Factory Workers Association
The Association of Factory Workers in Germany , also known as Factory Workers' Association ( FAV ) for short , was a social democratically oriented German trade union that existed during the period of the German Empire and the Weimar Republic . It was the forerunner of the IG Chemie, Papier, Keramik, founded in 1946 .
Foundation (1890) and first association day (1892)
On June 29, 1890, representatives of unskilled workers from 28 locations throughout the German Empire came together in Hanover for the congress of all non-commercial workers in Germany . On July 1, 1890, as a result of this congress, the Association of Factory, Agricultural and Industrial Aid Workers in Germany was founded with its headquarters in Hanover. August Lohrberg took over the chairmanship, but passed the office on to August Brey just a month later .
According to the statute, the association accepted all workers "who do not do a particular trade as well as all industrial workers who are not able to join their professional organizations due to the local situation." These were mainly workers in the emerging branches of industry, such as the chemical industry , Rubber and paper-producing industry, but also workers in the building materials and food industries, as well as home workers and until 1908 agricultural workers.
In August 1892 the first Ordinary Association Day was held in Braunschweig . Among other things, he decided to accept women. The association renamed itself accordingly to the Association of Factory, Agricultural and Industrial Laborers in Germany . At the end of the year the association had nearly 3,200 members, including around a thousand women.
Further development in the empire
In August 1894, for the second day of the factory workers' association in Celle , applications for the introduction of unemployment benefit were submitted for the first time , but this could not be implemented due to the association's lack of financial resources.
In the spring of 1896, the association denied major industrial action for the first time: in Bielefeld, workers in a machine factory, in Hamburg workers in an oil mill, a margarine factory and numerous coffee readers, in Halberstadt workers in a brickworks. The strikes almost drove the association to financial ruin.
At the turn of the century, almost 32,000 members were already organized in the FAV. In 1904, the Association Day in Hamburg decided to introduce unemployment benefits that had been considered ten years earlier. At the end of 1905 the number of members of the association had more than doubled. There were now almost 76,000 men and women in the.
The eighth Ordinary Association Day in August 1906 in Leipzig took account of the increasing number of association members. The FAV gave up its previous character of a general professional association of the unskilled and reorganized itself. It now only comprised operations of
- Professional associations for the chemical industry
- Papermaking trade associations
- Brick cooperatives
- Sugar trade cooperatives
- Agriculture
- Professional associations of dairies, distilleries etc.
In August 1908 the association was finally renamed the Association of Factory Workers of Germany . Since 1912, the FAV has been open to all workers in the chemical, paper and building materials, as well as the food industry. The open professional association of the unskilled had become an industrial workers' union. At the end of 1912, the FAV already had over 207,000 members.
Weimar period
In 1919 the central working group of entrepreneurs and trade unions was founded. Under its umbrella, the Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft Chemie ( Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft Chemie) was established , to which, in addition to the Association for the Protection of the Interests of the Chemical Industry in Germany and the FAV, the Christian Factory Workers' Association and the Hirsch-Duncker Union of Factory and Craftsmen belonged. For the first time, collective agreements could be concluded in the large chemical industry. By the end of 1919, the FAV experienced a significant boom. The number of members had more than doubled compared to 1912. More than 602,000 members were now organized in the FAV. The FAV was the fourth largest union in the General German Trade Union Confederation . In 1913, the Association of Flower Workers, and in 1919 the Association of Wallpaper, Oilcloth and Linoleum Printers joined the FAV.
In the years of inflation , however, the FAV had to accept a dramatic loss of membership. In 1923 almost 523,000 members were still organized in the FAV, in 1924 it had only 325,000 members. In addition, the association lost half of its assets to inflation. In the same year the FAV also left the Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft Chemie .
In August 1926, however, the Glass Workers Association and the Porcelain Workers Association joined the FAV, which counteracted the decline in membership. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the FAV on June 28, 1930, a separate association house was inaugurated in Hanover.
In July 1931, after more than 40 years in office, August Brey resigned from the chairmanship of the FAV at the Association Day in Munich . Karl Thiemig was elected as the new chairman .
In January 1932 the FAV called on all its members to join the Iron Front of the SPD , Reichsbanner , free trade unions and workers' sports associations against the rising fascism and resolutely fight the NSDAP .
The end in the Third Reich
On April 1, 1933, SA commandos occupied the headquarters of the FAV in Hanover and arrested numerous association officials. A Nazi commissioner was installed in their place. With the final break-up of the Free Trade Unions on May 2, 1933, the FAV was also dissolved. Its members were now forced to organize in the German Labor Front .
literature
- Hermann Weber (ed.): From the factory workers' association to the chemical, paper, ceramic industrial union. Materials and documents . Bund-Verlag, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7663-3168-X .
Web links
- Birgit Hormann-Reckeweg: Association of Factory Workers in Germany from the Beginnings to 1933 (PDF file; 170 kB)