What's the biggest union in Germany?
Trade unions in Germany
The German Federation of Trade Unions ("Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund" (DGB)) is the largest umbrella organization of unions in Germany. The eight different unions that belong to it cover many sectors of German industry, public services such as police, and higher and professional education. In 2001, DGB united 84% of all union members in Germany. While the number of members was over eleven million in 1991, it has reduced to 6.19 million in 2010. Of these members, about two thirds were actively employed. The following list shows the unions belonging to DGB:
International comparisons of trade unions
The "French Democratic Confederation of Labour", "CFDT" is one of the five major confederations. It is the largest French trade union confederation by number of members (875,000) but comes only second after the Confédération générale du travail (CGT) in voting results for representative bodies.
German Football Association
The Northeastern German Football Association ( "NOFV") covers the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The association is the youngest of the five regional associations, having been formed after German reunification in 1990 as a successor of the disbanded "German Football Association of the GDR". Since the 2012-13 season and previously from 1994 to 2000, the "NOFV" administers the Regionalliga Nordost, a step 4 division in the German football league system, and the step 5 Oberliga Nordost. The "NOFV" itself is formed by the following state associations: The official mascot is an eagle with black feathers and yellow beak called ""Paule"" (since 26 March 2006).
German Revolution of 1918–19
In the decade after 1900, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was the leading force in Germany's labour movement. With 35% of the national votes and 110 seats in the Reichstag elected in 1912, the Social Democrats had grown into the largest political party in Germany. Party membership was around one million, and the party newspaper ("Vorwärts") attracted 1.5 million subscribers. The trade unions had 2.5 million members, most of whom probably supported the Social Democrats. In addition, there were numerous co-operative societies (for example, apartment co-ops, shop co-ops, etc.), and other organizations directly linked to the SPD and the labor unions, or else adhering to Social Democratic ideology. Other notable parties in the Reichstag of 1912 were the Catholic Centre Party (91 seats), the German Conservative Party (43), the National Liberal Party (45), the Progressive People's Party (42), the Polish Party (18), the German Reich Party (14), the Economic Union (10), and the Alsace-Lorraine Party (9).
Auto Union
As well as acting as an umbrella firm for its four constituent brands (Audi, Horch, DKW, Wanderer), Auto Union is widely known for its racing team ("Auto Union Rennabteilung", based at Horch works in Zwickau/Saxony). The Silver Arrows of the two German teams (Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union) dominated not only GP car racing from 1934 onwards but set records that would take decades to beat, such as the fastest speed ever attained on a public road (at 432.7 km/h (268.9 mph), unbroken as of 2013). After being reduced to near ruin in the aftermath of World War II, Auto Union was re-founded in Ingolstadt, Bavaria in 1949, ultimately evolving into the modern day Audi company following its takeover by Volkswagen in 1964 and later merger with NSU Motorenwerke in 1969.
Europa-Union Deutschland
With the help of Dutch and British participants of the Hertenstein meeting, Heinrich Ritzel managed to get in touch with Wilhelm Heile, district administrator of the town Syke close to Bremen. Already during the times of the Weimar Republic Heile had founded an "association for European cooperation". Together with the manufacturer Wilhelm Hermes from Mönchengladbach Heile initiated on 9 December 1946 a merger of Germany's most important European groups. In line with the Swiss Europa-Union, Ritze suggested the name Europa-Union also for the German "Europeans". Heile became the first chairman and Hermes became CEO of the new Europa-Union Deutschland. A secretariat was established in Mönchengladbach.
German Trade Union Confederation
The German Trade Union Confederation (; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people (31 December 2011). It was founded in Munich, 12 October 1949.
Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce
In Germany, for over 150 years, the chambers of commerce and industry ("IHK - Industrie- und Handelskammer") and the chambers of skilled crafts ("HwK - Handwerkskammer") are public statutory bodies with self-administration under the inspectorate of the state ministry of economy. Enterprises are members by law according to the chamber act ("IHK-Gesetz") of 1956. Because of this, such chambers are much bigger than chambers under private law. IHK Munich, the biggest German chamber of commerce, has 350,000 member companies. Germany also has compulsory chambers for "free occupations" such as architects, dentists, engineers, lawyers, notaries, physicians and pharmacists. Exceptions are skilled craftsmen, freelancers and agricultural businesses.
German People's Union
Frey attempted to form alliances with the other two major far-right and right-wing parties in Germany but was rebuffed by the REP as being to extremist and by the NPD as being too moderate and business-orientated. In 1998 the DVU achieved its greatest election success, winning 12.8 percent, 16 seats, in Saxony-Anhalt, and a quarter of all votes of the young voters aged 18 to 25. However, by the following year, the DVU fraction was split by infighting and a number of the party's members of parliament left the DVU.
German model
Under the German model, unions are organized at the industry level and co-exist with works councils at both the plant and company levels. These unions negotiate wage determination with employers' associations. The strength of this setup is the cooperation among unions and management councils. This is unique among Western countries, which have been marked by either substantial weakening of union powers (such as in the United States and United Kingdom) over the last twenty years, or consistent union conflict (such as in France and Italy, where unions have remained strong).
European Trade Union Confederation
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
Trade unions in Germany
Despite the calls to unite, the occupationally oriented association of civil servants and the German Salaried Employees' Union ("Deutsche Angestellten-Gewerkschaft (DAG)") were founded. In 1950, the Christian Trade Union Federation of Germany ("Christlicher Gewerkschaftsbund") was established but it never reached a high number of members.
Union busting
The main actors of the service industry union busting in Germany are law firms, economic detective agencies, public relations agencies, corporate foundations, corporate funded labor law institutes at universities, "yellow" and so called "christian" unions. Angloamerican law firms like Freshfields, Hogan Lovells, Littler and Allen & Overy are important actors with their German locations, as well as management consultancies such as McKinsey and Accenture.
Internationaler Bund
The Internationaler Bund (commonly referred to as: IB) (English: International Federation) is a German politically non-aligned and non-denominational educational organisation. The IB was founded in 1949 and it is one of the largest service providers in the areas of social and educational programs for youth development in Europe with its registered voluntary association (German: "Eingetragener Verein"), its non-profit organizations, commercial companies, further education programs as well as schools and technical colleges.
Today, the IB has around 700 facilities in more than 300 locations across Germany and promotes numerous educational activities abroad with educational institutions in China, Georgia and Turkey and with the Stiftung Internationaler Bund Polska in Poland,
Free Association of German Trade Unions
As the Great War progressed, war exhaustion in Germany grew. The first strikes in the country since the start of the war broke out in 1915, steadily increasing in frequency and magnitude. The unions' role as troubleshooter between the employers and the workers soon led to conflict between the membership and union officials, and the Free Trade Unions steadily lost members. Correspondingly, the Reichstag faction of the SPD split over continued support for the war. The 1917 February Revolution in Russia was seen by the FVdG as an expression of the people's desire for peace. The syndicalists paid special attention to the role the general strike (which they had been advocating for years) played in the revolution. They were unable to comment on the October Revolution as the "Rundschreiben" had been banned by the time it broke out.
Trade unions in Germany
While workers' associations were representing the workers' class in the pre-March era, the first trade unions were founded on a national level in the revolution of 1848/49. In the tradition of the guild constitution, these unions restricted themselves to single occupational groups.
Free Workers' Union
The FAU sees itself in the tradition of the Free Workers' Union of Germany (German: "Freie Arbeiter Union Deutschlands"; FAUD), the largest anarcho-syndicalist union in Germany until it disbanded in 1933 in order to avoid repression by the nascent National Socialist regime, and to illegally organize resistance against it. The FAU was then founded in 1977 and has grown consistently all through the 1990s. Now, the FAU consists of just under 40 groups, organized locally and by branch of trade. Because it rejects hierarchical organizations and political representation and believes in the concept of federalism, most of the decisions are made by the local unions. The federalist organization exists in order to coordinate strikes, campaigns and actions and for communication purposes. There are 800-1000 members organized in the various local unions.
List of political parties in Germany
Germany also has a number of minor parties, in recent history most importantly the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Alliance 90/The Greens, The Left, and more recently the Alternative for Germany (AfD), founded in 2013. The federal government of Germany often consisted of a coalition of a major and a minor party, specifically CDU/CSU and FDP or SPD and FDP, and from 1998 to 2005 SPD and Greens. From 1966 to 1969, from 2005 to 2009 and again since 2013, the federal government consisted of a coalition of the two major parties, called Grand Coalition.
Coalitions in the Bundestag and state legislators are often described by party colors. Party colors are red for the Social Democratic Party, green for Alliance 90/The Greens, yellow for the Free Democratic Party, purple (officially red, which is customarily used for the SPD) for the Left, light blue for the AfD, and black and blue for the CDU and CSU respectively.
German Trade Union Confederation
In general, the influence of German trade unions has declined since 1990 and had to accept shrinking real incomes and a reform of the welfare system in 2004 ("Hartz IV laws"), which put additional pressure on wages. For some years, the DGB and its member unions have been campaigning for a minimum wage to be introduced in Germany. Well into the 1990s, they had rejected this idea because they got better results from their strong position in the German system of collective bargaining.
Hans G W Bechly
On May 2, 1933, Adolf Hitler used his powers as the new Chancellor of Germany to dissolve all trade unions and issue arrest warrants for unionist leadership. Hans Bechly went into seclusion to avoid arrest, but emerged after 1945 to help form the German Salaried Employees' Union (DAG) which was established April, 1949. In 2001 the DAG merged with four unions of the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) to form Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, which is currently known as Ver.di.
Free Association of German Trade Unions
Soon it was decided to complete the merger in Rhineland and Westphalia on a national level. The FVdG's 12th congress, held December 27 to 30, became the Free Workers' Union of Germany's (FAUD) founding congress. Most left communists (including the influential veteran member Karl Roche) had already quit or were in the process of leaving the FAU in Rhineland and Westphalia by this point. The majority of them would join the General Workers' Union of Germany (AAUD), which was founded in February 1920. Without the left communists to oppose its adoption, Rocker's thoroughly anarchist "Prinzipienerklärung des Syndikalismus" ("Declaration of Syndicalist Principles"), which the Business Commission had charged him with drafting, became the FAUD's platform without much controversy. The FAUD also rejected the dictatorship of the proletariat and other Marxist terms and ideas. According to the Business Commission, the congress was attended by 109 delegates representing 111,675 workers, twice as many as were claimed just four and a half months earlier.
Trade unions in Germany
Only with the Halbergerstadter Congress in 1892, the unions gained power and influence again. On March 14, 1892, Carl Legien convened the Charter Conference of the General Commission of Unions in Germany ("Gründungskonferenz der Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands"). The unions with the largest numbers of members were thereby joining an umbrella organization in the German Reich.
Trade unions in Germany
After decades of repression and obstructions through authorities, unionist organizations emerged in the pre-March era and during the German revolution and articulated their demands. The fail of the revolution and the following phase of restoration, however, lead to a loss of strength in the union movement and caused new repressions against unions. Only new reforms in 1869 and 1871, enabled unions to develop as trade partners of entrepreneurs' associations. An example of these reforms is the trade regulation act that introduced the freedom of association and the freedom of trade. The workers' class had to fight for a living wage, while the business owners enjoyed feudalistic privileges. The unions were first interested to improve the situation of their members. They lead labor conflicts, strikes and boycotts against the business owners. This increase in power and the danger for the governing system caused authorities to ban unions or to obstruct them by law. Generally prohibited were unionist activities between 1878 and 1890 through the Bismarck's Socialist Law ("Bismarcksches Sozialistengesetz").
Union of Private Sector Employees, Printing, Journalism, and Paper
The Union of Private Sector Employees, Printing, Journalism, and Paper (, commonly abbreviated GPA-DJP) is the largest trade union in the Austrian Trade Union Federation. It represents the interests of Austrian private sector employees, graphics and paper industry employees, and journalists. It also represents apprentices, pupils, students, temporary and part-time employees, parental leave allowance recipients, and civil and military service providers.
Christian Trade Union Federation of Germany
The Christian Trade Union Federation of Germany (CGB) is a national trade union center in Germany. It has a membership of 280,000, and is affiliated with the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions.
Young Union
Junge Union claims to be the largest political youth organization in Germany and Europe with about 120,000 members.
Trade union
Union law varies from country to country, as does the function of unions. For example, German and Dutch unions have played a greater role in management decisions through participation in corporate boards and co-determination than have unions in the United States. Moreover, in the United States, collective bargaining is most commonly undertaken by unions directly with employers, whereas in Austria, Denmark, Germany or Sweden, unions most often negotiate with employers associations.
Trade unions in Germany
The German unions DGB, DAG and the German Civil Service Federation became partners in collective bargaining with companies and the German government. They also influenced law making in the labor and social sectors.
Trade unions in Europe
Some countries, such as Germany, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, and the other Nordic countries, have strong, centralized unions, where every type of industry has a specific union, which are then gathered in large national union confederations. The largest union confederation in Europe is the German Confederation of Trade Unions. Usually there are at least two national union confederations, one for academically educated and one for branches with lower education level. The largest Swedish union confederation is the blue-collar Swedish Trade Union Confederation ("Landsorganisationen", or LO). The LO has about 1.5 million members (including pensioners), which is a sixth of Sweden's population (Swedish blue-collar density in 2000 was 83% and in 2017 61%; the total density of blue-collar + white-collar employees in 2017 was 69%). Finland's equivalent is the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, with about one million members out of the country's 5.2 million inhabitants. In addition, there are two other Finnish union confederations for more educated workers, with combined membership of approximately one million. In Denmark union density in 2015 was 68%.
Education and Science Workers' Union (Germany)
The Education and Science Workers’ Union (, GEW) is a trade union in Germany. It has a membership of 260,000 and is one of eight industrial affiliates of the German Confederation of Trade Unions.
Most members are teachers, but it also represents day care workers, social workers, private educators, researchers and professors.
Economy of Sweden
Around seventy percent of the Swedish labour force is unionised. For most unions there is a counterpart employer's organization for businesses. The unions and employer organisations are independent of both the government and political parties, although the largest confederation of unions, the National Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions or "LO" (organising blue-collar workers), maintains close links to one of the two major parties, the Social Democrats.
Wolfgang Katzian
Wolfgang Katzian (born October 28, 1956 in Stockerau, Austria) is an Austrian trade unionist. In 2005 he became chairman of the Union of Private Sector Employees (GPA), which at the time was Austria's largest trade union. In 2007 the GPA merged with the Union of Printing, Journalism and Paper (DJP), Austria's oldest trade union, to form the GPA-DJP. Katzian retained his position as Chairman in the new union, which, as of June 2010, remains the largest in Austria. Intermittently since 2006 he has served as member of Austria's National Council. He has been a member of the UNI World Executive board since 2005.
German Metal Workers' Union
German metalworkers started to organize in labor unions in 1868. In 1891, at a congress in Frankfurt from June 1 to June 6, a number of separate unions joined forces to form a single federation with 23,200 members. The DMV was the first industrial union in the country. It was headquartered in Stuttgart. It took over publication of the already extant newspaper "Deutsche Metall-Arbeiter-Zeitung". At first, it faced opposition from the established craft unions. Its membership reached 50,000 by 1896, 100,000 in 1901, and over 500,000 by 1913. Its growth was slowed by its failure to gain recognition by employers in large plants in heavy industry until World War I.
Trade union
In Germany the Free Association of German Trade Unions was formed in 1897 after the conservative Anti-Socialist Laws of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck were repealed.
Confederation of German Employers' Associations
The Confederation of German Employers' Associations or BDA (German: "Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände") is the umbrella organization for German employers' associations. It represents interest groups in the areas of industry, the tertiary sector, banking, commerce, transport, trade and agriculture. In 1977, the head of the BDA, Hanns Martin Schleyer, was murdered by the Red Army Faction, a far-left German militant group.
SEIU Member Activists for Reform Today
SEIU Member Activists for Reform Today (SMART) is a national organization of rank-and-file union members working for the democratic reform of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU primarily represents workers in the public sector, healthcare industry, and property services. Today it is America's largest and fastest growing union with 2 million members, many of whom are minorities, immigrants, and women. 
According to SMART's website, the organization opposes consolidation of power in the hands of international union leaders, forced mergers of locals, and agreements made with employers without membership involvement. Like other internal union reform movements including Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), SMART seeks a union which represents and voices the concerns of rank-and-file members rather than the interests of international union leaders. This goal of union democracy includes meaningful membership participation in union activities ranging from local and national union elections to bargaining sessions with employers. Union democracy is also guaranteed by protections for membership dissent and organized internal opposition.
SMART argues that the increased power of SEIU's international leadership vis-à-vis local union members has limited this type of member access and activism that is essential for union democracy to thrive. Recently, constitutional changes have empowered SEIU's president and executive board to form bargaining units and negotiate contracts without local member participation. The threat of retaliatory forced mergers or trusteeship has also silenced dissent in many locals. While SMART recognizes that SEIU—like all American unions—operates in a legal and social context that is generally hostile, the organization argues that efforts to expand the union's power and membership should not compromise union democracy. As SMART puts it, "growth is critical to our success, and to rebuilding a fighting labor movement – but not growth at all costs, and not without full participation of the members."
Trade unions in India
From 2008 the BMS (Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh) is the largest trade union federation having a verified membership of around 6.2 million.
WBSEWMU,West Bengal State Electricity Workmen's Union ( affiliated to CITU & EEFI)
Free German Trade Union Federation
The chairman of the FDGB was Herbert Warnke until his death on March 26, 1975 when he was replaced by Harry Tisch, a member of the SED’s Politburo, who kept the post until the political turnaround in 1989.
Officially, membership in the FDGB was voluntary, but unofficially it was hardly possible to develop a career without joining . In 1986, 98% of all workers and employees were organized in the FDGB, which had 9.6 million members. This meant that it was nominally one of the world’s largest trade unions. As well as improving members’ career chances, the FDGB also offered various "concessions".
Federation of German Marksmen
The Federation of German Marksmen, "German" Bund Deutscher Sportschützen (BDS), is the second largest shooting sports association in Germany.
German Social Union (East Germany)
The German Social Union (, DSU) is a small conservative political party mainly active in the new states of Germany. It was founded in 1990 as a right-wing opposition group during the "Wende" transition to democracy in East Germany, when it was part of the Alliance for Germany electoral coalition. In 2015 it has about 100 members.
Italian General Confederation of Labour
It has been the most important Italian trade union since its creation. It has a membership of over 5.5 million. Along with the decline of membership within its political counterpart, the Democratic Party (PD), its membership is in steep decline since 2013, with the percentage of pensioners in constant rise. On July 1, 2015, the number of working adults reached a ceiling at 2.185.099. The CGIL is currently the second largest trade union in Europe, after the German DGB, which has over 6 million members.
Trade unions in Turkey
There are four national trade union centers in Turkey. The oldest and largest is the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ). Some unions, such as the KESK-affiliated education union Eğitim-Sen, have witnessed repeated attempts on banning and member imprisonment.
TU (union)
T-Mobile US is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, the largest telecommunications company in Europe. Through its subsidiary companies, Deutsche Telekom has operations in around 50 countries worldwide. In Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, employees are represented by trade unions.
Union of Poles in Germany
Union of Poles in Germany (, ) is an organisation of the Polish minority in Germany, founded in 1922. In 1924, the union initiated collaboration between other minorities, including Sorbs, Danes, Frisians and Lithuanians, under the umbrella organization Association of National Minorities in Germany. From 1939 until 1945 the Union was outlawed in Nazi Germany. After 1945 it had lost some of its influence; in 1950 the Union of Poles in Germany split into two organizations: the "Union of Poles in Germany" (), which refused to recognize the communist Polish government of the Polish United Workers' Party, and the "Union of Poles "Zgoda" (Unity)" (), which did recognize the new Communist government in Warsaw and had contacts with it. The split was healed in 1991.
German Association of Judges
The German Association of Judges (, DRB) is the largest professional organization of judges and public prosecutors in Germany. It was founded in 1909. It is a member organization of the International Association of Judges.
Communist Party of Germany
Before the First World War the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was the largest party in Germany and the world's most successful socialist party. Although still officially claiming to be a Marxist party, by 1914 it had become in practice a reformist party. In 1914 the SPD members of the Reichstag voted in favour of the war. Left-wing members of the party, led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, strongly opposed the war, and the SPD soon suffered a split, with the leftists forming the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) and the more radical Spartacist League. In November 1918, revolution broke out across Germany. The leftists, led by Rosa Luxemburg and the Spartacist League, formed the KPD at a founding congress held in Berlin in 30 December 1918 – 1 January 1919 in the reception hall of the City Council Apart from the Spartacists, another dissent group of Socialists called the International Communists of Germany, also dissenting members of the Social Democratic party, but mainly located in Hamburg, Bremen and Northern Germany, joined the young party. The Revolutionary Shop Stewards, a network of dissenting socialist trade unionists centered in Berlin were also invited to the Congress, but eventually did not join the party because they deemed the founding congress leaning into a syndicalist direction.
Gewerkschaft der Polizei
The Gewerkschaft der Polizei () is a trade union in Germany. It represents 181,000 police employees, and is one of eight industrial affiliations of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB). The GdP is one of the three trade unions for police employees in Germany, the other two being the Deutsche Polizeigewerkschaft - affiliated with the German Civil Service Federation - and the Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter, which is exclusively for members of the "Kriminalpolizei".
Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland
With about 480,000 active members and supporters the BUND is one of the biggest environmental organizations in Germany. It is also formally accredited by the Federal Republic of Germany and therefore has to be officially included if an encroachment into nature is being planned. In 2008, the organization gathered €14.32million from member fees, donations, and benefits.
IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt
The IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU) is a trade union in Germany with a membership of 350,000 (as per end of 2007). It is the fourth largest of eight industrial affiliates of the DGB (German Confederation of Trade Unions). IG BAU is active in the sectors of construction and engineering, building materials, building cleaning, facility management, gardening, forestry and agriculture. Since 2013 Robert Feiger is president of IG BAU.
Union busting
First the small German union of the restaurant and food workers NGG in 1999 used the notion of union busting to characterize the practices of McDonald's in Germany to kick out employees' representative bodies (Betriebsrat) and to prevent the voting of such representative bodies. But only the study Union Busting in Deutschland (Union Busting in Germany) by Werner Rügemer and Elmar Wigand introduced the notion and presented an analysis of union busting. The study was commissioned by the largest German union, the metal workers Union IG Metall and has been published in year 2014.
List of trade unions in Germany
There are 14 unions affiliated to the Christlicher Gewerkschaftsbund.There are a number of other, non-affiliated unions with a total of between 200,000 and 300,000 members.
German Trade Union Confederation
As first German confederation of unions at 14 March 1892 the "Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands" was founded in Halberstadt. It represented 57 national and some local unions with approximate 300,000 people in total. After World War I unions had to reorganise. During a congress in Nuremberg from 30 June until 5 July 1919 the "Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund" (ADGB) was founded as an umbrella organisation of 52 unions with more than 3 million members. The ADGB may be seen as predecessor of today's DGB. Like today, there also existed a conservative counterpart of lesser importance.
Curiously, this conservative organisation was named "Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB". On 2 May 1933 all trade unions were dissolved by the Nazis.
Ver.di
The Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (German United Services Trade Union), which is known as Verdi for short and writes its name as "ver.di", pronounced [ˈvɛʁdiː], is a German trade union based in Berlin, Germany. It was established in the year 2001 as the result of a merger of five individual unions and is a member of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). With around two million members, Verdi is the second largest German trade union after IG Metall. It currently employs around 3000 members of staff in Germany and has an annual income of approximately 454 million Euros obtained from membership subscriptions. The trade union is divided into 10 federal state districts and 13 divisions and is managed by a National Executive Board (Bundesvorstand) with 14 members. Frank Bsirske has been the Chairman of Verdi ever since it was first founded.
Ingolstadt
In 1945, the car manufacturer Auto Union first arrived in the city. The company's original factories in Chemnitz and Zwickau (both then in Soviet controlled East Germany) were shattered during the war, and were seized by the Russians as reparations. Auto Union executives initially started a spare parts operation in Ingolstadt in the immediate post war period, with a view to relocating the entire company to the region. With the help of Marshall Plan aid, Auto Union was formally re-founded in Ingolstadt in 1949, ultimately evolving into the modern-era Audi company, after it was taken over by Volkswagen in 1964. Today, Audi is the region's largest employer and now dominates the economy of the city.
Mc Group
The mc Group is Germany's largest communication agency and the third-largest German advertising agency. It is one of the key players in the industry, currently ranking 13th worldwide, 2nd in Europe and 1st in the GCC/Middle East. The mc Group pursues an integrated communication approach, offering a comprehensive service portfolio in a variety of fields. The group of companies includes over 80 agencies on all continents. The mc Group is the only agency worldwide to be present in all 28 member states of the European Union. Clients come from the worlds of business (e.g. Generali, Lidl), media (e.g. RTL, CNN), politics (e.g. the European Union, the ASEAN, many national governments including Germany, Brazil, France or China) and sports clubs/associations (e.g. football, Formula 1, tennis, golf and the Olympic Games).
2007 German national rail strike
The German national rail strike of 2007 was a strike in Germany by the locomotive engineers union, Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (GDL, or German Train Drivers' Union), which began on November 14, 2007 and ended on November 17, 2007. The union struck Deutsche Bahn, the state-owned company which operates the German rail system. It was the largest strike in history (as of 2007) against Deutsche Bahn.
General Workers' Union of Germany
General Workers' Union of Germany (; AAUD), was the name of factory organisations formed following the German Revolution of 1918–1919 in opposition to the traditional trade unions. The AAUD was formed by the left communists in the Communist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD) who considered organising based on trades as being an outmoded form of organisation and instead advocated organising workers based on factories, thus forming the AAUD. They were influenced by the industrial unionism of the Industrial Workers of the World. The council communists organised these factory organisations as the basis for region-wide workers' councils.
Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
After World War II, the Free German Trade Union Federation was established in East Germany as a unified trade union for Communists and others. In the 1970s, the Maoist Communist Party of Germany (Structural Organization) and the KPD/Marxist–Leninist tried to revive the RGO, but had little success.
German National Association of Commercial Employees
The German National Association of Commercial Employees, also known as the German National Union of Commercial Employees (German: Deutschnationaler Handlungsgehilfen-Verband, DHV) was a German nationalist and anti-Semitic labour union founded in Germany in 1893. It had links with the German Social Party and the Pan-German League.
Economy of Germany
Eventually, the Nazi party developed strong relationships with big business and abolished trade unions in 1933 in order to form the National Labour Service (RAD), German Labour Front (DAF) to set working hours, Beauty of Labour (SDA) which set working conditions and Strength through Joy (KDF) to ensure sports clubs for workers.
Austrian Trade Union Federation
The Austrian Trade Union Federation or Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (de: "Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund", abbreviated OeGB or ÖGB) is a labour union of employees. It is constituted as an association and is subdivided into seven smaller affiliated trade unions. Each union is traditionally dominated by a certain political faction, with the strongest faction in the ÖGB as a whole traditionally being the social democratic one, which is known for its close contacts to Austria's Social Democratic Party (SPÖ); in fact, chairmen of the ÖGB have often also been influential SPÖ members.
German Trade Union Confederation
The Deutsche Angestellten Gewerkschaft – DAG – was a large white collar trade union.
Although the DAG in the British zone 1946 was a member of the DGB in the British zone,
the West German DAG never joined the West German DGB as a single member union.
But in 2001 the DAG merged with four existing DGB unions to become the new DGB union ver.di.
Volksbank
The "Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken" "(Federal Association of Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken)" is a consortium of 1,099 independent credit unions, which represents the banks as Germany's largest banking group in several marketing affairs and as service partner Genossenschaftliche Finanzgruppe Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken - "Cooperative Financial Group".
IG Metall
IG Metall (German: "Industriegewerkschaft Metall", "Industrial Union of Metalworkers'") is the dominant metalworkers' union in Germany, making it the country's largest union as well as Europe’s largest industrial union. Analysts of German labor relations consider it a major trend-setter in national bargaining.
Schützenverein
Germany has over 15,000 "Schützenvereine", with most of them affiliated to the "Deutscher Schützenbund" (German Marksmen's Federation, DSB) umbrella organization. The DSB was founded in 1861 in Gotha and revived in 1951 in Frankfurt am Main following World War II. The DSB's 1,500,000 members makes it the third largest sports organisation in Germany.
Central Única dos Trabalhadores
Nowadays, CUT is the largest and most important trade union federation in Brazil, representing over 7.4 million workers in all productive areas. It is also the largest trade union center in Latin America and the fifth largest in the world. Nevertheless, it continues to face obstacles because of corporatist laws that curb the workers' rights to organize. CUT generally supports a democratic socialist political ideology and is close to PT and its leaders, many of which had been union leaders in the past.
Trade unions in Switzerland
Unia is the largest of these with 200,000 members. It merged with the Trade union for Construction and Industry (GBI), the Trade Union for Industry, Trade and Services (SMUV), the VHTL, and actions in 2004. The second largest confederation is Travail.Suisse, which was founded in 2002 in Bern and has approximately 170,000 members.
History of trade unions in Poland
OPZZ belonged from 1984 till 1991 to the communist-dominated World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in Prague. From 1991 till 1997 OPZZ reduced its status to observer. In March 2006 it joined the European Trade Union Confederation after the long-standing quarrel with Solidarnosc concerning real estate was settled. The biggest trade union in the country, the OPZZ member ZNP, belonged to the teachers’ federations of the ICFTU as well as of the WCL. Many other affiliated unions of the OPZZ also belong to the sector branch structures of the ETUC and the ITUC for a long time. Among these are printers, the building branch, forestry, agriculture, mining, chemistry, energy and some public services.
Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund
The Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund (English: German Nationalist Protection and Defiance Federation) was the largest, most active, and most influential anti-Semitic federation in Germany after the First World War, and one of the largest and most important organizations of the German "völkisch" movement during the Weimar Republic (1918-1933), whose democratic-parliamentary system it unilaterally rejected. Its publishing arm put out some of the books that greatly influenced the opinions of those who later organized the Nazi Party, such as Heinrich Himmler, and after the Bund folded ( 1924) many of its members eventually joined the Nazis.
The Schutz- und Trutzbund used as its symbols a blue cornflower and a swastika, and according to Peter Padfield its motto was ""Wir sind die Herren der Welt!"" ("We are the masters of the world!"). Not a single German source can be found which confirms this motto, which in fact is a verse from the song ""Der mächtigste König im Luftrevier"" (i.e. The mightiest king in the skies.) According to Ulrich Sieg the motto was "Deutschland den Deutschen" ("Germany for the Germans").
German Alpine Club
The German Alpine Club (, DAV) is the world's largest climbing association, and the eighth-largest sports union in Germany. The Club is a member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, and the responsible body for sport and competition climbing, hiking, mountaineering, hill walking, ice climbing, mountain expeditions, as well as ski mountaineering.
Zionist Federation of Germany
The Zionist Federation of Germany () also known as the Zionist Association for Germany was a Zionist organisation in Germany that was formed in 1897 in Cologne by Max Bodenheimer. It had attracted 10,000 members by 1914 and was by far the largest Zionist organisation in Germany. The group supported the 1933 Haavara Agreement between Nazi Germany and German Zionist Jews which was designed to encourage German Jews to emigrate to Palestine.
Trade unions in Germany
Because certain specialized branches considered themselves to be poorly represented through the DGB, they founded their own separate unions. Examples for this are the VC, GdF, GDL, and the Marburger association of clinicians. Some of these smaller unions have a degree of organization that is much higher than the average, up to 80%.
Free Association of German Trade Unions
This practice was replaced in 1900 by a far more complex system of assessments and donations designed to raise the money to support strikes. This system was replaced in 1901 because it was impractical. The 1901 system required every local union and the central committee to create strike funds. Local unions would receive support for strikes from Berlin under certain circumstances, and the central Business Committee's fund would be replenished by all member organizations in amounts proportional to their membership and the average wage of their members. This system, too, proved problematic because it penalized the larger, wealthier unions — especially the construction workers in Berlin who had higher wages but also higher costs of living. From 1901 to 1903, many small organizations joined the federation, yet the FVdG's membership fell as the punitive strike support system drove some larger unions out. In 1903, the federation not only changed its name to the "Free Association of German Trade Unions" but also decided to return to the old system of voluntary contributions. This system remained in place until 1914. The Business Committee worked to ensure that unions contributed as much as they could. Often the committee resorted to threatening unions with expulsion in order to raise funds for a strike. Fritz Kater called this a dictatorship necessary for the movement, but local organizations still had far more autonomy than their counterparts in other German labor federations.
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( or CDU; ) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Germany. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right in German politics. The CDU forms the CDU/CSU grouping, also known as the Union, in the Bundestag with its Bavarian counterpart the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). The party is widely considered an effective successor of the Centre Party, although it has a broader base.
List of trade unions in Germany
There are 8 unions, following a long series of mergers, affiliated to the largest German trade union confederation, the Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB).
Economy of Germany
Germany is a founding member of the EU, the G8 and the G20, and was the world's largest exporter from 2003 to 2008. In 2011 it remained the third largest exporter and third largest importer. Most of the country's exports are in engineering, especially machinery, automobiles, chemical goods and metals. Germany is a leading producer of wind turbines and solar-power technology. Annual trade fairs and congresses are held in cities throughout Germany.
2011 was a record-breaking year for the German economy. German companies exported goods worth over €1 trillion ($1.3 trillion), the highest figure in history. The number of people in work has risen to 41.6 million, the highest recorded figure.
Essen
There are cooperations with the following cities:Essen is home to several large companies, among them the ThyssenKrupp industrial conglomerate which is also registered in Duisburg and originates from a 1999 merger between Duisburg-based "Thyssen AG" and Essen-based Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp. The largest company registered only in Essen is Germany's second-largest electric utility RWE AG. Essen hosts parts of the corporate headquarters of Schenker AG, the logistics division of Deutsche Bahn. Other major companies include Germany's largest construction company Hochtief AG, as well as Aldi Nord, Evonik Industries, Karstadt, Medion AG and Deichmann, Europe's largest shoe retailer. The Coca-Cola Company had originally established their German headquarters in Essen (around 1930), where it remained until 2003, when it was moved to the capital Berlin. In light of the Energy transition in Germany, Germany's largest electric utility E.ON announced that, after restructuring and splitting off its conventional electricity generation division (coal, gas, atomic energy), it will move its headquarters to Essen in 2016, becoming a sole provider of renewable energy. The chemical distribution company Brenntag announced to move its headquarter to Essen end of 2017.
The city's exhibition centre, Messe Essen, hosts some 50 trade fairs each year. With around 530.000 visitors each year, Essen Motor Show is by far the largest event held there. It has been described as "the showcase event of the year for the tuning community" and as the German version of the annual SEMA auto show in Las Vegas. As contrasted with the Frankfurt Auto Show, the Essen show is smaller and is focused on car tuning and racing interests.Other important fairs open to consumers include SPIEL, the world's biggest consumer fair for gaming, and one of the leading fairs for equestrian sports, Equitana, held every two years. Important fairs restricted to professionals include "Security" (security and fire protection), IPM (gardening) and E-World (energy and water). 
The Westdeutscher Rundfunk has a studio in Essen, which is responsible for the central Ruhr area. Each day, it produces a 30-minute regional evening news magazine (called "Lokalzeit Ruhr"), a 5-minute afternoon news programme, and several radio news programmes. A local broadcasting station went on air in the late 1990s. The WAZ Media Group is one of the most important (print) media companies in Europe and publishes the Ruhr area's two most important daily newspapers, "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" (WAZ; 580,000 copies) and "Neue Ruhr/Rhein Zeitung" (NRZ; 180,000 copies). In Essen, the WAZ Group also publishes the local "Borbecker Nachrichten" (at times Germany's largest local newspaper) and "Werdener Nachrichten", both of which had been independent weekly newspapers for parts of Essen. Additionally, Axel Springer run a printing facility for their boulevard-style daily paper "Bild" in Essen.
Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
Despite the split in the SPD during World War I, the free trade unions continued to remain close to the SPD, the largest working class political party. Together, the SPD and the ADGB fought for the introduction unemployment benefits and a legally mandated eight-hour workday, which was gutted by regulations established in 1923. At the end of 1931, they united with the Reichsbanner and workers' sport clubs to form the Iron Front against the growing threat of the Nazi Party.
Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer
The Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (GDL, engl.: "German Train Drivers' Union") is a German trade union that represents workers in train companies. It has a membership of 34,000.
Evangelical Church in Germany
It was realised that one mainstream Protestant church for all of Germany was impossible and that any union would need a federal model. The churches met in Dresden in 1919 and created a plan for federation, and this plan was adopted in 1921 at Stuttgart. Then in 1922 the then 28 territorially defined Protestant churches founded the German Evangelical Church Confederation (, DEK). At the time, the federation was the largest Protestant church federation in Europe with around 40 million members. Because it was a federation of independent bodies, the Church Union's work was limited to foreign missions and relations with Protestant churches outside Germany, especially German Protestants in other countries.
TU (union)
Ver.di represents 2.3 million workers in Germany, including Deutsche Telekom employees. Ver.di was formed in 2001 when the German Salaried Employees' Union (DAG) merged with four unions of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB).
Ver.di members work in financial services, utilities, health, social services, education, science and research, federal government, media, printing, telecommunications, postal services, logistics, and transport, among other sectors.The headquarters of the trade union is in Berlin.
2007 German national rail strike
German Train Drivers' Union/Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (known by its German initials, GDL) is a relatively small union which represents about 34,000 train drivers in Germany.
Kyffhäuserbund
The Kyffhäuserbund's origins lie in a section of the Deutscher Kriegerbund () that established a league in 1900 that would unite the formerly scattered German war veterans' associations. Some of these organizations had been already administrating the maintenance of the memorial together. The league was initially named Kyffhäuser League of the German Countries' Warriors Associations (), a name that became later abbreviated to Kyffhäuserbund. By 1913, this umbrella organization had already 2.8 million war veterans as its members and it had become one of the largest societies in Germany. During the time of the German Empire, the Kyffhäuserbund was instrumentalized against the growing social democratic movement in Germany.
Food, Beverages and Catering Union
The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (, NGG) is a trade union in Germany. It has a membership of 205,900 and is one of eight industrial affiliates of the German Confederation of Trade Unions.
Deutsche Polizeigewerkschaft
The German Police Trade Union (, DPolG) is a trade union in Germany. Representing 94,000 police employees, it is the second largest union for police employees in Germany, following the Gewerkschaft der Polizei (GdP). It is affiliated with the German Civil Service Federation ("", DBB).
Ver.di
Verdi's total number of members decreased from 2.81 to 2.04 million between 2001 and 2014. One of the reasons behind this decrease is the union's competition with rival trade unions such as the physicians' union Marburger Bund and the pilots' association Vereinigung Cockpit. According to observers, Verdi is "comparatively good" at recruiting new members but is limited in its success when it comes to establishing loyalty among its members on a long-term basis. In fact, the battle against decreasing interest among employees and women in particular was already an issue even before the merger of the five individual unions in 2001. In 2003, member numbers dropped so low that Verdi was forced to let some of its own staff go. This was, however, also due to the fact that many structures were duplicated in the Verdi administration after the merger. In 2007, the National Congress instructed the Executive Board to take measures to stop or even reverse the dwindling member numbers. This led to the initiation of the "Chance 2011" (Opportunity 2011) campaign, which was continued in a similar form under the title of "Perspektive 2015" (Prospects for 2015) in 2012. As a result, Verdi representatives were able to refer to an "end to dwindling member numbers" in 2015, at least with regard to Germany's new federal states (from the former GDR).
Agenda 2010
The German Trade Union Federation (DGB), the most influential group outside parliament and historically interwoven with the SPD, massively stepped up their discourse against Agenda 2010, especially prior to the Hartz IV law in July 2004, but the rumble subsided quickly after a summit meeting with Schröder in August 2004. The trade unions suffered from a lot of attrition in that process as their members defected in droves either because the unions' attitude was perceived as too lenient or as too strongly opposed. There were no strikes against Agenda 2010 as the German constitution prohibits politically motivated strikes, but some demonstrations at least were organized and supported by the unions.
Free Workers' Union
On December 11, 2009, the Berlin District Court issued an injunction on the Free Workers' Union Berlin (FAU-B) banning it from calling itself a union or grassroots union. The court decision was confirmed on January 5, 2010. The FAU views this as "the culmination of a series of attempts by the Neue Babylon Berlin GmbH to legally hogtie the strongest and most active form of workers' representation in the company. This attack on the basic right of freedom of association is a de facto ban of the union in Berlin". On June 10, 2010, the Kammergericht overturned the injunction.
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres () is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. The official mission of the Association is "solving the grand challenges of science, society and industry". Scientists at Helmholtz therefore focus research on complex systems which affect human life and the environment. The namesake of the association is the German physiologist and physicist Hermann von Helmholtz.
Trade unions in Germany
The Association of Cigarworkers Germany was founded in Berlin in 1848. In 40 other German cities, similar associations followed. The General German Cigar Workers Society ("Allgemeiner Deutsche Cigarrenarbeiter-Verein"), established in Leipzig in 1865, was the first centrally organized union in Germany. This union became the model for many newly founded unions and is a predecessor for the Union (of) Nutrition-Enjoyment-Restaurants ("Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten"). In 1867, the Society of German Engineers (Verein Deutscher Lokomotivführer (VDL)) was established. After the Weimar Constitution allowed civil servants the right of freedom of association, VDL became the Union of German Engineers (Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (GDL)). The GDL is still active today and is therefore the eldest union in Germany.
Deutscher Journalisten-Verband
The Deutsche Journalisten-Verband (DJV) or German Journalists Association is among the largest journalists' organizations in Europe. The DJV has its headquarters in Berlin and has about 38,000 members. The chairman since 2003 has been the journalist Michael Konken, while the deputy national chairman since 2007 is Ulrike Kaiser. The federal executive of the organization is Kajo Dohring, while from 1989 to 1998 Hermann Meyn was chairman of the association.
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of fifty-five national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers. The AFL-CIO engages in substantial political spending and activism, typically in support of Democrats and liberal or progressive policies.
Economic Council Germany
The Economic Council ("Wirtschaftsrat der CDU" e.V.) is a major German business association representing the interests of around 12,000 small and medium-sized firms. Members are drawn from all sectors of the German economy including banking and finance, insurance, the automotive and chemical industries, healthcare and high-tech. On the basis of this broad membership base the Economic Council claims to represent the interests of the German entrepreneurial community as a whole, as opposed to lobbying for one particular business sector.
Works council
One of the most commonly examined (and arguably most successful) implementations of this institution is found in Germany. The model is basically as follows: general labour agreements are made at the national level by national unions (e.g. IG Metall) and national employer associations (e.g. Gesamtmetall), and local plants and firms then meet with works councils to adjust these national agreements to local circumstances. Works council members are elected by the company workforce for a four-year term. They don't have to be union members; works councils can also be formed in companies where neither the employer nor the employees are organized.
List of trade unions in Germany
This is a list of trade unions in Germany, which play an important part of German labour law and European labour law.
Chamber of commerce
In Germany, the chambers of commerce and industry ("IHK - Industrie- und Handelskammer") and the chambers of skilled crafts ("HwK - Handwerkskammer") are public statutory bodies with self-administration under the inspectorate of the state ministry of economy. Enterprises are members by law according to the chamber act ("IHK-Gesetz") of 1956. Because of this, such chambers are much bigger than chambers under private law. IHK Munich, the biggest German chamber of commerce, has 350,000 member companies. Germany also has compulsory chambers for "free occupations" such as architects, dentists, engineers, lawyers, notaries, physicians and pharmacists.
Trade unions in Germany
Unions are considered to be social policy coalitions that are especially protected under the constitutionally guaranteed right of forming associations for the preservation and promotion of working and economic conditions. Agreements that restrict or obstruct this right are therefore invalid and illicit (Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, article 9, paragraph 3).
Verein Deutscher Ingenieure
Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) (English: Association of German Engineers) is an organization with over 150,000 engineers and natural scientists. More than 12,000 honorary experts process the latest findings every year to promote the technology location. Established in 1856, the VDI is today the largest engineering association in Western Europe.
The role of the VDI in Germany is comparable to that of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in the United States or Engineers Australia (EA) in Australia barring the broader field of work of the VDI. The VDI is not a union. The association promotes the advancement of technology and represents the interests of engineers and of engineering businesses in Germany.
Communist Workers Union of Germany
Communist Workers Union of Germany (, KAUD) was a council communist organization in Germany. KAUD was founded in December 1931 by the 'Frankfurt-Breslauer Tendency' of the Allgemeine Arbeiter-Union – Einheitsorganisation and sections of KAPD and AAUD. KAUD appealed to workers to form autonomous workers councils.
German Rugby Federation
The German Rugby Federation ( or "DRV") is the governing body for rugby union in Germany. It organizes the German national team and the three league divisions: the Rugby-Bundesliga, the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga and the Rugby-Regionalliga. It was founded on November 4, 1900, in Kassel, and is the oldest national rugby union in "continental" Europe. After the Second World War, the DRV was restored on May 14, 1950.
International Trade Union Confederation
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on 1 November 2006, out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). The Founding Congress of the ITUC was held in Vienna and was preceded by the dissolution congresses of both the ICFTU and the WCL. The ITUC has three main regional organizations – the Asia-Pacific Regional Organization, the American Regional Organization, and the African Regional Organization. The Trade Union Development Cooperation Network (TUDCN) is an initiative of the ITUC whose main objective is to bring the trade union perspective into international development policy debates and improve the coordination and effectiveness of trade union development cooperation activities.