Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association
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| Full name | Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association |
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| Founded | 14 May 1908 |
| Members | 230,000 |
| Affiliation | ACTU, UNI, ALP |
| Key people |
Joe de Bruyn, National President Gerard Dwyer, National Secretary |
| Office location | Melbourne, Victoria |
| Country | Australia |
| Website | www.sda.org.au |
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is one of the largest trade unions in Australia with more than 230,000 members and branches in every state and one in the Newcastle, Hunter and Central Coast regions. The SDA is the union for retail and fast-food workers, but does have other areas of coverage. The SDA is a 'full service' union and provides a range additional benefits to members in addition to workplace and industrial protection.
The current National Secretary is Gerard Dwyer and the National President is Joe de Bruyn.
In 1908, unions representing retail workers in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia combined to become the Shop Assistants and Warehouse Employees Federation. Over time, unions in Tasmania, Newcastle and Western Australia became part of the national union.
In 1972, the union changed its name to the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association.
The SDA are the last surviving of the Catholic-controlled "grouper" unions, as they were known in the 1940s and 50s, named after the industrial groups organised to counter communists in the unions.
The main categories of workers covered by the SDA are retail shop assistants and fast food workers but the SDA also covers:
In addition to this, the SDA covers some other categories of workers when they are connected to a retail or warehousing environment. For example, the SDA does not have coverage of bakers at large factories or a small bakery. These workers include:
As a result of the SDA's coverage, the union claims it is moderate and responsible in its approach to Industrial Relations.
The SDA attempts to have a relatively positive relationship with retail employers, with the idea that it allows it to negotiate better outcomes for its members than a more confrontational approach because of the reluctance of SDA members to take industrial action, which rarely if ever occurs in the SDA. This reluctance is inherent to the categories of workers who are covered by the SDA - young people and women who are generally in casual employment.
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