The United Kingdom Postal Clerks' Association was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing post office workers in the UK.

History

The union was founded in 1887 by postal sorters working outside London. Those in London had already attempted and failed to form a lasting union, and soon afterwards succeeded in forming the Fawcett Association, which remained a rival to the UKPCA. The UKPCA also began recruiting post office counter clerks and writers. The union was initially based in Liverpool, and never developed strength outside

North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

. From 1895, it was instead run from Manchester. In 1901, the union affiliated to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

. In 1906, the union's executive proposed affiliation to the Labour Party, but members heavily rejected the idea, and the union instead adopted a position of being non-political. The union discussed a potential merger with the Fawcett Society in 1907, but members were apathetic, and this did not proceed. Despite this, the union continued to grow, employing Lucy Withrington as its women's officer from 1908, and reaching 7,724 members by 1912. In 1911, the union instead began discussing a potential merger with the

Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association The Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association (PTCA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. History The union was founded in 1881 as the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association, am ...

. This was achieved in 1914, with the new union becoming known as the Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association.

General Secretaries

:1887: George Lascelles{{cite book , last1=Clinton , first1=Alan , title=Post Office Workers , date=1984 , publisher=George Allen and Unwin , isbn=0043310869 :1893: Paul Casey :1895: George Landsberry :1901: Ernest Lea :1911: Albert Varley

References

Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Postal trade unions 1887 establishments in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1887 Trade unions disestablished in 1914