The Central Union of Employees (german: Zentralverband der Angestellten, ZdA) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing white collar, private sector workers in Germany. The union was founded on 9 September 1919 at a conference in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, when the

Central Union of Commercial Employees The Central Union of Commercial Employees (german: Zentralverband der Handlungsgehilfen, ZdH) was a trade union representing white collar commercial workers in Germany. The union was founded on the 5 July 1897, and launched the journal ''Handlung ...

merged with the

Union of Office Employees of Germany The Union of Office Employees of Germany (german: Verbandes der Bureauangestellten Deutschlands) was a trade union representing office workers in Germany. The union was founded in 1895 as the Central Union of Office Employees in Germany, on the ini ...

, and the Union of Insurance Workers. It affiliated to the

General German Trade Union Confederation The General German Trade Union Federation (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, ADGB) 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 ...

(ADGB), and by 1920 had 363,521 members. On 29 May 1921, the Workers' Union of the Book and Newspaper Industry also joined the ZdA, while the German Union of Lawyers and Notaries joined in 1922. In 1921, the ZdA became a founding constituent of the

General Federation of Free Employees The General Federation of Free Employees (german: Allgemeiner freier Angestelltenbund, AfA-Bund) was an amalgamation of various socialist-oriented trade unions of technical and administrative employees in the Weimar Republic. Member organizations ...

, leaving the AGDB, but remaining aligned with it through the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(SPD). In the same year, it was a founding affiliate of the

International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees The International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET; french: Fédération internationale des employés, techniciens et cadres) was a global union federation bringing together workers representing cleri ...

(FIET), and its joint leader became the first leader of FIET. The union published ''Der freie Angestellte'', initially edited by Paul Lange, and from 1930 by Georg Ucko. In its early years, the union was divided between the leadership, generally SPD supporters, and the "Berlin Opposition", an alliance of

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

and

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was establish ...

supporters. The union was banned by the Nazi government in 1933. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the sector was covered by the

Trade, Banking and Insurance Union The Trade, Banking and Insurance Union (german: Gewerkschaft Handel, Banken und Versicherungen, HBV) was a trade union representing workers in commerce and finance in Germany. During 1947 and 1948, German trade unionists were regrouping and the ma ...

and the

German Salaried Employees' Union The German Salaried Employees' Union, in German ''Deutsche Angestellten-Gewerkschaft'' (DAG) was an independent trade union based in Hamburg. It did not belong to the German Confederation of Trade Unions until it became part of ver.di, the unit ...

Presidents

:1919: Karl Giebel and

Otto Urban Otto Urban (25 March 1877 – 31 March 1947) was a German trade unionist. Born in Berlin, Urban completed an apprenticeship as a commercial assistant. He then became an accountant, before moving to become an agent. In 1896, he joined the Fre ...

:1927:

References

{{Authority control Clerical trade unions Trade unions established in 1919 Trade unions disestablished in 1933 Trade unions in Germany