Retail trade union Usdaw has on Monday announced the election of their first ever female general secretary, Joanne Thomas.
Currently the union’s regional secretary for the North East, Thomas was elected unopposed as the only candidate to secure the necessary nominations. She will replace the current general secretary Paddy Lillis who retires on 25 July 2025.
The election of a deputy general secretary, to replace Dave McCrossen who also retires on 25 July, has also been announced. Rab Donnelly, regional secretary for the Southern Region has been elected having secured nominations from a large majority of nominating branches and being the only remaining candidate.
A lifelong trade unionist, having started as an Usdaw workplace rep when working at wholesaler Makro, Thomas, 46, was employed by Usdaw as an area organiser in Newcastle and then regional secretary for the North East.
She has served on the Labour Party national executive committee and chaired its organising committee, along with holding the presidency of the Yorkshire and Humber TUC.
“It is a great honour to be elected the general secretary of Usdaw, the trade union I have been a member of all my working life. I am proud to be the first woman elected to this role. I’d like to thank all the members, reps and officials who have supported me over the years and have prepared me to take on the biggest role in our union,” Thomas said.
“I have a tough act to follow. Paddy ha/s an incredible record of service and led the union through very difficult times, with the pandemic and cost of living crisis. Paddy’s leadership of our union has seen us move into a modern new headquarters, he has secured our finances to ensure we can provide a great service for our members and we are now one of the fastest growing trade unions. Paddy has been a real inspiration and mentor.
“I am deeply committed to our members and the values that define our union. The strength of our great movement is in our members and workplace reps, their solidarity and comradeship is really important to me. That is what inspires me to seek to negotiate and campaign for change to improve lives and get a better deal for workers. There are many challenges ahead for Usdaw and our members. I believe I can bring strong leadership and make a real difference in my new role.”
Lillis said: “I’d like to congratulate Joanne on her election as my successor. She is a first rate official and I couldn’t think of anyone better to lead our union and be a strong voice for our members. There are many difficult challenges ahead for the retail industry and our members are still being squeezed by the cost of living. The election of a Labour government is crucial to delivering the change we need on raising pay, improving employment rights to make work more secure, tackling the scourge of attacks on retail workers and delivering equality for all. I know Joanne will do a brilliant job as our new general secretary.”
