# Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff

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

## History

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

## Election results

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

## Leadership
### General Secretaries

    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

    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