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 SDA is commonly described as a conservative, Catholic-controlled union.
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 left the Victorian Trades Hall Council in the early 1990s, complaining about its pro-land rights (Mabo) position and political direction at that time. In April 2017, the union applied to rejoin the VTHC.
The SDA is one of the last surviving 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 and which had a key role in the Labor split of the 1950s. The union re-affiliated with the Australian Labor Party in the 1980s and is a member of the Labor Right faction of the party. The union is known for its opposition to abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. Gerard Dwyer is an elected member of the Australian Labor Party National Executive.
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