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Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers

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The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw /ˈʌzdɔː/ UZ-daw[3]) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of over 360,000 members,[4] which specialises in the retail, distribution and logistics, food and drink manufacturing and customer contact sectors.

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
MembersIncrease 368,563 (2024)[1]
Key people
Joanne Thomas, General Secretary
Jane Jones, President
AffiliationsTUC, ICTU, STUC, Labour[2]
Websitewww.usdaw.org.uk

It is widely considered to be on the right-wing on the political spectrum,[5][6] occupying the "politically conservative" section of the Labour Party.[7][8] Usdaw is also affiliated to the Co-operative Party.[9] 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.[10]

In September 2024, Usdaw 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.[11]

In June 2025, the union secured above-inflation pay rises for its members at Tesco,[12]Tesco Bank[13]Sainsbury's,[14] and Cooperative supermarkets.[15]

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,[16] and the Scottish Union of Bakers and Allied Workers in 1978.[17]

Operations

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Usdaw represents members individually and through company-wide agreements across retail and distribution, such as with The Co-op Societies, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.[18]

Usdaw relies upon a "partnership" model with large employers such as with Tesco, where the management of both the business and the trade union have "privileged access" to their counterparts. 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.[19] This attitude has earned the union the pejorative backronym of Useless Seven Days A Week amongst workers and trade unionists.[19][20]

Sectors

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Usdaw organises primarily in retail and distribution, with membership in related service and manufacturing roles. Areas of representation include:

  • Retail: supermarkets, convenience, department stores, fashion and specialist retail.
  • Distribution and logistics: regional distribution centres and online fulfilment.
  • Food and drink manufacturing: processing, packing and warehousing roles linked to major retailers.
  • Customer contact: call centres, administrative and support offices.

Work across these sectors includes large numbers of part-time, temporary and shift roles, with significant evening and weekend working.[4]

Campaigns

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Logo for Usdaw's Freedom from Fear Campaign

Violence against retail workers

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Usdaw has been campaigning against violence, threats and abuse experienced by retail workers since the early 2000s[21] Activity includes an annual awareness campaign, including Respect Week each autumn, workplace surveys, and advocacy for clearer protections in law.[22] which it has been praised for in the House of Commons, namely for its contributions towards the addition of a specific criminal offence of assault a shopworker in the Crime and Policing Bill in 2025.[23][24]

National Minimum Wage

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Usdaw was one of the main unions that campaigned for the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in the 1980s and 1990s. It was finally introduced by the Labour Government in 1999 and provides a legal minimum for workers in the UK on pay. In the 2024 General Election, Usdaw campaigned for a National Living Wage of £12 an hour.[25] Usdaw also engages in consultations around the setting of both the National Living Wage and Real Living Wage,[26] and has been calling for an end to ‘rip-off’ youth rates.[27]

Logo for the Keep Sunday Special campaign

Keep Sunday Special

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Usdaw has had a long-running campaign to prevent changes that would allow shops to stay open later in England and Wales.[28] Before 1994, shops were prohibited from opening on a Sunday, and Usdaw successfully defeated the Conservative Government’s attempt to liberalise regulations through the 1986 Shops Bill. Since 1994, any shop over 280 square metres has been able to open for six hours on a Sunday.[28] The campaign also successfully prevented further changes in 2006 and has lobbied against a recent pilot in Belfast, Northern Ireland.[29]

Equality and inclusion

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Usdaw has championed equality issues, both in workplaces and the union movement.[30] It runs programmes to widen participation and address barriers faced by under-represented groups, including Black members, women, disabled and young workers, and LGBT+ members. This includes the Breaking Down Barriers development programme for black members, with the aim of increasing diversity among workplace reps and elected bodies.[31] The programme has been highlighted as important by both the TUC and the Show Racism the Red Card campaign.[32]

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.[33]

General Secretaries

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Joanne Thomas, current General Secretary of Usdaw

Since 1947, USDAW has had eight General Secretaries:[34]

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
2025: Joanne Thomas

Presidents

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Since 1947, USDAW has had eleven Presidents:[34]

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[35]
2021: Jane Jones [36]

Affiliations

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Usdaw is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).[37] Within the UK, Usdaw is affiliated to the UK Labour Party and is represented at all levels, including at their national conference, NEC, policy forum, regional and constituency parties.[38]

References

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  1. ↑ Usdaw. 2024 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw). p. 4. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "TULO's member unions | Unions Together". Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  3. ↑ A Christmas Message from General Secretary, Joanne Thomas. Usdaw, YouTube. 30 December 2025. Event occurs at 0:01. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 "USDAW - About Us".
  5. ↑ 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
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Co-operative Party Wider movement
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "Union wins Tesco 'fire and rehire' case". BBC News. 2024-09-12. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  12. ↑ "Tesco announces £180m investment in colleague pay". www.tescoplc.com. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  13. ↑ "Usdaw secures agreement with Tesco Bank on 'cost of living' pay increase". Morning Star. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  14. ↑ "USDAW - Sainsbury's to pay the Real Living Wage and London Living Wage - Usdaw welcomes the 9% wage boost". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  15. ↑ "USDAW - Co-op pay award 2025". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  16. ↑ Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.3, p.427
  17. ↑ Arthur Marsh and John B. Smethurst, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, vol.5, pp.184-185
  18. ↑ "USDAW - Sainsbury's and Usdaw sign a new national agreement to improve trade union organising and representation within the business". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  19. 1 2 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.
  20. ↑ ""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.
  21. ↑ "Written evidence submitted by Usdaw (VTR0016)". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  22. ↑ "USDAW - Respect for Shopworkers Week". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  23. ↑ "Violence against Shop Workers - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  24. ↑ "Crime and Policing Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk. 2025-11-11. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  25. ↑ "USDAW - A New Deal for Workers". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  26. ↑ "USDAW - Real Living Wage uprating". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  27. ↑ "Usdaw demands £10 minimum wage and end to 'rip-off' youth rates". Morning Star. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  28. 1 2 "USDAW - Keep Sunday Special". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  29. ↑ "Contact | Keep Sunday Special". www.keepsundayspecial.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  30. ↑ "USDAW - Equalities". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  31. ↑ "Breaking down barriers – Usdaw's Black members development programme | TUC". www.tuc.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  32. ↑ "USDAW - Usdaw joins tens of thousands in standing together against racism on Wear Red Day #WRD22". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  33. ↑ "Campaign To End Violence And Abuse Against Retail Workers Survey Results 2022".
  34. 1 2 USDAW: 125 years strong. London: USDAW. 2016. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  35. ↑ "USDAW - Amy Murphy is elected the new President of Usdaw". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  36. ↑ "USDAW - Jane Jones is elected the new President of Usdaw".
  37. ↑ "USDAW | TUC". www.tuc.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  38. ↑ "Affiliated Unions". The Labour Party. Retrieved 2025-11-11.
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