National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks

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The National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks (NAUSAWC, often known as the Shop Assistants' Union) was a trade union representing retail workers in the United Kingdom.

Shop Assistants' Union
National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks
PredecessorEast London Shop Assistants' Union
Warehouse Assistants' Union
Merged intoUnion of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Founded1891
Dissolved1946
HeadquartersDilke House, Malet Street, London
Location
  • United Kingdom
Members
53,403 (1946)
PublicationShop Assistant
AffiliationsTUC, ITUC, Labour

The union was founded in 1891 with the merger of the East London Shop Assistants' Union and the Warehouse Assistants' Union. Based in Manchester, it was originally named the National Union of Shop Assistants, and the following year, 1893 it became the National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks. Its membership grew rapidly, from just under 1,300 in 1893 to more than 7,500 in 1900.[1] During this period, it relocated its headquarters to London, merged in 1898 with the United Shop Assistants Union, and adopted its final name.[2]

In 1910, the union had more than 21,000 members, including 3,000 women, and was the second largest union of retail workers, after the Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees. It continued to expand, merging with the National Association of Grocers Assistants in 1920 and the Dental Assistants Union in 1921.[2] It built up a branch in Dublin, but this left in 1921 to merge with the Irish Drapers' Assistants Association, forming the Irish Union of Distributive Workers and Clerks.[3]

In 1946, the union merged with the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers to form the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers.[2]

Notable figures associated with the union include assistant general secretary Margaret Bondfield, and president James Seddon.

Election results

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The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in several Parliamentary elections, many of whom won election.

Election Constituency Candidate Votes Percentage Position
1906 general election Gravesend James Macpherson 873 16.2 3
Newton James Seddon 6,434 52.2 1
1910 Jan general election Newton James Seddon 7,256 52.7 1
1910 Dec general election Newton James Seddon 6,562 49.5 2
1922 general election South East Essex Philip Hoffman 11,459 45.9 2
1923 general election South East Essex Philip Hoffman 13,979 53.0 1
1924 general election South East Essex Philip Hoffman 13,820 41.2 2
1929 general election Sheffield Central Philip Hoffman 19,183 59.1 1
1931 general election Sheffield Central Philip Hoffman 13,212 38.0 2
1935 general election Sedgefield John Leslie 20,375 52.3 1
Sheffield Central Philip Hoffman 13,408 49.2 2
1945 general election Sedgefield John Leslie 27,051 63.8 1

General secretaries

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1891: William Johnson
1894: James Macpherson
1912: John Turner
1924: John Leslie
1936: G. Maurice Hann

References

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  1. ^ USDAW leaflet Retrieved 30 November 2016
  2. ^ a b c Arthur Ivor Marsh, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, Volume 5, pp.127-128
  3. ^ Arthur Ivor Marsh, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, Volume 5, pp.119-120