Heinrich Schönberg (trade unionist)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heinrich Schönberg (born March 16, 1870 in Groß Salitz , † January 20, 1919 in Hamburg ) was a German trade unionist .

Live and act

Born in Mecklenburg , Schönberg was the second child of a day laborer. His parents were not married to each other. He attended an elementary school in his home country and did his military service in 1890. He then worked as a butcher in Hamburg, from 1898 in the city slaughterhouse. At the beginning of January he became a citizen of Hamburg and a little later acquired the citizenship of Hamburg .

In 1900 Schönberg became a member of the Hamburg branch of the association of workers and sub-employees employed in municipal and state-owned companies and took over the office of secretary a year later. From the beginning of 1902 until the end of his life he was the first chairman of the association. He managed to keep the number of members stable, also thanks to a support fund set up in 1902/1903, which made membership of an association more attractive. In April 1903 he participated as a delegate at the national general assembly of the association and received a seat on the governing committee a month later. From then on, as elected chairman, he was in charge of the Hamburg local office in a paid position that was independent of the Berlin headquarters. Since many of the showmen who were privileged up to the strike of 1896/97 had become unemployed, Schönberg managed to win over many state-employed workers who were organized in the Association of Dock Workers for his interests. Schönberg, who took over the office of secretary in 1909, was represented on the committee until 1912.

Schönberg, who was considered a politically moderate Social Democrat, spoke to the Hamburg Senate in favor of old-age, widow and orphan pensions. He negotiated hard and uncompromisingly and was able to achieve success in conflicts with other professional unions such as stone and woodwork. From 1903 he was a delegate of the Hamburg trade union cartel. Here, too, he tried in 1904 to enforce unified trade unions and to unite employees of state and municipal companies in a common interest group, for which he was severely criticized. The trade unionist campaigned for a newly founded international of public service workers, for example at the 1906 Association Day in Mainz . In contributions to the Hamburger Echo and the trade union magazine , he repeatedly described grievances such as a corpse trafficking in the Eppendorf General Hospital , for which he was acquitted in 1906. Schönberg was repeatedly on trial due to disputes with quay director Paul Winter. Schönberg did not have to serve a first five-month prison sentence in 1906 due to a successful appeal. After he had reported about sanctions against unionized quay workers, he had to serve a four-month prison sentence in Fuhlsbüttel prison in 1912.

Since he had suffered from a lung ailment since 1906, Schoenberg's doctors predicted his death around 1911. Nevertheless, he attended all association days between 1900 and 1914, which he dominated due to his rhetorical skills. He took part in the 2nd International Conference of Public Works Workers in Copenhagen in 1910 , during which he called for legal restrictions on the right to organize and to strike to be countered with illegal measures. As a member of the Hamburg Cartel Commission elected in 1916, he took a markedly national stance. Against resistance within the trade unions, he was able to enforce the affiliation of the cartel to the Volksbund für Freiheit und Vaterland .

Schönberg's health deteriorated during the First World War . After the November Revolution he was elected to the Hamburg Workers 'and Soldiers' Council, but died a little later.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Schoenberg, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German trade unionist
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Gross Salitz
DATE OF DEATH January 20, 1919
Place of death Hamburg