The Communication Managers' Association (CMA) 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 managers 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 ...

, principally those working for the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

. The union was founded in 1952 with the merger of the Post Office Controlling Officers' Association, the London Postal Superintending Officers' Association, and the Central Telegraph Superintending Officers' Association, the three unions have co-operated since 1916 in the Federation of Post Office Supervisory Officers. Initially named the Association of Post Office Controlling Officers (APOCO), it was joined by the Postal Inspectors' Association in 1959, and in 1968 decided to rename itself as the Post Office Management Staff Association (POMA), to reflect its broader membership.Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.1, p.179 The union affiliated to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

in 1966.{{cite book, last1=Marsh, first1=Arthur, title=Trade Union Handbook, edition=3, date=1984, publisher=Gower, location=Aldershot, isbn=0566024268, pages=166 It was also affiliated to the Federation of Post Office Unions, the National Federation of Professional Workers, and the Postal Telegraph and Telephone International. In 1981, it took its final name, the "Communication Managers' Association".

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020 ...

,
Communication Managers' Association
By 1982, the union had 19,500 members, and published a monthly journal, ''New Management''. In 1998, it merged into the

Manufacturing, Science and Finance Manufacturing, Science and Finance (or the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union; almost exclusively known as MSF) was a trade union in Britain. Over eighty members of Parliament (primarily members of the Labour Party) were members. Histor ...

union.Gary N. Chaison, ''Union Mergers in Hard Times: The View from Five Countries'', pp.175-184

General Secretaries

:1952: L. F. Pratt 1980-1989 Robert Cowley :1980s: Terry Deegan

References

External links

Catalogue of the CMA archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

Trade unions established in 1952 Trade unions disestablished in 1998 Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Communications trade unions 1952 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions based in Berkshire