Export Peace Ltd (Finnish: Vientirauha Oy) was a

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

strikebreaking A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the str ...

organization established in Finland in 1920, with 34 000 members at its peak, led by

Martti Pihkala Martti Aleksander Pihkala (until 1906 Gummerus , 18 January 1882 – 10 June 1966) was a National Coalition Party MP who became known as a Jäger activist, Ostrobothnia White Guard founder, in the 1920s and 1930s, leader of the strikebreaking or ...

History

In the early 1920s, Finnish communists and social democrats fought for control of

Finnish Trade Union Federation Finnish Trade Union Federation ( fi, Suomen Ammattijärjestö, SAJ, sv, Finlands Landsorganisation, FLO) was the first central organisation of trade unions in Finland, established in 1907. It was a part of the Social Democratic Party of Finland ...

and trade unions. However, employers did not recognize trade unions as negotiating partners and founded Export Peace in 1920 to break the strikes. The key people in the establishment were Einar Ahlman , Director of Kymin Oy , and Gösta Serlachius, Director of GA Serlachius Oy. Counselor Serlachius had gone on a study trip to the United States and got the idea to form a strike organization. The establishment was prepared by the CEO and General Rudolf Waldén, CEO

Jacob von Julin Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Jacob in Islam, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel (name), Israel, is regarded as a Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religi ...

, Gösta Serlachius and CEO

Carl Rosenlew Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

. The inaugural meeting was held on February 28, 1920 where the "National Flying Work Corps" was formed. The name was soon changed to the Group Export Peace. The operation started quickly and without rules; however, care was taken to ensure that all hired workers were opposed to the strike. Export Peace was led by activist and Jäger recruiter

, after whom the organization was also called the Pihkala Guard. Initially, Export Peace was funded by the paper industry, but during the 1920s all major employers' unions joined. Breaking the strike was possible in those areas where no special skills were required at work. A parallel organization, Technical Work Safety , was set up to break down strikes in areas requiring special expertise , but this organization remained short-lived.Suomalaiset fasistit, kirjoittajat Aapo Roselius, Oula Silvennoinen, Marko Tikka, WSOY 2016, Vientirauhasta luvussa Lakkorikollisuutta vastaan Strike breakers were recruited either through the White Guard or through a network of recruiters. The strike-breakers were often boys of farmhouses or wealthier cottagers, and Southern Ostrobothnia was a key recruitment area. There were several members of the

Jäger movement The Jäger Movement ( fi, Jääkäriliike sv, Jägarrörelsen) consisted of volunteers from Finland who trained in Germany as Jägers (elite light infantry) during World War I. Supported by Germany to enable the creation of a Finnish sovereign ...

and those on the white side of the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

. One of the organisation's best-known agents was

Vihtori Kosola Iisakki Vihtori Kosola (10 July 1884 – 14 December 1936) was the leader of the Finland, Finnish right-wing radical Lapua Movement. Kosola was born in Ylihärmä, Southern Ostrobothnia. His family's farmhouse burnt down the next year, and the ...

in Southern Ostrobothnia. The employees of Export Peace considered the activities of the strikers to be Soviet-backed construction site terror, while the strikers considered the employees of Export Peace to be trampling on their means of survival. The strikes of the 1920s were often very long, for example, the nationwide port strike of 1928–1929 lasted ten months, and employers tried to break these strikes with the help of Export Peace. The operation of the Export Peace came to an end in 1940 with the so called

Betrothal of January The Betrothal of January (, ) was a declaration given by the that recognized the trade unions and their central organization the Finnish Federation of Trade Unions (SAK) as parties in collective bargaining on questions of industrial relations. T ...

between employers and workers' organizations during the Winter War .Jussila, Osmo & Hentilä, Seppo & Nevakivi, Jukka: Suomen poliittinen historia 1809-1999, s. 148. Helsinki: WSOY, 2000. ISBN 951-0-23327-7.

References

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History

See also

References