The MSF was formed in
1988 from the merger of the Association of Scientific, Technical
and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS) and the Technical, Administrative and
Supervisory Staffs (TASS).
The membership of the two unions complemented each other.
TASS's members were skilled and professional staff employed mainly
in the engineering industry, while ASTMS had developed into a
white-collar union with members in all sectors of industry and
services.
TASS
TASS had its origins in the Association of Engineering and
Shipbuilding Draughtsmen, founded in 1913. It later became the
Draughtsmen and Allied Technicians Union (DATA).
In the 1970s TASS operated within a federal structure as the
white-collar section of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering
Workers (AUEW). A plan to form one engineering union based upon the
AUEW did not succeed, and TASS discontinued its links with the
other AEUW unions.
During the 1980s five craft unions merged with TASS. These
unions are the basis of MSF's craft sector. Two of these unions
were among the oldest established unions in Britain. One, the
Tobacco Workers Union, had been founded in 1834. The National Union
of Sheetmetal Workers, Coppersmiths, Heating and Domestic Engineers
traced its history back to the medieval guilds of coppersmiths and
braziers and the seventeenth century tin plate workers
organisations.
ASTMS
The ASTMS was created by a merger in 1969. The larger of the
two unions involved was the Association of Supervisory Staff,
Executives and Technicians (ASSET). ASSET began as the National
Foremen's Association and mainly represented supervisory staff in
the metalworking and transport industries.
The other union involved in the merger was the Association of
Scientific Workers (AScW). Their members included technicians and
laboratory staff, not only in metalworking industries but also in
chemicals, universities and the health service. AScW's public
sector membership was the origin of Amicus MSF's important
membership in the health service.
ASTMS grew phenomenally, expanding rapidly into new areas of
industry and services. A particularly significant development began
with the merger of the Prudential Assurance Staff Associations.
This was followed by other staff organisations in the insurance
industry including the Union of Insurance Staffs. During its
existence, over thirty different organisations merged with
ASTMS.
