General German Workers' Association
The General German Workers' Association was a trade union umbrella organization founded in 1869 in the context of the ADAV . It existed until the self-dissolution in 1874.
prehistory
The economy in Germany has been booming since around 1866, only temporarily interrupted by the wars. Against this background, there were numerous labor disputes. As Lassalle's supporters, the ADAV leaders were not really supporters of the trade union movement, but the industrial action put the party under pressure. Against the background of competition from the Association of German Workers' Associations and the Hirsch-Dunckerschen trade associations founded in 1868, ADAV President Johann Baptist von Schweitzer decided in 1868 to change course radically. At the ADAV congress in Hamburg, he set up a general German workers' congress against considerable resistance. The aim was to found unions. He even had to threaten to resign before the meeting approved the move. Then a part of the ADAV, which remained faithful to Lassalle's ideas, split off under Fritz Mende and Countess Hatzfeld .
founding
The congress was convened by Schweitzer and Friedrich Wilhelm Fritzsche for September 27 in Berlin. 205 delegates from 105 locations were present. The claim to represent over 140,000 workers, however, was greatly exaggerated. The draft statutes for the unions to be founded provided for the principle of industrial associations . That means that the workers in one branch did not join together in a single occupation. The individual unions should be merged in the General German Workers' Union as an umbrella organization. The labor association held a strong position vis-à-vis the individual trade unions. According to the statutes, the aim was to protect and promote the honor and material interests of the members. In addition to workers, small masters could also become members. Schweitzer became president of the workers' union. The organ of publication was Der Social-Demokratie .
The following emerged at the founding congress:
- General cooperative of miners and ironworkers
- General German metal workers
- General German cooperative of manual and factory workers
- General German workforce of dyers, weavers and manufactory workers
- General German shoemaker's association
- General German Bakers' Association
- General German workforce of bookbinders, leather workers, etc.
- Union of German Woodworkers
- General German bricklayers' union
This was followed by the General German Tailoring Association and later the carpentry organizations. The tobacco workers and book printers remained independent . One year after it was founded, the organization was represented in 200 locations and the individual unions had between 35,000 and 50,000 members. Now the tobacco workers also joined.
development
The so-called Schweitzer coup d'état, with which the old dictatorial leadership in the ADAV was to be restored, had negative consequences not only in the party but also in the labor movement. Important leaders of the trade unions such as Fritzsche, Theodor York and others turned away from the ADAV and supported the establishment of the SDAP by August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht . Schweitzer then sought a test of strength in the individual unions and was able to prevail with the exception of the organization of the tobacco workers. The latter confirmed Fritzsche as chairman.
The union presidents, who had been pushed out of office, gathered their supporters and the organizations split. The number of members fell to about 21,000. Schweitzer subsequently tried to strengthen his position even further by depriving the individual organizations of their legal independence. In December 1869 a new statute was published according to which the individual organizations had to give up their existence and transfer the members to the General German Workers Support Association. There was strong resistance to this, and it was only when Schweitzer threatened to resign that a majority in favor of changing the statutes was achieved. The Franco-Prussian War hindered the union work of the unified organization established in 1870. But also because of the change in the association structure, the number of members fell sharply.
In March 1871 von Schweitzer announced his resignation. The number of members of the new unified association was only 4,257 in 1871. In Berlin the organization had completely collapsed. The first general assembly of the unified association decided to reintroduce the professional breakdown. In the ADAV, the critics of the trade union system such as Carl Wilhelm Tölcke turned against the organization. In 1872 he succeeded in enforcing a resolution to dissolve the unions in the party. Since the party had no direct opportunity to intervene in the independent union, this decision remained only a declaration of intent.
At the general assembly of 1872 the delegates represented about 8,300 members. In 1874 there were 7,450 members. In order to escape the persecution of the workers' organizations in Prussia, Wilhelm Hasenclever moved the headquarters of the trade union federation from Berlin to Hamburg. The organization was banned in Prussia. On September 9, 1874, in view of the persecution, the association announced its self-dissolution.
literature
- Klaus Tenfelde: The emergence of the German trade union movement. From the pre-march to the end of the socialist law. In the S. u. a. (Ed.): History of the German trade unions from the beginnings to 1945 - Cologne, 1987 pp. 114–118
- Ludwig Heyde (Ed.): International concise dictionary of the trade union system. Vol. 1, Berlin, 1931