The Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees (AUCE) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing retail and related staff of

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

businesses in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The union was founded in 1891 at a meeting in

Romiley Romiley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it borders Marple, Bredbury and Woodley. At the 2011 census, the Romiley ward, which includes Compstall, Bredbury Green an ...

and was originally named the Manchester and District Co-operative Employees Association.Arthur Marsh and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.5, p.104 Initially, it had joint secretaries, J. Thompson and Alfred Hewitt, but Thompson left the industry later in the year, leaving Hewitt as sole secretary until 1916. From 1895, it accepted members from across the country, changing its name to the "Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees" and merging with the Bolton and District Co-operative Employees Association. On its formation its net assets were a modest £98 2s 2d. Its membership was 2,151, but the merger commenced a rapid rise in membership, from 2,414 in 1896 to 6,733 in 1900, 25,139 in 1908 and 44,000 by 1914. The membership always included women, although they formed only a small proportion of the total, and from at least 1909, it included workers in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1917, the union renamed itself as the Amalgamated Union of Co-operative and Commercial and Allied Workers; despite the change in name, the union's constitution specified that its short form would remain "AUCE".William Richardson, ''A Union of Many Trades: The History of USDAW'', p.66 In 1920, the Co-operative Agents' Union joined, but at the start of 1921, the AUCE merged with the National Warehouse and General Workers' Union, creating the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers.

General Secretaries

:1891: J. Thompson and Alfred Hewitt :1891: Alfred Hewitt :1916:

Joseph Hallsworth Sir Joseph Hallsworth (2 December 1884 – 19 July 1974) was a British trade union leader. Biography Born in Audenshaw, near Manchester, Hallsworth began working in 1902 as a clerk for the Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees. He soon bec ...

General Presidents

:1891: James Dyson :1897: Thomas Howe :1915: Robert Bell Padley :1919: John Jagger

References

Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom 1891 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1891 Retail trade unions Trade unions disestablished in 1921 Trade unions based in Greater Manchester