Georg Kellermann (trade unionist)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georg Kellermann (born January 8, 1853, presumably in Lauf an der Pegnitz , † November 6, 1925 in Hamburg ) was a German trade union official .

Live and act

Georg Kellermann was the third of five children to a bricklayer in Bavaria. He completed an apprenticeship as a brewer and did military service in Nuremberg from 1872 to 1873 . In 1875 he moved to Hamburg, where he worked in various breweries both as a brewer and as a warehouse worker. From 1878 he helped as a show worker with loading and unloading grain ships and became a citizen of Hamburg. In the same year he became a member of the SAPD , for which he was involved in the 1st Hamburg constituency of the Reichstag until the 1890s and held several honorary positions.

In January 1888, Kellermann took over a paying agent for the Hamburg Seafarers' Association , which with 3,000 to 4,000 dock workers was by far the largest association of people employed in the port. In October 1889 he helped organize a successful strike and participated in the May fights of 1890 . Towards the end of the socialist laws, Kellermann asked the Hamburg Citizens Association to abolish school fees and to improve the education of Hamburg orphans. Kellermann played a key role in drafting the statutes of the Association of Dock Workers in Germany , which was being founded, but did not receive a mandate for its first congress in Kiel in August 1890 . He campaigned for the Hamburg union to join the national association, which came into force on January 1, 1891. The Hamburg Schauermen elected him their chairman in the same month. Kellermann, who campaigned for an international union of dock workers, became the elected successor to chairman Johann Schwarz, who had left office due to theft, at the end of 1891 .

Kellermann, who had previously worked as a showman, took over an inn in 1892, which he ran independently. As an innkeeper, he spoke at meetings of the self-employed Hamburg traders and the inn and innkeepers' association, at which he campaigned for understanding for the interests of the Hamburg labor movement. His bar at “Schaarthor 7” developed into a traffic bar for the unionized German port workers. Kellermann held back in the debates of the Hamburg workers, but had a great informal influence. He played an important role in the merger of port workers with the Central Association of Shipyard Workers in Germany to form the Association of Germany's Shipbuilding and Shipping People , which took place in 1892. Kellermann took over the honorary chairmanship of the association, which split two years later. Then he was again chairman of the old and new Association of Dock Workers in Germany . In this position he then tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Chancellor to appoint port inspectors.

When the Hamburg showmen wanted to strike in November 1896, Kellermann pointed out the poor organization of the union and the insufficiently filled strike fund to avert the strike. He nevertheless traveled to London , where he asked the Dockers, Seamen and Firemen, Cool Porters and Winchmen's Unions to support the Hamburg port workers. He also asked the London Trade Office to intervene against the sending of scabs to Germany. In 1897 he took part as a German delegate at the International Conference of Ship, Dock and River Workers , which did not agree to an international strike. During the 4th general assembly of the union in Hamburg, Kellermann was confirmed as chairman. Those present stated that the previous strikes had ended unsatisfactorily but were important for the consolidation of the association. Since he had recognized that in order to be successful in future labor disputes, international cooperation would have to be improved, Kellermann proposed that the next meeting of the International Transport Workers' Federation be held in Berlin. He hoped that the secretariat of the association, which was largely British-controlled, would thus devote itself more to the interests of dock workers on mainland Europe.

In 1898 Kellermann resigned as chairman. Since he had spoken out against support funds of any kind, he lost the trust of the union members and consequently did not accept the post of deputy chairman in 1900. Until his exclusion in 1902 due to financial irregularities, Kellermann headed a paying agent for the association. He then worked as an innkeeper until his death in 1925.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ According to sources, the place of birth is Lauf in Bavaria. Since there are four places with this name in Bavaria, the place of residence remains uncertain. Based on the curriculum vitae, however, it seems reasonable to assume that it is Lauf an der Pegnitz.
personal data
SURNAME Kellermann, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German trade union official
DATE OF BIRTH January 8, 1853
PLACE OF BIRTH unsure: run on the Pegnitz
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 1925
Place of death Hamburg