The German Salaried Employees' Union, in

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 **Ge ...

''Deutsche Angestellten-Gewerkschaft'' (DAG) was an independent

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 ...

based in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. It did not belong to the

German Confederation of Trade Unions The German Trade Union Confederation (german: Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people ...

until it became part of

ver.di (''Verdi'' (stylized as ''ver.di''; �vɛʁdiː; German: ''United Services Trade Union'') is a German trade union based in Berlin, Germany. It was established on 19 March 2001 as the result of a merger of five individual unions and is a memb ...

, the united trade union for the services industry, in 2001.

History

The DAG was founded in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt in April 1949 when the employees' associations in the three western zones of Germany joined together. The first employees' union associations were registered in the middle of the 19th century. In the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

, up to one hundred different employees' associations joined up to form three main employees' federations: the social democratic AfA Federation (''

AfA-Bund 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 ...

''), the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Union of Employees (''Gewerkschaftsbund der Angestellten'') and the Nationalist Christian Grand Association of German Employees' Unions (''Gesamtverband der deutschen Angestelltengewerkschaften''). The DAG considered itself as a successor to the employees' federations which existed until they were broken up by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

in 1933. The DAG established itself as a career-oriented employees' union independent of any political party. It did not belong to the German Confederation of Trade Unions and was a leading independent political organisation which influenced the ''

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...

'' and the Cabinet of Germany in the interests of its members. One effect it had in the 1950s was to restore choice to the individual as concerned

social insurance Social insurance is a form of social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of social assistance, individuals' ...

and to ensure that nearly all German employees had social insurance. In the decades that followed, the DAG had a lasting effect on the wage system for employees and influenced their qualifications. It ran training centres, making it one of the largest providers of employee training in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Its functions were strictly divided into official and voluntary ones following a decision at the national congress in 1957. In 1998, the DAG had 485,225 members, with about 55% being women. In 2001 the DAG merged with four unions of the German Confederation of Trade Unions ( DPG, HBV, ÖTV, IG Medien) becoming the

, the united trade union for the services industry. At the time of the integration the union had about 2.9 million members.

Presidents

:1949: Fritz Rettig :1959: Georg Schneider (acting) :1960: Rolf Spaethen :1967: Hermann Brandt :1987: Roland Issen

References

{{Authority control Defunct trade unions of Germany Trade unions established in 1949 Organisations based in Hamburg 1949 establishments in West Germany 2001 disestablishments in Germany Trade unions disestablished in 2001