Its initial membership was mostly drawn from the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), the Paper, Wood and Allied Workers' Union, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union, and the National Farm and Allied Workers Union.
Among the union's founding members were primarily workers from the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), the Paper, Wood, and Allied Workers' Union, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union, and the National Farm and Allied Workers Union.