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Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff

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APEX
Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff
PredecessorAssociation of Women Clerks and Secretaries
National Union of Clerks
Merged intoGMB
Founded1940
Dissolved1989
Headquarters70 St George's Square, London
Location
  • United Kingdom
Members
140,292 (1980[1])
Publication
The Clerk
AffiliationsTUC, LMTU, Labour, FIET

The Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX) was a British trade union which represented clerical and administrative employees.

History

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The Clerks Union was formed in 1890 and later was renamed as the National Union of Clerks. Then, following rapid growth and amalgamation with several other unions, the name was again changed to the National Union of Clerks and Administrative Workers (NUCAW) with a membership of around 40,000.

In 1940, NUCAW merged with the Association of Women Clerks and Secretaries (AWCS) to form the Clerical and Administrative Workers' Union (CAWU). The union organised in the white-collar sector in the City of London and across the country, and had particular success in recruiting in the engineering industry. In the 1960s its membership grew rapidly, but it was less successful in the 1970s, membership increasing by 18%, while that of its rival, the Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS), nearly doubled.[1]

The union changed its name to the Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX) in 1972. It was the union at the centre of the Grunwick dispute in the 1970s.

APEX, like its predecessors, was an affiliated trade union of the British Labour Party and was a key influence on the right-wing of the Party, particularly as, until 1972, it enforced a rule preventing communists from holding positions in the union. Its relations with other unions were often difficult, as it competed not only with the ASTMS for members, but also with the National Union of Bank Employees and various general unions. In particular, a dispute over members at General Accident was referred to the Trades Union Congress Disputes Committee and the fall-out led to APEX's general secretary, Roy Grantham, failing to win re-election to the General Council of the TUC.[1]

In 1989 APEX merged with the GMB trade union and now exists as a section within the GMB.

Election results

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The union sponsored numerous Labour Party candidates, many of whom were elected:

Election Constituency Candidate Votes Percentage Position
1922 general election Bath Herbert Elvin 4,849 17.8 3[2]
1945 general election Liverpool Everton Bertie Kirby 9,088 65.4 1[3]
1950 general election Liverpool West Derby Bertie Kirby 25,417 48.1 2[4]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 30,558 67.7 1[4]
1951 general election Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 30,842 69.2 1[5]
1955 general election Birmingham All Saints Denis Howell 18,867 51.8 1[6]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 28,904 73.2 1[6]
1959 general election Birmingham All Saints Denis Howell 17,215 50.0 2[7]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 26,078 71.1 1[7]
1961 by-election Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 12,182 59.2 1[8]
1964 general election Birmingham Ladywood Victor Yates 10,098 63.2 1[8]
Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 17,010 60.4 1[8]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 24,196 75.6 1[8]
1966 general election Birmingham Ladywood Victor Yates 8,895 58.9 1[9]
Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 18,075 69.5 1[9]
Darlington Edward Fletcher 23,909 50.5 1[9]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 24,550 80.3 1[9]
1970 general election Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 13,794 61.1 1[10]
Darlington Edward Fletcher 23,208 48.5 1[10]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 23,302 75.3 1[10]
Feb 1974 general election Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 19,319 57.3 1[11]
Darlington Edward Fletcher 20,546 40.8 1[11]
Glasgow Craigton Bruce Millan 18,055 51.3 1[11]
Gower Ifor Davies 23,856 52.9 1[11]
Hertford and Stevenage Shirley Williams 30,343 44.7 1[11]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 31,273 65.0 1[11]
Oct 1974 general election Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 19,703 66.5 1[12]
Darlington Edward Fletcher 21,334 45.6 1[12]
Glasgow Craigton Bruce Millan 16,952 50.5 1[12]
Gower Ifor Davies 25,067 57.3 1[12]
Hertford and Stevenage Shirley Williams 29,548 47.1 1[12]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 30,057 71.4 1[12]
1979 general election Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 17,735 60.5 1[13]
Darlington Edward Fletcher 22,565 45.5 1[13]
Glasgow Craigton Bruce Millan 19,952 59.9 1[13]
Gower Ifor Davies 24,963 53.2 1[13]
Hertford and Stevenage Shirley Williams 30,443 45.1 2[13]
Sheffield Park Fred Mulley 27,483 68.6 1[13]
1983 general election Aberavon John Morris 23,745 58.8 1[14]
Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 22,874 63.8 1[14]
Glasgow Govan Bruce Millan 20,370 55.0 1[14]
1987 general election Aberavon John Morris 27,126 66.8 1
Birmingham Small Heath Denis Howell 22,787 66.3 1
Glasgow Govan Bruce Millan 24,071 64.8 1

Leadership

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General Secretaries

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1890: W. Moritz
1890: W. M. Sutherland
Charles Dyer
1906: Herbert Henry Elvin
1941: Fred Woods
1956: Anne Godwin
1963: Henry Chapman
1971: Roy Grantham

Presidents

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1890: Wallas
1890: J. W. E. Hale
1912: G. E. O'Dell
1914: R. J. W. Scott
1915: John Lindsley
1916: Charles Latham
1918: James McKinlay
1927: Hubert Hughes
1940: William Elger
1946: Bob Scouller
1951: Helene Walker
1961: David Currie
1972: Denis Howell
1983: Ken Smith

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Jürgen Hoffman, Marcus Kahmann and Jeremy Waddington, A Comparison of the Trade Union Merger Process in Britain and Germany, p. 58.
  2. ^ Hughes, Fred (1953). By Hand and Brain. London: Lawrence and Wishart.
  3. ^ Labour Party, Report of the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 232–248.
  4. ^ a b "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, February 23rd, 1950". Report of the Forty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 179–198. 1950.
  5. ^ "List of Parliamentary Labour candidates and election results, 25th October, 1951". Report of the Fiftieth Annual Conference of the Labour Party: 184–203. 1951.
  6. ^ a b Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Fourth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 255–275.
  7. ^ a b Labour Party, Report of the Fifty-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 179–201.
  8. ^ a b c d Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 158–180.
  9. ^ a b c d Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 308–330.
  10. ^ a b c Labour Party, Report of the Sixty-Ninth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 289–312.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 371–390.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Third Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 391–411.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Labour Party, Report of the Seventy-Eighth Annual Conference of the Labour Party, pp. 406–431.
  14. ^ a b c General Election Guide. BBC Data Publications. 1983. ISBN 094635815X.
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