64-428: ADGB may refer to: Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund , confederation of German trade unions Air Defence of Great Britain , the predecessor organization to RAF Fighter Command Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title ADGB . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
128-477: A general strike in 1920 to counter the right-wing Kapp Putsch . Roughly 12 million workers took part, halting all production, transportation, mining and public services and, as The New York Times wrote, "giving the Kapp régime its death blow". The free trade unions were not politically neutral; rather, they saw themselves as the economic arm of the socialist labor movement . Next to the free trade unions, were
192-577: A concomitant decline in real wages and living standards for workers in urban areas. Prior to the industrial revolution, economies in Europe were dominated by the guild system which had originated in the Middle Ages . The guilds were expected to protect the interests of the owners, labourers, and consumers through regulation of wages, prices, and standard business practices. However, as the increasingly unequal and oligarchic guild system deteriorated in
256-758: A public debate or lecture hall. In 1797 the L.C.S was outlawed by parliament, temporarily crushing the British labour movement. Additionally, forming unions or combinations was made illegal under legislation such as the 1799 Combination Act . Trade unionism in the United Kingdom illegally continued into the 19th century despite increasing hardship. Determined workers refused to allow the law to entirely eradicate trade unionism. Some employers chose to forgo legal prosecution and instead bargained and cooperated with workers' demands. The Scottish weavers of Glasgow went on strike around 1805, demanding enforcement of
320-572: A renewed proposal for a joint call for a general strike, similar to the successful strike against the Kapp Putsch of 1920, to the ADGB general union. The trade unions and SPD declined the offer and issued, opposing it, leaflets, posters and articles calling workers to ignore all calls for a strike issued solely by the communist party during February and March 1933. After the Nazis seized power in
384-689: A response to capitalism and the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, at about the same time as socialism . The early goals of the movement were the right to unionise , the right to vote , democracy and the 40-hour week . As these were achieved in many of the advanced economies of western Europe and north America in the early decades of the 20th century, the labour movement expanded to issues of welfare and social insurance, wealth distribution and income distribution , public services like health care and education, social housing and common ownership . Labor
448-544: A round of strikes and riots throughout England. Other notable radicals at the time included John Jebb , Major Cartwright , and John Horne . With the advent of the French Revolution , radicalism became even more prominent in English politics with the publication of Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man in 1791 and the foundation of the working-class focused London Corresponding Society in 1792. Membership in
512-650: A speech by Henry Hunt, a group of Spenceans initiated the Spa Fields riots . This outbreak of lawlessness led to a government crackdown on agitation in 1817 known as the Gagging Acts , which included the suppression of the Spencean society, a suspension of habeas corpus , and an extension of power to magistrates which gave them the ability to ban public gatherings. In protest of the Gagging Acts, as well as
576-619: A workers' bank was founded, the Bank der Deutschen Arbeit . On July 29, 1928, the cornerstone was laid for the Bundesschule des Allgemeinen Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes (ADGB Trade Union School) in Bernau bei Berlin , Brandenburg. The school operated for only three years, until the Nazis gained power, after which the Nazis used part of the school to train the SS. After World War II , the school
640-615: Is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. — Abraham Lincoln , December 3, 1861 The labour movement has its origins in Europe during the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when agricultural and cottage industry jobs disappeared and were replaced as mechanization and industrialization moved employment to more industrial areas like factory towns causing an influx of low-skilled labour and
704-650: Is why the labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth. With ever-increasing levels of international trade and increasing influence of multinational corporations, there has been debate and action among labour movements to attempt international co-operation. This has resulted in renewed efforts to organize and collectively bargain internationally. A number of international union organizations have been established in an attempt to facilitate international collective bargaining, to share information and resources and to advance
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#1732772669048768-797: The Australian Labor Party (ALP). The British Labour Party was created as the Labour Representation Committee , following an 1899 resolution by the Trade Union Congress . While archetypal labour parties are made of direct union representatives, in addition to members of geographical branches, some union federations or individual unions have chosen not to be represented within a labour party and/or have ended association with them. Many individuals and political groups otherwise considered to represent ruling classes may be part of, and active in,
832-571: The Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau . The following unions held membership of the federation: Labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement , as well as political parties of labour. It can be considered an instance of class conflict . The labour movement developed as
896-690: The Iron Front against the growing threat of the Nazi Party . At first, ADGB unions were open to members of other working class political parties including the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). This changed in 1929, when the KPD, under pressure from the Soviet Union , began to run competing candidates at factory works council elections. The Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition (RGO),
960-553: The MP John Wilkes used mass appeal to workers through public meetings, pamphleteering , and the popular press, in order to gain their support as he advocated for an increase in the voting franchise, popular rights, and an end to corruption. When he was imprisoned for criticizing King George III , his followers protested and were fired upon by the government at the Massacre of St George's Fields in 1768, which resulted in
1024-513: The Midlands started to sabotage and destroy the machinery used in textile production. As the industry was still decentralized at the time and the movement was secretive, none of the leadership was ever caught and employers in the Midlands textile industry were forced to raise wages. In 1812 the first radical, socialist, pro-labour society, the 'Society of Spencean Philanthropists', named after
1088-604: The Six Acts . In 1819 the social reformer Francis Place initiated a reform movement aimed at lobbying parliament into abolishing the anti-union Combination Acts. Unions were legalised in the Combination Acts of 1824 and 1825, however some union actions, such as anti- scab activities were restricted. Chartism was possibly the first mass working-class labour movement in the world, originating in England during
1152-528: The "Philanthropic Hercules". Although this enterprise quickly folded, pro-labour political agitation and demonstrations increased in popularity throughout industrial United Kingdom culminating in 1819 with an incident in St. Peter's field, Manchester, known as the Peterloo Massacre . The British government responded with another round of draconian measures aimed at putting down the labour movement, known as
1216-445: The 16th and 17th centuries, spontaneous formations of journeymen within the guilds would occasionally act together to demand better wage rates and conditions, and these ad hoc groupings can be considered the forerunners of the modern labour movement. These formations were succeeded by trade unions forming in the United Kingdom in the 18th century. Nevertheless, without the continuous technological and international trade pressures during
1280-469: The 1880s to describe an innovative form of trade unionism. The new unions were generally less exclusive than craft unions and attempted to recruit a wide range of unskilled and semi-skilled workers, such as dockers, seamen, gasworkers and general labourers. The International Workingmen's Association , the first attempt at international coordination, was founded in London in 1864. The major issues included
1344-601: The 18th century. Strikes and riots by miners and framework knitters occurred throughout England over the course of the 18th century, often resorting to machine breaking and sabotage. In 1751 wool-combers in Leicestershire formed a union which both disallowed hiring non-members and provided aid for out-of-work members. In the Spitalfields area of London , weavers went on strike and rioted in 1765, 1769, and 1773 until parliament relented and allowed justices in
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#17327726690481408-739: The 19th century, such as the Chartist movement in the United Kingdom during 1838–48. In 1891, localised labour parties were formed, by trade union members in British colonies in Australasia . In 1899, the Labour Party for the Colony of Queensland briefly formed the world's first labour government , lasting one week. From 1901, when six colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia , several labour parties amalgamated to form
1472-488: The Christian trade unions and the liberal unions. Neither were ever able to reach the membership numbers of the free trade unions. In 1920, the unions of the ADGB had over 8 million members, but the international financial crisis at the end of the decade caused high unemployment, leading to a substantial drop in the membership of member unions. By the end of 1932, there were an estimated 3.5 million members. Despite
1536-550: The Industrial Revolution, these trade unions remained sporadic and localised only to certain regions and professions, and there was not yet enough impetus for the formation of a widespread and comprehensive labour movement. Therefore, the labour movement is usually marked as beginning concurrently with the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom , roughly around 1760-1830. In England the guild system
1600-566: The Nazi version of International Workers' Day , (also called "May Day"), a left-wing celebration of labor, and led to a break with the International Federation of Trade Unions . Even as the Nazis were planning to storm union offices, ADGB leaders met with leaders of the Christian and liberal labor organization for talks about a merger in the hopes of forestalling a prohibition of organized labor. These efforts failed to prevent
1664-535: The Scottish reformers Thomas Muir , Rev. Thomas Fyshe Palmer , Joseph Gerrald , and Maurice Margarot were transported , and, in 1794, the leadership of the L.C.S was arrested and tried. Speech and public gatherings were tightly restricted by the Two Acts of 1795 which made certain words acts of treason, limited public gatherings to fifty people or fewer, and enforced licensing for anyone who wanted to speak in
1728-475: The Working Classes," in which he advocated a series of reforms including limits on the length of the work day, a living wage, the elimination of child labour, the rights of labour to organise, and the duty of the state to regulate labour conditions. Throughout the world, action by labourists has resulted in reforms and workers' rights , such as the two-day weekend , minimum wage , paid holidays , and
1792-557: The achievement of the eight-hour day for many workers. There have been many important labour activists in modern history who have caused changes that were revolutionary at the time and are now regarded as basic. For example, Mary Harris Jones , better known as "Mother Jones", and the National Catholic Welfare Council were important in the campaign to end child labour in the United States during
1856-552: The area to fix wage rates. Artisans and workers would also create small craft clubs or trade clubs in each town or locality and these groups such as the hatters in London, shipwrights in Liverpool , or cutlers in Sheffield could use their clubs to unionize. Workers could also use the ubiquitous friendly societies , which had increasingly cropped up British society since 1700, as cover for union activities. In politics,
1920-414: The century, that show instances of labourers "combining" together to raise wages had become a phenomenon in various regions and professions. These early trade unions were fairly small and limited in scope and were separated from unions in other geographical areas or unions in other professions. The unions would strike, collectively bargain with employers, and, if that did not suffice, petition parliament for
1984-415: The early 19th century, but were becoming increasingly dead letter by the mid 18th century. Consequently, from 1760 on, real wages began to fall and food prices began to rise giving increased motivation for political and social agitation. As the guild system became increasingly obsolete and parliament abolished the old medieval labour protections, forswearing responsibility for maintaining living standards,
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2048-768: The early 20th century. Historically labour markets have often been constrained by national borders that have restricted movement of workers. Labour laws are also primarily determined by individual nations or states within those nations. While there have been some efforts to adopt a set of international labour standards through the International Labour Organisation (ILO), international sanctions for failing to meet such standards are very limited. In many countries labour movements have developed independently and represent those national boundaries. Modern labour parties originated from an increase in organising activities in Europe and European colonies during
2112-587: The election of March 1933, the trade union leadership tried to save their organizations by pandering to the Nazi Party and in April 1933, offered "to put themselves in service to the new state". At the same time, ADGB chairman Theodor Leipart , began to distance himself from the SPD and declared the ADGB to be politically neutral. This policy resulted in the call by the national board to partake in "National Labor Day",
2176-543: The enforcement of the Elizabethan statues. The first groups in England to practice early trade unionism were the West of England wool workers and the framework knitters in the Midlands . As early as 1718 a royal proclamation was given in opposition to the formation of any unsanctioned bodies of journeymen attempting to affect wages and employment. Despite the presumption that unionising was illegal, it continued throughout
2240-636: The free trade unions from a nationwide surprise attack the day after May Day, just two months later. On May 2, 1933, all ADGB member union were stormed, their offices occupied and assets seized by the SA , SS and the National Socialist Factory Cell Organization . Officials were put in " protective custody " and many trade unionists were maltreated. In Duisburg , four trade union officials were brutally murdered. The ADGB operated several non-profit companies . In 1924,
2304-498: The good will and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us [...] They are shocked that action organizations, sit-ins, civil disobedience and protests are becoming our everyday tools, just as strikes, demonstrations and union organization became yours to insure that bargaining power genuinely existed on both sides of the table [...] Our needs are identical to labor's needs: decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures [...] That
2368-534: The head of the labour movement demanding the lowering of taxes, the abolition of pensions and sinecures, and an end to payments of the war debt. This radicalism increased in the aftermath of the end of the Napoleonic Wars , as a general economic downturn in 1815 led to a revival in pro-labour politics. During this time, half of each worker's wages was taxed away, unemployment greatly increased, and food prices would not drop from their war time highs. After
2432-529: The labour movement. Labour festivals have long been a part of the labour movement. Often held outdoors in the summer, the music, talks, food, drink, and film have attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees each year. Labour festival is a yearly feast of all the unionism gathering, to celebrate the fulfillment of their goals, to bring solutions to certain hindrances and to reform unjust actions of their employers or government. A degree of strategic biracial cooperation existed among black and white dockworkers on
2496-539: The last of the apprentice laws which had been intended to protect wage rates and employment, but which had also fallen into serious disuse many decades before. The United Kingdom saw an increasing number of large-scale strikes, mainly in the north. In 1811 in Nottinghamshire , a new movement known as the Luddite , or machine-breaker, movement, began. In response to declining living standards, workers all over
2560-490: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ADGB&oldid=826424487 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund The General German Trade Union Federation ( German : Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund , ADGB)
2624-455: The mid-19th century between 1838 and 1848. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838, which stipulated the six main aims of the movement as: Eventually, after Chartism died out, the United Kingdom adopted the first five reforms. The Chartist movement had a lasting impact in the development of the political labour movement. In the United Kingdom, the term " new unionism " was used in
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2688-409: The old Elizabethan laws empowering magistrates to fix wages to meet the costs of living; however, after three weeks the strike was ended when the police arrested the strike leaders. A renewed stimulus to organised labour in the United Kingdom can be traced back to the 1808 failure of the 'Minimum Wage Bill' in parliament which supporters had seen as a needed countermeasure for the endemic poverty among
2752-527: The organization. The ADGB was founded on July 5, 1919 in Nuremberg after the first postwar congress of free trade unions . The ADGB was founded as the new umbrella organization to succeed the General Commission of Germany's Trade Unions (Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands). Carl Legien was elected as the first chairman. It was an amalgamation of 52 German trade unions and
2816-497: The passage of the Corn Laws there was mass rioting throughout United Kingdom. Many working-class papers started being published and received by a wide audience, including Cobbet's " Weekly Political Register , Thomas Wooler 's The Black Dwarf , and William Hone 's Reformists's Register . In addition, new political clubs focused on reform, called Hampden Clubs , were formed after a model suggested by Major Cartwright. During
2880-591: The past." This legislation was intended to ensure just compensation for workers throughout the country so they could maintain a "competent livelihood". This doctrine of parliamentary involvement remained in place until about 1700 at which point the practice of wage regulation began to decline, and in 1757 parliament outright rescinded the Weavers Act of 1756, abandoning its power of wage regulation and signaling its newfound dedication to laissez-faire economics. The Elizabethan Apprentice Laws lasted in England until
2944-522: The poor working conditions in the textile industry, workers in Manchester attempted to march on London to deliver petitions in a demonstration known as the Blanketeers march, which ultimately failed. From this point onward the British government also began using hired spies and agent provocateurs to disrupt the labour movement. The most infamous early case of government anti-labour espionage
3008-425: The radical social agitator Thomas Spence , was formed. Spence, a pamphleteer in London since 1776, believed in the socialized distribution of land and changing England into a federalized government based on democratically elected parish communes. The society was small and had only a limited presence in English politics. Other leaders such Henry Hunt , William Cobbet , and Lord Cochrane , known as Radicals , rose to
3072-532: The relevance of labour to globalization is not new, and it is far more significant in shaping the world than is usually recognized. The movement gained major impetus during the late 19th and early 20th centuries from the Catholic Social Teaching tradition which began in 1891 with the publication of Pope Leo XIII 's foundational document, Rerum novarum , also known as "On the Condition of
3136-581: The right of the workers to organize themselves, and the right to an 8-hour working day. In 1871 workers in France rebelled and the Paris Commune was formed. From the mid-19th century onward the labour movement became increasingly globalised: Labour has been central to the modern globalization process. From issues of the embodied movement of workers to the emergence of a global division of labour, and organized responses to capitalist relations of production,
3200-505: The risk of ship owners pitting one race against the other. Black and white dockworkers also cooperated during protracted labour strikes, including the general levee strikes in 1892 and 1907 as well as smaller strikes involving skilled workers such as screwmen in the early 1900s: Negroes in the United States read the history of labour and find it mirrors their own experience. We are confronted by powerful forces telling us to rely on
3264-495: The society increased rapidly and by the end of the year it may have had as many as three thousand chapters in the United Kingdom. Fearful of this new English Jacobinism , the government responded with wide-scale political repression spearheaded by prime minister Pitt the Younger . Paine was forced to flee the country after his work was deemed to be seditious , booksellers selling Paine's or other radical works were arrested,
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#17327726690483328-475: The split in the SPD during World War I , the free trade unions continued to remain close to the SPD, the largest working class political party. Together, the SPD and the ADGB fought for the introduction unemployment benefits and a legally mandated eight-hour workday , which was gutted by regulations established in 1923. At the end of 1931, they united with the Reichsbanner and workers' sport clubs to form
3392-526: The time the Nazis seized control of the government, the ADGB's leadership had distanced itself from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and was openly cooperating with Nazis in an attempt to keep the organization alive. Nonetheless, on May 2, 1933, the SA and SS stormed the offices of the ADGB and its member trade unions, seized their assets and arrested their leaders, crushing
3456-422: The waterfronts of New Orleans , Louisiana during the early 20th century. Although the groups maintained racially separate labour unions, they coordinated efforts to present a united front when making demands of their employers. These pledges included a commitment to the "50-50" or "half-and-half" system wherein a dock crew would consist of 50% black and 50% white workers and agreement on a single wage demand to reduce
3520-422: The workers began to form the earliest versions of trade unions. The workers on the lowest rungs found it necessary to organise in new ways to protect their wages and other interests such as living standards and working conditions. There is no record of enduring trade unions existing prior to the 18th century. Beginning from 1700 onward there are records of complaints in the United Kingdom, which increase through
3584-474: The working classes of industrial United Kingdom. After the failure of the Minimum Wage Bill displayed the government's commitment to laissez-faire policy, labourers expressed their discontent in the form of the first large scale strikes in the new factory districts. Agitation did not end until it was agreed that weavers would receive a 20% increase in wages. In 1813 and 1814 Parliament would repeal
3648-546: Was a confederation of German trade unions in Germany founded during the Weimar Republic . It was founded in 1919 and was initially powerful enough to organize a general strike in 1920 against a right-wing coup d'état. After the 1929 Wall Street crash , the ensuing global financial crisis caused widespread unemployment. The ADGB suffered a dramatic loss of membership, both from unemployment and political squabbles. By
3712-742: Was affiliated with the General Federation of Free Employees (AfA-Bund) and the General German Civil Service Federation (Allgemeiner Deutscher Beamtenbund). The adjective "Allgemeiner" ("general") was added to the name because in March 1919, the Christian and liberal trade unions had already founded umbrella organizations called the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund . An influential mass organization under Legien's leadership, it organized
3776-612: Was designed by the newly appointed director of the Bauhaus School, Hannes Meyer and his colleague Hans Wittwer . The design followed its architects' . The complex needed to house facilities to train and educate 120 people. The result was a Z-Shaped series of buildings that housed class-rooms, library, gymnasium and dining hall along with the insertion of a glass-blocked ceiling. Despite the extremely functional approach, materials were used in an expressive way including concrete, glass blocks and steel encasement windows. The complex
3840-505: Was founded in December 1929 as a communist opposition labor organization, hoping to draw left-wing unionists away from the ADGB., which led to the expulsion of many communists from the ADGB. By March 1932, the RGO had about 200,000 members. The evening of the day Hitler was declared to be the new chancellor by president Hindenburg, January 30, Walter Ulbricht of the communist party delivered
3904-636: Was restored to its former glory following a Europe-wide competition for the contract. The Berlin Chamber of Crafts paid a portion of the costs and has used it as a training school since 2007. In 2008 the restoration project won the architects, Brenne Gesellschaft von Architekten, the World Monuments Fund / Knoll Modernism Prize. In July 2017 the former ADGB Trade Union School was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site
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#17327726690483968-535: Was that of Oliver the Spy who, in 1817, incited and encouraged the Pentrich Rising , which led to the leadership being indicted on treason charges and executed. In spite of government suppression, the labour movement in the United Kingdom continued, and 1818 marked a new round of strikes as well as the first attempt at establishing a single national union that encompassed all trades, led by John Gast and named
4032-455: Was used by occupying Russian military forces and from 1946 by the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB) , an East German organisation. Its existence was forgotten and the 12-acre site was not open to the public. Only after the fall of the Berlin Wall , was it rediscovered. The East Germans had made significant renovations to the building to the extent that it was not recognized by architects looking for it after 1989. The original complex
4096-464: Was usurped in its regulation of wages by parliament in the 16th century with the passage of the Elizabethan Era apprentice laws such as the 1562 Statute of Artificers which placed the power to regulate wages and employment in the hands of local officials in each parish. Parliament had been responding to petitions made by English weavers in 1555 who asserted that the owners were "giving much less wages and hire for weaving of clothes than they did in
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