Building cooperative of free trade unionists

Building cooperative free trade unionists eG
legal form	registered cooperative
founding	1922
Seat	Hamburg , Germany
management	Ingo Theel (board member), ; Peter Kay (board member), ; Sascha Gohlke (board member)
Number of employees	104 (2019)
Branch	Housing industry
Website	Homepage of the BGFG building cooperative

The building cooperative free trade unionists eG (BGFG) was founded in 1922 in Hamburg by trade unionists . The founders were members of the General German Trade Union Federation (ADGB) comparable to today's DGB and described themselves as " free trade unions " in contrast to employer-related and Christian trade unions. Since the ADGB had called for the establishment of building cooperatives, the founders chose the name "Building cooperative of free trade unionists".

Housing stock

Henry-Everling-Hof in Hamburg-Hamm

New residential construction in Hamburg-Rothenburgsort

The cooperative developed into a large housing cooperative - also through mergers - with 11,763 (2019) members and 7,597 (2019) own apartments in almost all districts of Hamburg and in the vicinity. 1,336 apartments are publicly funded (2019). The housing stock also includes a senior citizens' housing complex.

New construction project

Residential complex on Pillauer Straße ( Wandsbek ) with 90 publicly funded apartments. Planned completion: autumn 2020
Residential complex on Marckmannstrasse ( Rothenburgsort ). In several construction phases, existing apartments are being demolished and then rebuilt almost exclusively with public funding. Completion of the third construction phase: autumn 2021.

history

The beginnings of the building cooperative of free trade unionists go back to February 24, 1922. With the declared aim of addressing the housing shortage in the Hanseatic city and creating safe living space at low prices, 16 trade unionists met and founded the cooperative. The first office was in the trade union building at Besenbinderhof. Richard Gräning (1897–1958), who was on the board from 1926 to 1958 and was appointed full-time executive board member in 1931, had a formative influence. He remained in this position until 1958. The street Gräningstieg in Stellingen was named after him in 1962. A BGFG residential complex is also located there. The chairman of the supervisory board from 1956 to 1961 was the trade unionist and politician Paul Bebert . Loki Schmidt was a prominent resident in her childhood .

Organization of the cooperative

The highest body of the cooperative is the representative assembly . The representatives and substitute representatives are elected every five years by the members of the cooperative. The 110 or so representatives are responsible for a. the election of nine supervisory boards. The supervisory board appoints at least two members for the management board . This represents the housing association and is responsible for the management . The representatives' meeting takes place every year in June. In addition, the representatives and substitute representatives are regularly invited to information events and once a year to take a tour of the housing stock.

Lively neighborhood

The BGFG attaches great importance to the participation of its members. The cooperative has 13 neighborhood get-togethers and maintains lively neighborhoods. In the neighborhood meetings there are various offers that are offered by members for members, e.g. B. Cooking together, yoga , parent-child groups, game afternoons, counseling and urban gardening . More than 180 volunteers support the work in the neighborhood meetings. In terms of the cooperative principles of self-help, self-administration and personal responsibility, the voluntary commitment of the members plays a special role. The aim is to actively shape the community through exchange and communication, from neighbors for neighbors. The BGFG organizes offers for all age groups, some of which include several hundred people: country party for older members, family outings, Christmas fairy tales , visits to the theater ship .

Web links

Commons : Building cooperative free trade unionists eG - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Where did the name come from ?, 80 years BGFG - More than just a roof over your head, Hamburg 2001
↑ ^a ^b Annual report of the building cooperative free trade unionists 2018
↑ Trade union, cooperative self-help in housing construction !, Call for founding, Hamburger Echo from January 21, 1922
↑ Addresses of the Hamburg labor movement in: Ulrich Bauche , Ludwig Eiber , Ursula Wamser, Wilfried Weinke (eds.): We are the force - labor movement in Hamburg from the beginning until 1945 . Catalog book for the exhibition of the Museum of Hamburg History, VSA-Verlag, Hamburg 1988
↑ 80 years BGFG - More than just a roof over your head, Hamburg 2001
↑ ^a ^b Ingo Theel: Always close to people! Richard Gräning and the building cooperative free trade unionists eG, lecture on November 2, 2019, 14th conference on cooperative history, Hamburg.

[1] Where did the name come from ?, 80 years BGFG - More than just a roof over your head, Hamburg 2001

[bericht-2] Annual report of the building cooperative free trade unionists 2018

[3] Trade union, cooperative self-help in housing construction !, Call for founding, Hamburger Echo from January 21, 1922

[4] Addresses of the Hamburg labor movement in: Ulrich Bauche , Ludwig Eiber , Ursula Wamser, Wilfried Weinke (eds.): We are the force - labor movement in Hamburg from the beginning until 1945 . Catalog book for the exhibition of the Museum of Hamburg History, VSA-Verlag, Hamburg 1988

[5] 80 years BGFG - More than just a roof over your head, Hamburg 2001

[theel-6] Ingo Theel: Always close to people! Richard Gräning and the building cooperative free trade unionists eG, lecture on November 2, 2019, 14th conference on cooperative history, Hamburg.