Roel de Vries (trade unionist)

Last updated August 05, 2021

Roel de Vries (born 1943) is a former Dutch trade union leader.

Born in Steenwijk, de Vries became a carpenter, and joined the General Industrial Union of Cabinetmakers and Woodworkers, becoming a leading figure in its youth work. In 1967, he moved to Amsterdam to become an administrator for the union, which in 1970 became part of the General Dutch Union of Building and Wood Industries. He was steadily promoted, becoming district administrator in Goes, and then winning election to the union's executive in 1980.^[1]

In 1982, de Vries' union became part of the new Construction and Wood Union. He was elected as its vice-president in 1986, in which role he successfully negotiated a new collective agreement for the construction industry. In 1993, he became president. As leader of the union, he decided to encourage a move towards more flexibility, with individual rather than collective agreements. He retired in 2003.^[1]

In 1997, de Vries was elected as the president of the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW), in which role he campaigned against child labour in the construction industry in poorer countries. He also championed the merger of the IFBWW with the World Federation of Building and Wood Workers. This occurred in 2005, forming the Building and Wood Workers' International, at which point he stood down.^[1]^[2]

Related Research Articles

The Federation of Dutch Trade Unions is an national trade union centre in the Netherlands. In addition to member unions, workers in many sectors can join the FNV directly.

The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at European level. European integration has reinforced the EU's role in economic, employment and social policy throughout the 28 Member States. The ETUC is a European social partner, which means that the European Commission consults it when developing social and economic policies. It also negotiates autonomous agreements and work programmes with European employers. And it coordinates the national and sectoral policies of its affiliates on social and economic matters, particularly in the framework of the EU institutional processes, including European economic governance and the EU Semester.

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership of 19.7 million transport workers in all industrial transport sectors: civil aviation, dockers, inland navigation, seafarers, road transport, railways, fisheries, urban transport and tourism. The ITF represents the interests of transport workers' unions in bodies that take decisions affecting jobs, employment conditions or safety in the transport industry.

Fidel Velázquez Sánchez was the preeminent Mexican union leader of the 20th century. In 1936 he was one of the original founders, along with Vicente Lombardo Toledano, of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), the national labor federation most closely associated with the ruling party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He replaced Lombardo as the leader of the CTM in 1941, then expelled him from it in 1948. He led the CTM, which grew increasingly corrupt and conservative, until his death in 1997.

The General Confederation of Labor is a national trade union federation in Argentina founded on September 27, 1930, as the result of the merger of the USA and the COA trade unions. Nearly one out of five employed – and two out of three unionized workers in Argentina – belong to the CGT, one of the largest labor federations in the world.

The International Federation of Building and Wood Workers (IFBWW) was a global union federation of trade unions in the building, building materials, wood, forestry and allied industries.

Agoria, previously known as Fabrimetal, is a Belgian sectoral employer's organisation.

The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) is the global union federation of democratic and free trade unions in the building, building materials, wood, forestry and allied industries.

Ron Meyer is a Dutch politician and former trade unionist. He was the chairman of the Dutch Socialist Party from November 2015 to December 2019 and is a city councillor in Heerlen . Meyer became known after leading strikes in the cleaning industry and the distribution centres of Albert Heijn.

Konrad Carl is a German former trade union leader.

Pieter de Vries was a Dutch trade union leader.

Alexander Schlicke was a German politician and trade unionist.

Walter Tille was a German trade union leader.

Roelof Stenhuis was a Dutch trade union leader and politician.

The Construction and Wood Union was a trade union representing workers in the construction and woodworking industries in the Netherlands.

Bruno Köbele is a former German trade unionist.

Abraham Buijs was a Dutch trade unionist and politician.

The General Industrial Union of Furniture Makers and Woodworkers was a trade union representing workers involved in making things with wood in the Netherlands.

Jacob Willem van Achterbergh was a Dutch trade union leader.

References

1 2 3 "VOORZITTER ZONDER GRENZEN". VHV. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
↑ "De Vries voorzitter internationale bouw- en houtbond". Cobouw. 9 September 1997. Retrieved 13 October 2020.

Trade union offices
Preceded by Jan Schuller	President of the Construction and Wood Union 1993–2003	Succeeded by Dick van Haaster
Preceded by Bruno Köbele	President of the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers 1997–2005	Succeeded by Federation merged

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.

[vhv-1] 1 2 3 "VOORZITTER ZONDER GRENZEN". VHV. Retrieved 13 October 2020.

[2] "De Vries voorzitter internationale bouw- en houtbond". Cobouw. 9 September 1997. Retrieved 13 October 2020.

[1]

[2]