Klaus Zwickel (born 31 May 1939) 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

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Mid ...

, Zwickel completed an apprenticeship as a tool maker, and joined

IG Metall IG Metall (; IGM; German: ''Industriegewerkschaft Metall'', "Industrial Union of Metalworkers'") is the dominant metalworkers' union in Germany, making it the country's largest union as well as Europe's largest industrial union. Analysts of Ger ...

in 1954. He worked in various local factories, serving as a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

from 1957, then chair of the works council from 1960. In 1959, he also joined the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

. IG Metall was affiliated 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 ...

(DGB), and in 1965, Zwickel became organising secretary of its

Neckarsulm Neckarsulm () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. , Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers ...

branch. In 1968, he returned to IG Metall, to head up its Necarsulm branch, and then in 1984, he moved to the same role in its large

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 ...

branch. Zwickel was elected to the union's executive in 1986, 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 ...

, then he became vice president of the union in 1989, and president in 1993. As leader of the union, he was known as a strong negotiator and expert on

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...

s. He formed the unsuccessful Alliances for Work, and led unsuccessful strikes to make a 35-hour week universal. He also served on the executive of

Mannesmann Mannesmann was a German industrial conglomerate. It was originally established as a manufacturer of steel pipes in 1890 under the name "Deutsch-Österreichische Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG". (Loosely translated: "German-Austrian Mannesmann pi ...

, and when the company was taken over by

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, he abstained on a vote which granted high redundancy payments for executives, which proved controversial. From 1993, Zwickel also served as president of the

International Metalworkers' Federation The International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) was a global union federation of metalworkers' trade unions, founded in Zürich, Switzerland in August 1893. the IMF had more than 200 member organisations in 100 countries, representing a combine ...

. He resigned from all his union posts in 2003, amid conflict between traditionalists and modernisers in IG Metall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwickel, Klaus 1939 births Living people German trade unionists People from Heilbronn