Central Union of Employees

Last updated
Central Union of Employees
Zentralverband der Angestellten
Central Union of Employees logo.png
Predecessor Central Union of Commercial Employees
Union of Office Employees of Germany
Union of Insurance Workers
Successor Trade, Banking and Insurance Union
Founded9 September 1919 (1919-09-09)
Dissolved2 May 1933 (1933-05-02)
HeadquartersWilhelm-Heinrich-Straße 17, Saarbrücken
Location
  • Germany
Members
363,521 (1920)
PublicationDer freie Angestellte
Affiliations ADGB, AfA-Bund, ADB, FIET

The Central Union of Employees (German : Zentralverband der Angestellten, ZdA) was a trade union representing white collar, private sector workers in Germany.

The union was founded on 9 September 1919 at a conference in Weimar, when the Central Union of Commercial Employees merged with the Union of Office Employees of Germany, and the Union of Insurance Workers. It affiliated to the General German Trade Union Confederation (ADGB), and by 1920 had 363,521 members. On 29 May 1921, the Workers' Union of the Book and Newspaper Industry also joined the ZdA, while the German Union of Lawyers and Notaries joined in 1922. [1] [2] [3]

In 1921, the ZdA became a founding constituent of the General Federation of Free Employees, leaving the AGDB, but remaining aligned with it through the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In the same year, it was a founding affiliate of the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET), and its joint leader became the first leader of FIET. [4] The union published Der freie Angestellte, initially edited by Paul Lange, and from 1930 by Georg Ucko. [3] [5]

In its early years, the union was divided between the leadership, generally SPD supporters, and the "Berlin Opposition", an alliance of Communist Party of Germany and Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany supporters. [5]

The union was banned by the Nazi government in 1933. [5] After World War II, the sector was covered by the Trade, Banking and Insurance Union and the German Salaried Employees' Union. [6]

Presidents

1919: Karl Giebel and Otto Urban
1927: Otto Urban

Related Research Articles

Friedrich Ebert 19th and 20th-century German politician and president of Germany

Friedrich Ebert was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first President of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925.

In the thirteen years the Weimar Republic was in existence, some forty parties were represented in the Reichstag. This fragmentation of political power was in part due to the peculiar parliamentary system of the Weimar Republic, and in part due to the many challenges facing German democracy in this period.

The General German Trade Union Federation was a confederation of German trade unions in Germany founded during the Weimar Republic. It was founded in 1919 and was initially powerful enough to organize a general strike in 1920 against a right-wing coup d'état. After the 1929 Wall Street crash, the ensuing global financial crisis caused widespread unemployment. The ADGB suffered a dramatic loss of membership, both from unemployment and political squabbles. By the time the Nazis seized control of the government, the ADGB's leadership had distanced itself from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and was openly cooperating with Nazis in an attempt to keep the organization alive. Nonetheless, on May 2, 1933, the SA and SS stormed the offices of the ADGB and its member trade unions, seized their assets and arrested their leaders, crushing the organization.

The General Commission of German Trade Unions was an umbrella body for German trade unions during the German Empire, from the end of the Anti-Socialist Laws in 1890 up to 1919. In 1919, a successor organisation was named the Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, and then in 1949, the current Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund was formed.

Werner Hansen was a German Social democratic politician and trades unionist. After 1933 he stayed in Germany for several years undertaking illegal resistance work, and emigrating only in 1937. He was able to return and resume his trades union career in 1945.

German Agricultural Workers Union

The German Agricultural Workers' Union was a trade union representing agricultural and forestry workers in Germany.

The Union of Gardeners and Nursery Workers was a trade union representing gardeners, horticultural workers, and flower arrangers in Germany.

Central Union of Roofers was a trade union representing roofers in Germany.

General Union of Public Sector and Transport Workers

The General Union of Public Sector and Transport Workers was a trade union representing workers in various industries in Germany.

Fritz Müntner was a German trade union leader.

Georg Schmidt was a German trade unionist and politician.

The Central Union of Bakers and Confectioners was a trade union representing workers in bakeries and related trades in Germany.

The Central Union of Butchers and Kindred Trades of Germany was a trade union representing butchers and abattoir workers in Germany.

The Union of Stone Setters, Pavers and Kindred Trades was a trade union representing paviours and people in related trades, in Germany.

Otto Urban was a German trade unionist.

Albert Regge was a German trade union leader.

The Central Union of Potters was a trade union representing pottery workers in Germany.

The Central Union of Sailors of Germany was a trade union representing sailors and related workers in the German merchant navy.

The Central Union of Commercial Employees was a trade union representing white collar commercial workers in Germany.

The Union of Office Employees of Germany was a trade union representing office workers in Germany.

References

  1. ↑ "Angestelltengewerkschaften in Deutschland vor 1933" (PDF). Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  2. ↑ "Zentralverband der Angestellten". EHRI. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. 1 2 Urban, Otto (1931). Zentralverband der Angestellten. ADGB. p. 2101–2106. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "Urban, Otto (1877-1947)". Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 "Ucko, Georg (1880 - 1945)". Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "Gewerkschaft Handel, Banken und Versicherungen (HBV)". Ver.di. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.