The Amalgamated Society of Painters and Decorators (ASPD) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1886 and 1970.
The union had its origins in the Manchester Alliance of Operative House Painters, founded in 1855, which loosely grouped together local unions based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Hyde, Macclesfield, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Stockport.
The union had no executive committee and its general secretary, William MacDonald, did not attempt to control the actions or finances of the local societies, instead devoting his time to writing pamphlets espousing his views on trade unionism and the painting trade.
[3] The union underwent numerous name changes before emerging in 1886 as the more closely unified National Amalgamated Society of Operative House Painters and Decorators.
[4] It merged with the Amalgamated Society of House Decorators and Painters and several smaller unions in 1904, to form the National Amalgamated Society of Operative House and Ship Painters and Decorators (NASOHASPAD).