The Central Union of Masons (german: Zentralverband der Maurer) 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

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. ...

s in Germany. Regular conferences of masons were held in Germany in the 1880s. With the repeal of the

Anti-Socialist Laws The Anti-Socialist Laws or Socialist Laws (german: Sozialistengesetze; officially , approximately "Law against the public danger of Social Democratic endeavours") were a series of acts of the parliament of the German Empire, the first of which was ...

, it was possible to form legal trade unions, and at the 8th Congress of Masons, in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, in May 1891, the Central Union of Masons was established. It adopted ''Der Grundstein'' as its journal. The union gradually built up international contacts in the late 19th-century. In 1903, it called a conference in Berlin, to formalise these relationships by establishing the

International Federation of Building Workers The International Federation of Building Workers (IFBW) was a global union federation bringing together unions representing masons. History The German Central Union of Masons gradually built up international contacts in the late 19th-century. In ...

. The union affiliated to the

General Commission of German Trade Unions The General Commission of German Trade Unions (german: Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands) was an umbrella body for German trade unions during the German Empire, from the end of the Anti-Socialist Laws in 1890 up to 1919. In 1919, a ...

, and by 1904, it was the second largest in Germany, with 128,850 members. By 1910, this had risen slightly, to 169,645. At the start of 1911, it merged with the

Central Union of Construction Workers The Central Union of Construction Workers (german: Zentralverband der Bauhilfsarbeiter) was a trade union representing building labourers in Germany. The first national congress of local unions of building labourers was held in May 1889, and it ...

, to form the

German Construction Workers' Union The German Construction Workers' Union (german: Deutscher Bauarbeiter-Verband, DBV) was a trade union representing building workers in Germany. The union was founded on 1 January 1911, when the Central Union of Masons merged with the Central Uni ...

Presidents

:1891: Adolf Dammann :1894:

Theodor Bömelburg Theodor Bömelburg (27 September 1862 – 17 October 1912) was a German trade unionist and politician. Bömelburg was born in Westönnen, now part of Werl, in the Kingdom of Prussia. He completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer and plastere ...

References

{{Authority control Bricklayers' trade unions Trade unions in Germany Trade unions established in 1891 Trade unions disestablished in 1911