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IG
Metall
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United
Auto Workers
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1883
Benz & Co. is founded.
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Here's
a decade-by-decade
overview of the parallel stories of
IG Metall and the
United Auto Workers.
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1891
The German Metalworkers' Federation (DMV), later
IG Metall, is founded on the industrial union principle
-- one plant, one union, open to all workers.
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1900
Emil Jellinek founds a company to sell Daimler automobiles
under the name of his daughter, Mercedes.
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Emil
Jellinek |
Mercedes |
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1905
A metalworkers' strike in Berlin ends when both
workers and owners see the advantage of negotiating
with one centralized union.
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1914-1918
Germany's imperial government involves the country
in World War I.
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1914
The DMV becomes the largest trade union in Germany.
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1918-1919
Germany makes the transition to democracy after
WWI.
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1920
A Works Council Act is passed in Germany, allowing
workers a say in company policy making.
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1925
Chrysler Corporation is incorporated. |
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1929
German unions, crippled by the Depression, are unable
to organize resistance to the burgeoning National Socialists
(Nazis).
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1929
Global depression hits the auto industry and its unions
hard. Detroit is the most affected American city.
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1933
Hitler is appointed Chancellor. Nazis outlaw all
trade unions and persecute, imprison and kill union
activists.
Future UAW president Walter Reuther, traveling in Berlin,
helps a young trade unionist escape Nazi storm troopers
the day after Hitler's election victory.
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1933
Strikes break out around Detroit, with few wins
for workers.
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1935
The United Auto Workers (UAW) holds its first convention.
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1936
UAW workers surprise General Motors with the Flint
sit-down strike, where the major issue is union recognition.
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1937
In a labor milestone, GM negotiates with the UAW,
and the strike is settled after 44 days. Walter Reuther
is fired from Ford for union activities at the Rouge plant.
Chrysler recognizes the UAW. |
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1945
The war ends, and trade unions reemerge in Germany.
Allies encourage works councils to help restore peacetime
production.
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1941
The UAW organizes Ford, after a long struggle. Chrysler
becomes the first company to mass-produce tanks. Willys-Overland
starts delivering Jeeps to the U.S. Army. |
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1949
The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), the
umbrella group of German labor organizations, is established.
IG Metall is a founding member.
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1945
The UAW strikes at major plants to gain postwar wage
increases.
Reuther is elected president of the union. |
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1952
Germany passes a Works Constitution Act. This reestablishes
works councils and provides forms of cooperation between
unions and councils.
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The General Purpose (G.P.)
war vehicle, nicknamed "Jeep." |
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1965
The European Confederation of Free Trade Unions,
of which DGB and IG Metall are members, adopts a program
aiming for parity throughout the European Economic Community.
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1962
The first world conference of autoworkers. UAW pushes
for international wage parity. |
Walter
Reuther |
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1970
Walter Reuther, UAW president for 24 years, dies in
a plane crash. |
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1972
The Works Constitution Act is amended with provisions
for extended codetermination (rights to share in decision
making) that still apply today.
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1979
Following federal loan guarantees, Chrysler reopens
contracts with the UAW. Workers support the company's
comeback with $475 million in wage concessions. |
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1989
The Berlin Wall comes down, reuniting East and West
Germany.
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1990
Workers at Benz-owned Freightliner in North Carolina
vote to join the UAW, and IG Metall urges Daimler-Benz
to bargain. |
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1991
The Law on Labor Relations at the Workplace goes
into effect in the former German Democratic Republic
(East Germany), and IG Metall organizes 1 million workers.
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1996
The International Association of Machinists and the
United Steelworkers of America announce plans to merge
with the UAW. |
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1995
The Daimler-Benz Central Works Council agrees to
a new work organization that introduces production teams,
a continuous improvement process and new criteria for
performance and pay.
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1998, Nov. 12
Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merge. DaimlerChrysler becomes
the world's leading automotive and transportation company.
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| Representing the
UAW on the DaimlerChrysler Supervisory Board that oversees management is Nate
Gooden (left), UAW vice president. Also on the board is Erich Klemm of IG Metall. |
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Robert Eaton (left) and
Juergen Schrempp, first chairmen of DaimlerChrysler. |
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