Berthold Keller (8 February 1927 – 28 June 2012) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

trade union leader. Born in

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

, Keller completed an apprenticeship as a tailor, and found work in a local clothing factory. In 1944, he was called up to the army, but was taken as a

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

in France in March 1945, and was only released in 1949. Keller returned to tailoring, an in 1952 became involved in the

Textile and Clothing Union The Textile and Clothing Union (german: Gewerkschaft Textil-Bekleidung, GTB) was a West German trade union representing textile and clothing workers. The union was founded in 1949, and affiliated to the German Trade Union Confederation. Its membe ...

(GTB), working full-time for the union from 1955. He spent ten years working as executive secretary to the union's president, Karl Buschmann, then in 1972 was elected to the union's executive in his own right. In 1978, Buschmann stood down, and Keller easily won the election to succeed him. As leader of the union, Keller was known as a pragmatist, avoiding industrial action. The textile industry was in rapid decline, 200,000 jobs being lost from 1978 to 1990, and union membership also decreased. Despite this, he became prominent internationally, and was elected as president of the

International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) was a global union federation. In 2005 it had 217 member organizations in 110 countries, representing a combined membership of over 10 million workers. History The ITGLW ...

in 1988. Keller stood down as president of the GTB in 1990, and took a textile industry position, attempting to preserve the remainder of the industry, achieving a reorganisation and formation of a new trust company, with state support. He retired in 1992, when this work was completed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Berthold 1927 births 2012 deaths German Army personnel of World War II German trade unionists People from Konstanz Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German prisoners of war in World War II