The German Postal Union (german: Deutsche Postgewerkschaft, DPG) 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 postal workers in Germany. The union was founded at a conference held on 29 and 30 June 1949, in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. It initially had 140,000 members, the vast majority working for the

Deutsche Bundespost The Deutsche Bundespost (German federal post office) was a German state-run postal service and telecommunications business founded in 1947. It was initially the second largest federal employer during its time. After staff reductions in the 19 ...

. In October 1949, the union became a founder member of the

German Trade Union Confederation 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 ...

. In March 1990, the a German Postal Union East was founded, to cover

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, then in November this merged into the main union, with about 100,000 workers for the

Deutsche Post of the GDR The Deutsche Post (''DP''), also Deutsche Post of the GDR (''German: Deutsche Post der DDR'') was the state-owned postal and telecommunications monopoly of the German Democratic Republic (GDR - East Germany). The DP was placed under the control o ...

joining. By 1998, the union had 474,094 members. Between 1989 and 1994, the Deutsche Bundespost was privatised, against the objections of the DPG. In 2001, the union merged with 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 ...

Media Union The Media Union (german: IG Medien – Druck und Papier, Publizistik und Kunst) was a trade union representing German workers in the printing, paper, journalism and arts. The union was founded on 15 April 1989 at a meeting in Hamburg, with the me ...

, the

Public Services, Transport and Traffic Union The Public Services, Transport and Traffic Union (german: Gewerkschaft Öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr, ÖTV) was a trade union representing transport and public service workers in West Germany. The union was founded in 1949, at a mee ...

, and 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 ...

, to form

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 ...

Presidents

:1950: Carl Stenger :1971:

Ernst Breit Ernst Breit (20 August 1924 – 22 February 2013) was a German trade union leader. Born in Rickelshof, Breit joined the Reichspost as a trainee inspector in 1941, but the following year was conscripted into the army. He later became a priso ...

:1982: Kurt van Haaren

References

{{Authority control Postal trade unions Trade unions established in 1949 Trade unions disestablished in 2001 Trade unions in Germany