General Secretaries

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Since 1947, USDAW has had eight General Secretaries:[16]

1947: Sir Joseph Hallsworth
1949: Sir Alan Birch
1962: Lord Allen of Fallowfield
1979: Bill Whatley
1986: Lord Davies of Coity
1997: Sir William Connor
2004: John Hannett
2018: Paddy Lillis

Presidents

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Since 1947, USDAW has had eleven Presidents:[16]

1947: Percy Cottrell
1948: Walter Padley
1964: Dick Seabrook[citation needed]
1965: Rodney Haines
1967: Dick Seabrook
1974: Jim D. Hughes
1977: Sydney Tierney
1991: Audrey Wise
1997: Marge Carey, MBE
2006: Jeff Broome
2018: Amy Murphy[17]
2021: Jane Jones [18]

References

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  1. ^ "Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers Form AR21 for year ended 31 December 202q" (PDF). GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  2. ^ "TULO's member unions | Unions Together". Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  3. ^ "USDAW - About Us".
  4. ^ a b Brookes, Marissa (2019). "(3) Service Sector Solidarity: Coordinating the Tesco and G4S Campaigns". The new politics of transnational labor : why some alliances succeed (illustrated ed.). Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. p. 101. ISBN 9781501733208. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  5. ^ ""Precarious" work and industrial organisation in modern Britain (PART 2)". 0161 Festival. Manchester. 29 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  6. ^ Taylor, Andrew (1987). "(1) The Genesis of the Social Contract". The Trade Unions and the Labour Party (December 2018 ed.). Milton: Taylor & Francis. p. 114. ISBN 9780429833243. Retrieved 8 August 2022. Usdaw is traditionally right wing
  7. ^ Marsh, David (27 February 1992). "(6) Trade Unions and the Labour Party - (s.2) Trade Unions and constitutional reform, 1979-83". The New Politics of British Trade Unionism Union Power and the Thatcher Legacy (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Education. p. 143. ISBN 9781349219216. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  8. ^ Lynch, Samantha; Price, Robin; Pyman, Amanda; Bailey, Janis (15 March 2011). "(14) Representing and Organising Retail Workers: A Comparative Study of the UK and Australia". In Bozkurt, Ödül; Grugulis, Irena (eds.). Retail Work. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 284. ISBN 9780230344884.
  9. ^ Thomas, Mark (3 June 2019). "How supermarket workers buck the trend". Socialist Review. No. 447. London: Socialist Workers Party. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  10. ^ Co-operative Party Wider movement
  11. ^ Hartley, Joshua (17 November 2021). "Former employee of factory claims to be a victim of 'fire and hire'". Nottingham Post. Nottingham: Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Union wins Tesco 'fire and rehire' case". BBC News. 2024-09-12. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  13. ^ Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.3, p.427
  14. ^ Arthur Marsh and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.184-185
  15. ^ "Campaign To End Violence And Abuse Against Retail Workers Survey Results 2022".
  16. ^ a b USDAW: 125 years strong. London: USDAW. 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  17. ^ "USDAW - Amy Murphy is elected the new President of Usdaw". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  18. ^ "USDAW - Jane Jones is elected the new President of Usdaw".
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