Membership growth at a time of union decline: Usdaw, organizing and leadership

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is a general (multi trade) union in the UK, predominately organizing in the retail and distribution sectors. Since 2006 Usdaw has increased its membership by 84 000 members - an increase of 26 per cent, making it in this respect the most successful TUC-affiliated union in the UK. This growth coincided with Usdaw's decision to develop itself as an organizing union, which involved the establishment of an Usdaw Organising Academy, a paradigm shift in its approach to organizing, and the creative development of new systems and practices to manage the union. This article describes this process of change and so goes some way to providing an explanation for Usdaw's success. The article also situates Usdaw's approach within the broader academic and policy debates about implementing the Organizing Model, and draws out some general lessons from Usdaw's experience.