Records of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Aberdeen Branch)

Scope and Content

U.S.D.A.W. Minutes, 1947 - 1949; The New Dawn (official organ of the U.S.D.A.W.), 1947 - 1951

N.A.U.S.A.W. & C. Minutes, 1900 - 1947; cash book, 1925 - 1928; branch register, 1943 - 1948; Distributive Trades Journal, incorporating The Shop Assistant (official organ of the N.A.U.S.A.W. & C.), 1939 - 1945.

N.U.D.A.W. The New Dawn (official organ of the N.U.D.A.W.), 1921 - 1946

Administrative / Biographical History

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers [U.S.D.A.W.] was formed in January 1947, through amalgamation of the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers [N.U.D.A.W.], and the National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks [N.A.U.S.A.W. & C.].

The N.U.D.A.W. was itself formed by the merger of the Amalgamated Union of Co-operative and Commercial Employees and Allied Workers, and the National Warehouse and General Workers' Union, in 1921.

The N.A.U.S.A.W. & C was established as the National Union of Shop Assistants in 1891, becoming known as N.A.U.S.A.W. & C., after amalgamation with the United Ship Assistants' Union in 1898. It was joined by several other smaller unions before merging with the N.U.D.A.W. in 1947.

An Aberdeen branch of the N.A.U.S.A.W. & C was formed in Oct 1900, and continued to operate as the U.S.D.A.W. after 1947. It is not known if there was an Aberdeen branch of the N.U.D.A.W., though copies of the national journal, The New Dawn, have been deposited with this collection.

Further information about the development of the trade union movement and the history of individual trade unions in Aberdeen can be found in William Diack, History of the Trades Council and the Trade Union Movement in Aberdeen (Aberdeen: Aberdeen Trades Council, 1939), and in Kenneth D. Buckley, Trade Unionism in Aberdeen 1870 - 1900 (Edinburgh and London: Oliver and Boyd, 1955). Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trade Unions, 4 vols (Aldershot: Gower, 1980 - 1984) also contains useful information about the development of individual unions, at both the national and local level. Summarised details from each of these sources has been used in compiling this collection level description.

Arrangement

Arranged by record type, and chronologically therein

Access Information

Open, subject to signature accepting conditions of use at reader registration sheet

Acquisition Information

Deposited in the University in Feb 1968

Other Finding Aids

Descriptive list available in the Reading Room, Special Libraries and Archives, University of Aberdeen. Contents of this list are searchable on-line at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/historic/collects/stiqcgi/prelim01.html , via the Historic Collections database.

Very brief collection level description available on Aberdeen University Library Catalogue, accessible online http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/library/

Alternative Form Available

No copies known

Conditions Governing Use

Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation.

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of Special Libraries and Archives (e-mail: speclib@abdn.ac.uk ) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with normal procedures

Accruals

No accruals expected

Related Material

No related material identified in this repository

Bibliography

No known publications using this material

Additional Information

This material is original

Geographical Names