International Union of Woodworkers

The International Union of Woodworkers (IUW) was a global union federation bringing together unions representing wood carvers, carpenters and joiners.

History

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In 1891, the Belgian union of woodworkers organised the First International Wood Workers' Congress, in Brussels. The conference established an international information service, and this organised a further congress in Zurich in 1893, then a conference of woodworkers was organised in London in 1896, alongside the International Labour Congress. However, the information service then ceased to operate, and new international links were not established until 1899. In 1904, this led to the establishment of the International Union of Woodworkers at a conference in Amsterdam.[1]

The federation was based in Stuttgart until 1909, then in Berlin, and from 1920 in Amsterdam. By 1925, it had 44 affiliates in 25 countries, with a total of 1,000,876 members.[1] That year, the small Carpenters' International merged into it.[2]

On 1 April 1934, the federation merged with the Building Workers' International, to form the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers.[3]

Affiliates

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The following unions were affiliated in 1929:

Union[4] Country
Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers United Kingdom
Danish Union of Joiners Denmark
General Dutch Union of Furniture Makers, Wallpapers and Related Workers Netherlands
General Union of Building, Furnishing and Other Industries Belgium
General Workers' Union of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia
German Wood Workers' Union Germany
Magyarországi Famunkazok Szövetsége Hungary
National Amalgamated Furnishing Trades Association United Kingdom
Norwegian Sawmill, Site and Planing Workers' Union Norway
Norwegian Union of Building Workers Norway
Norwegian Union of Furniture Makers Norway
Swedish Building Wood Workers' Union Sweden
Swedish Forest Workers' Union Sweden
Swedish Sawmill Industry Workers' Union Sweden
Swedish Wood Industry Workers' Union Sweden
Swiss Construction and Woodworkers' Union Switzerland
Unie Drevodelniku Czechoslovakia
Union of Austrian Woodworkers Austria
Union of Woodworkers and Turners Czechoslovakia
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners United States/Canada
Wood Workers' Union Finland
Zwiazwk robotnikow przemyslu drzewnego w Polsce Poland

General Secretaries

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1904: Theodor Leipart[1]
1920: Kees Woudenberg[1]
1929: Fritz Tarnow
1933: Willem Hauwaert

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Sassenbach, Johannes (1926). Twenty-five years of international trade unionism. Amsterdam: International Federation of Trade Unions. p. 115–116.
  2. ^ Wolgast, Wilhelm (1931). Zentralverband der Zimmerer und verwandter Berufsgenossen. ADGB. pp. 2111–2112. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. ^ Repertoire des organisations internationales. Geneva: League of Nations. 1936. pp. 255–256.
  4. ^ "Affiliates". International Union of Woodworkers: Report on Activities: 75–76. 1929.