The International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) was a

global union federation A global union federation (GUF) is an international federation of national trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups. Historically, such federations in the social democratic tradition described as international t ...

of metalworkers'

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 ( ...

s, founded in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in August 1893. the IMF had more than 200 member organisations in 100 countries, representing a combined membership of 25 million workers.

History

The federation was founded as the International Metallurgists' Bureau of Information. In 1904, the

International Secretariat of Foundry Workers The International Secretariat of Foundry Workers was a global union federation bringing together unions representing workers in metal foundries. Various unions of foundry workers met at the London International Trade Union Congress of 1888, and the ...

merged into the federation, which renamed itself as the "International Metalworkers' Federation". From 1921, its constitution called for not only international co-operation to improve wages and conditions, but also for workers to take over the

means of production The means of production is a term which describes land, labor and capital that can be used to produce products (such as goods or services); however, the term can also refer to anything that is used to produce products. It can also be used as an ...

. Membership of the federation reached 1.9 million in 1930, but fell to only 190,000 in 1938, hit by the international depression. By 1947, membership had reached a new high of 2.7 million, and the federation took a leading role in opposing the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

, instead becoming a founding constituent of the

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when ...

. The organization held a congress every four years, consisting of delegates from the member organisations. The congress established the broad lines of the IMF's policies and actions and elected the President and General Secretary of the IMF. Some member unions wished for the federation to hold sectoral conferences, and the IMF's refusal to do so led six unions to found the International Federation of Foundry Workers in 1949, but this was dissolved in 1954. The international headquarters of IMF was based in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. There were regional offices in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, and a project office in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. In June 2012, the IMF merged into the new global federation

IndustriALL Global Union IndustriALL Global Union is a global union federation, founded in Copenhagen on 19 June 2012. IndustriALL Global Union represents more than 50 million working people in more than 140 countries, working across the supply chains in mining, energy a ...

Affiliates

The following unions were affiliated in 2009: ;Notes

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1893: Hermann Vogelsanger :1896: Charles Hobson :1904:

Alexander Schlicke Alexander Schlicke (26 March 1863 – 6 February 1940) was a German politician and trade unionist. Born in Berlin, Schlicke trained in precision mechanics at a craft school, and then found work in the industry, moving across the country until ...

:1920: Konrad Ilg :1954:

Adolphe Graedel Adolphe Graedel (26 September 1902 – 14 November 1980) was a Swiss trade union leader and politician. Born in Sonvilier, Graedel completed an apprenticeship as a case maker, then studied at the labour movement college in Brussels. He returne ...

:1971: Ivar Noren :1974: Herman Rebhan :1989: Marcello Malentacchi :2009: Jyrki Raina

Presidents

:1960:

Otto Brenner Otto Brenner (8 November 1907 – 15 April 1972) was a German trades unionist and politician. Between 1956 and 1972 he was the leader of the powerful IG Metall ''(Industrial Union of Metalworkers)''. In a tribute published in 1967 to celebrate ...

:1972: Hans Rasmussen :1974: Eugen Loderer :1984: Hans Mayr :1987: Franz Steinkühler :1993: Klaus Zwickel :2003: Jürgen Peters :2009: Berthold Huber

References

External links

*
Catalogue of the IMF British Section archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

{{Authority control Global union federations Metal trade unions Trade unions established in 1893 Trade unions disestablished in 2012