Jürgen Peters (born 17 March 1944) is a

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 **Ger ...

former trade union leader. Born in what is now

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

in Poland, Peters trained as a machinist, then found work at

Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and B ...

, in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. In 1961, he joined the trade union IG Metall. He studied at the Labour Academy in Frankfurt, then became a teacher at one of IG Metall's training centres. In 1976, he moved to work for the union in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, and in 1988, he became the head of its Hanover region. In 1993, he negotiated a deal at

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

, where workers cut back to a four-day week in exchange for and end to redundancies. In 1998, Peters was elected as vice president of IG Metall, with responsibility for

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

, despite the opposition of union leader

Klaus Zwickel Klaus Zwickel (born 31 May 1939) is a German former trade union leader. Born in Heilbronn, Zwickel completed an apprenticeship as a tool maker, and joined IG Metall in 1954. He worked in various local factories, serving as a shop steward from 195 ...

. He became the most prominent figure on the union's left wing, strongly opposing Agenda 2010, and supporting a major but unsuccessful strike in 2003. Peters argued that the strike had failed due to Zwickel's poor strategy. Zwickel resigned, and Peters was elected as his replacement. He also replaced Zwickel as president of the International Metalworkers' Federation. He served in both posts until his retirement, in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Jürgen 1944 births Living people German trade unionists People from Opole