{{Short description|British trade union}} {{Infobox organization | name = Usdaw | location = United Kingdom | affiliations = TUC, ICTU, STUC, Labour<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/pages/member_unions |title=TULO's member unions | Unions Together |access-date=July 18, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311211534/http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/pages/member_unions |archive-date=March 11, 2012 }}</ref> | num_members = {{increase}} 368,563 (2024)<ref>{{cite report |title=2024 Annual Report |url=https://usdawlive.b-cdn.net/live/media/404fp0s1/2024annualreport.pdf |publisher=Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) |author=Usdaw |page=4 |access-date=12 September 2025 }}</ref> | full_name = Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers | image = Image:USDAW logo.png | founded = 1 January 1947 | predecessor = National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers<br/>National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks | dissolved = | merged_into = | headquarters = Voyager Building, 2 Furness Quay, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3XZ | key_people = Joanne Thomas, General Secretary <br /> Jane Jones, President | website = {{URL|www.usdaw.org.uk}} | footnotes = }}
The '''Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers''' (Usdaw {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʌ|z|d|ɔː}} {{Respell|UZ|daw}}<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhBgOGWDzIo |title=A Christmas Message from General Secretary, Joanne Thomas |time=0:01 |publisher=Usdaw, YouTube |date=30 December 2025 |access-date=8 May 2026}}</ref>) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of over 360,000 members,<ref name="aboutus">{{cite web | url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/About-Us | title=USDAW - About Us }}</ref> which specialises in the retail, distribution and logistics, food and drink manufacturing and customer contact sectors.
It is widely considered to be on the right-wing on the political spectrum,<ref name="AT1">{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Andrew |title=The Trade Unions and the Labour Party |date=1987 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=Milton |isbn=9780429833243 |pages=114 |edition=December 2018 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iKp-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT114 |access-date=8 August 2022 |language=en |chapter=(1) The Genesis of the Social Contract |quote=Usdaw is traditionally right wing}}</ref><ref name="DM1">{{cite book |last1=Marsh |first1=David |author1-link=David Marsh (political scientist) |title=The New Politics of British Trade Unionism Union Power and the Thatcher Legacy |date=27 February 1992 |publisher=Macmillan Education |location=London |isbn=9781349219216 |pages=143 |edition=1st |url=https://google.co.uk/books/edition/The_New_Politics_of_British_Trade_Unioni/-SBIEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22usdaw%22&pg=PA143&printsec=frontcover |access-date=8 August 2022 |language=en |chapter=(6) Trade Unions and the Labour Party - (s.2) Trade Unions and constitutional reform, 1979-83}}</ref> occupying the "politically conservative" section of the Labour Party.<ref name="RW1">{{cite book |last1=Lynch |first1=Samantha |last2=Price |first2=Robin |last3=Pyman |first3=Amanda |last4=Bailey |first4=Janis |editor1-last=Bozkurt |editor1-first=Ödül |editor2-last=Grugulis |editor2-first=Irena |title=Retail Work |date=15 March 2011 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London |isbn=9780230344884 |pages=284 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJtGEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA284 |language=en |chapter=(14) Representing and Organising Retail Workers: A Comparative Study of the UK and Australia}}</ref><ref name="SR1">{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Mark |title=How supermarket workers buck the trend |url=https://socialistworker.co.uk/socialist-review-archive/how-supermarket-workers-buck-trend/ |access-date=8 August 2022 |work=Socialist Review |issue=447 |publisher=Socialist Workers Party |date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808201657/https://socialistworker.co.uk/socialist-review-archive/how-supermarket-workers-buck-trend/ |archive-date=8 August 2022 |location=London |language=en}}</ref> Usdaw is also affiliated to the Co-operative Party.<ref>[https://party.coop/officers/handbook/wider-movement/ Co-operative Party] Wider movement</ref> 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.<ref name="NP1">{{cite web |last1=Hartley |first1=Joshua |title=Former employee of factory claims to be a victim of 'fire and hire' |url=https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/former-employee-factory-makes-boots-6092258 |website=Nottingham Post |publisher=Trinity Mirror |access-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808204430/https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/former-employee-factory-makes-boots-6092258 |archive-date=8 August 2022 |location=Nottingham |language=en |date=17 November 2021}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-12 |title=Union wins Tesco 'fire and rehire' case |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceq5qj0l4j5o#comments |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
In June 2025, the union secured above-inflation pay rises for its members at Tesco,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tesco announces £180m investment in colleague pay |url=https://www.tescoplc.com/tesco-announces-180m-investment-in-colleague-pay/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250617183529/https://www.tescoplc.com/tesco-announces-180m-investment-in-colleague-pay/ |archive-date=2025-06-17 |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.tescoplc.com |language=en-US}}</ref>Tesco Bank<ref>{{Cite web |title=Usdaw secures agreement with Tesco Bank on 'cost of living' pay increase |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/usdaw-secures-agreement-tesco-bank-%E2%80%98cost-living%E2%80%99-pay-increase |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=Morning Star |language=en}}</ref>Sainsbury's,<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Sainsbury's to pay the Real Living Wage and London Living Wage - Usdaw welcomes the 9% wage boost |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/latest-news/sainsbury-s-to-pay-the-real-living-wage-and-london-living-wage-usdaw-welcomes-the-9-wage-boost/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> and Cooperative supermarkets.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Co-op pay award 2025 |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/latest-news/co-op-pay-award-2025/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>
==History== 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,<ref>Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.3, p.427</ref> and the Scottish Union of Bakers and Allied Workers in 1978.<ref>Arthur Marsh and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.5, pp.184-185</ref>
==Operations== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Sainsbury's and Usdaw sign a new national agreement to improve trade union organising and representation within the business |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/latest-news/sainsbury-s-and-usdaw-sign-a-new-national-agreement-to-improve-trade-union-organising-and-representation-within-the-business/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>
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.<ref name="CUP1">{{cite book |last1=Brookes |first1=Marissa |title=The new politics of transnational labor : why some alliances succeed |date=2019 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, New York |isbn=9781501733208 |pages=101 |edition=illustrated |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24x8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |access-date=8 August 2022 |language=en |chapter=(3) Service Sector Solidarity: Coordinating the Tesco and G4S Campaigns}}</ref> This attitude has earned the union the pejorative backronym of ''Useless Seven Days A Week'' amongst workers and trade unionists.<ref name="CUP1" /><ref name="0161F1">{{cite web |title="Precarious" work and industrial organisation in modern Britain (PART 2) |url=https://0161festival.com/precarious-work-and-industrial-organisation-in-modern-britain-part-2/ |website=0161 Festival |access-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623114311/https://0161festival.com/precarious-work-and-industrial-organisation-in-modern-britain-part-2/ |archive-date=23 June 2021 |location=Manchester |language=en |date=29 March 2019}}</ref>
== Sectors == 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.<ref name="aboutus"/>
== Campaigns == thumb|Logo for Usdaw's Freedom from Fear Campaign
=== Violence against retail workers === Usdaw has been campaigning against violence, threats and abuse experienced by retail workers since the early 2000s<ref>{{Cite web |title=Written evidence submitted by Usdaw (VTR0016) |url=https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/21392/html/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=committees.parliament.uk}}</ref> Activity includes an annual awareness campaign, including Respect Week each autumn, workplace surveys, and advocacy for clearer protections in law.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Respect for Shopworkers Week |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/member-support/how-to-get-involved/events/respect-for-shopworkers-week/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Violence against Shop Workers - Hansard - UK Parliament |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-03-31/debates/4E3511B6-23C7-48F4-B92D-90FA5BF8080A/ViolenceAgainstShopWorkers |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=hansard.parliament.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-11-11 |title=Crime and Policing Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-03-10/debates/FBC378D8-E3CC-4ABF-A1D2-DD6A8B2CD7F6/CrimeAndPolicingBill |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=hansard.parliament.uk |language=en}}</ref>
=== National Minimum Wage === 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - A New Deal for Workers |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/campaigns/a-new-deal-for-workers/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> Usdaw also engages in consultations around the setting of both the National Living Wage and Real Living Wage,<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Real Living Wage uprating |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/latest-news/real-living-wage-uprating/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> and has been calling for an end to ‘rip-off’ youth rates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Usdaw demands £10 minimum wage and end to 'rip-off' youth rates |url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/usdaw-demands-ps10-minimum-wage-and-end-rip-youth-rates |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=Morning Star |language=en}}</ref> thumb|Logo for the Keep Sunday Special campaign
=== Keep Sunday Special === Usdaw has had a long-running campaign to prevent changes that would allow shops to stay open later in England and Wales.<ref name="USDAW - Keep Sunday Special">{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Keep Sunday Special |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/campaigns/keep-sunday-special/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name="USDAW - Keep Sunday Special"/> The campaign also successfully prevented further changes in 2006 and has lobbied against a recent pilot in Belfast, Northern Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contact {{!}} Keep Sunday Special |url=https://www.keepsundayspecial.org.uk/contact |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.keepsundayspecial.org.uk}}</ref>
=== Equality and inclusion === Usdaw has championed equality issues, both in workplaces and the union movement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Equalities |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/member-support/help-and-advice/equalities/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Breaking down barriers – Usdaw's Black members development programme {{!}} TUC |url=https://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace-guidance/case-studies/breaking-down-barriers-usdaws-black-members-development-programme |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.tuc.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> The programme has been highlighted as important by both the TUC and the Show Racism the Red Card campaign.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Usdaw joins tens of thousands in standing together against racism on Wear Red Day #WRD22 |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/latest-news/usdaw-joins-tens-of-thousands-in-standing-together-against-racism-on-wear-red-day-wrd22/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>
==Publications== USDAW produces a quarterly membership magazine for members, ''Arena'', as well as a bimonthly magazine for union activists, ''Network''.
===2022 annual survey report=== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Campaign To End Violence And Abuse Against Retail Workers Survey Results 2022 |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=768eb764-e8dd-4d48-a913-17d6d1d03c1c}}</ref>
==General Secretaries== thumb|Joanne Thomas, current General Secretary of Usdaw Since 1947, USDAW has had eight General Secretaries:<ref name="125years">{{cite book |title=USDAW: 125 years strong |date=2016 |publisher=USDAW |location=London |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=6c0aa14e-8671-48f0-b4a0-cb3a760911c1 |accessdate=18 July 2018 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214052/https://www.usdaw.org.uk/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=6c0aa14e-8671-48f0-b4a0-cb3a760911c1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> :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== Since 1947, USDAW has had eleven Presidents:<ref name="125years" /> :1947: Percy Cottrell :1948: Walter Padley :1964: Dick Seabrook{{citation needed|date=September 2022}} :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<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW - Amy Murphy is elected the new President of Usdaw |url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/About-Us/News/2018/Feb/Amy-Murphy-is-elected-the-new-President-of-Usdaw |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=www.usdaw.org.uk}}</ref> :2021: Jane Jones <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.usdaw.org.uk/About-Us/News/2021/Feb/Jane-Jones-is-elected-the-new-President-of-Usdaw | title=USDAW - Jane Jones is elected the new President of Usdaw }}</ref>
== Affiliations == Usdaw is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDAW {{!}} TUC |url=https://www.tuc.org.uk/unions/usdaw |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.tuc.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Affiliated Unions |url=https://labour.org.uk/about-us/affiliated-unions/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=The Labour Party |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Official website|http://www.usdaw.org.uk}}
{{Trades Union Congress}} {{Irish Congress of Trade Unions}}
{{Portal|Organised labour}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Trade unions in the United Kingdom Category:1947 establishments in the United Kingdom Category:Trade unions established in 1947 Category:Retail trade unions Category:Food processing trade unions Category:Food processing industry in the United Kingdom Category:Trade unions affiliated with the Labour Party (UK) Category:Trade unions based in Greater Manchester Category:Trade unions affiliated with the Trades Union Congress Category:Trade unions affiliated with the Scottish Trades Union Congress Category:Trade unions affiliated with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions