Albert Heitjans

Albert Heitjans (born April 18, 1914 in Emsdetten ; † October 30, 2005 there ) was a German trade unionist, local politician and mayor of the city of Emsdetten from 1972 to 1984 .

Albert Heitjans

Life

After 1945, Heitjans was one of the founding members of the local CDU and was appointed to the advisory board of the city of Emsdetten in 1946. In the local elections from 1948 onwards he was always directly elected and was a permanent councilor until 1984. From 1964 to 1972 he held the office of deputy mayor before he was elected mayor of the city of Emsdetten in 1972. From 1952 to 1977 he worked full-time as managing director of the Emsdetten administrative office of the textile and clothing union. In 1982 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon and in 1984 the Dr. Johann Christian Eberle Medal. After submitting the mayor's office in 1984, he became the second honorary citizen of the city of Emsdetten. In his political work, Albert Heitjans made particular efforts to build social housing, the expansion of the industrial location Emsdetten and the redevelopment of the inner city (completed in 1977). After his retirement he became involved in the concerns of the support association “Help for unemployed young people” and in the senior citizens' council of the city for the concerns of the elderly. Heitjans had been married since 1944 and had four children. He died on October 30, 2005 in Emsdetten at the age of 91.

Albert Heitjan's house

For the 20th anniversary of tib Emsdetten, an institution that serves as a contact point for disabled and disadvantaged young people, the municipal building was officially renamed Albert Heitjan's house on May 6, 2008. The established institution has been working with “Learning Promotion eV” for years. The association also found support through “Help for young or disadvantaged unemployed people”, of which Heitjans was a founding member and chairman for many years. The renaming is intended to remind of personal commitment. As a further posthumous honor, the Albert-Heitjans-Weg in Emsdetten was named after him in 2014.

Offices and positions

1928–2005 member of the textile and clothing union, today: IG Metall
1945–2005 member of the CDU
1946–1984 council member Emsdetten
1952–1977 managing director of the emsdetten textile and clothing union
1953–1957 chairman of the CDU Emsdetten
1956–1961 member of the works committee of the municipal utilities Emsdetten
1958–1980 Board member of AOK and LVA Westfalen
1963–1990 Member of the supervisory board of the non-profit housing association Emsdetten
1964–1972 Deputy Mayor of the city of Emsdetten
1972–1984 Mayor of the city of Emsdetten
1974–2000 Chairman of the coordination committee for local and foreign citizens
1984–2001 Chairman of the support association "Help for young or disadvantaged unemployed"

Textile workers' strike in 1953

A special chapter in Albert Heitjans 'work was the position of the strike leader in the six-week textile workers' strike in 1953. The starting point for this was the protest of the textile workers against the disadvantage of their industry in the general wage increases. The significantly increased cost of living from 1951 onwards led to an imbalance in the remuneration of the textile workers. After the previous collective agreement had expired, negotiations on wage increases were held at the beginning of 1953, which employers declared on January 15, 1953 to have failed.

Since it was not possible to prevent the strike despite all efforts, on February 14, 1953, Heitjans called for 21 companies with 4,000 employees to stop work.

The right to strike, which was not anchored in the consciousness of the population at the time, led to increased aggressiveness on the part of the local authorities. There were arrests in the course of the strike. An example of this situation was Heitjans' attempt to win a clergyman to mediate on both sides. Furthermore, Albert Heitjans and other union members were charged with carrying out the strike for treason at the Münster Regional Court . This process ended after several days of negotiations to the cheers of the Emsdetten textile workers with an acquittal.

The strike lasted almost six weeks and ended in a compromise that may have been painful for both parties. Quote Heitjans: “After the end of the strike, both negotiating partners had to realize that the trees did not grow into the sky. It is crucial that the strike and the power that was used in the process increased mutual respect between employers and employees. "