The Leather Union (german: Gewerkschaft Leder, GL) was a West German trade union representing workers in shoemaking, tanning, saddlery, and other work related to leather. The union was founded in 1949 and affiliated to 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 ...

. The union was strongest in the cities of

Kornwestheim Kornwestheim ( Swabian: ) is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about north of Stuttgart, and south of Ludwigsburg. History Origins and Development Kornwestheim can look back at a history of ...

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...

, and Offenbach, where the leather industry was centred, and the local offices in these cities were important in the structure of the union. From the late 1950s, each workplace elected a union representative. This enabled the union to run with a relatively low number of full-time staff.Jürgen Hoffman, Marcus Kahmann and Jeremy Waddington, ''A Comparison of the Trade Union Merger Process in Britain and Germany'' Membership of the union peaked in 1953, and then steadily declined, halving to 52,719 by 1982. Although, following the

reunification of Germany German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, leather workers in the former East German Textile, Clothing and Leather Union transferred to the Leather Union, this did not stall the decline, although the membership density in the industry remained stable. By 1996, the union had only 21,929 members. It considered a merger with the

Textile and Clothing Union The Textile and Clothing Union (german: Gewerkschaft Textil-Bekleidung, GTB) was a West German trade union representing textile and clothing workers. The union was founded in 1949, and affiliated to the German Trade Union Confederation. Its membe ...

, but as that was also in decline, it rejected the idea. The following year, it merged with the

Union of Mining and Energy The Union of Mining and Energy (german: IG Bergbau und Energie, IGBE) was a trade union in West Germany which existed from 1946 until 1997. History In the early 20th-century, there were several miners' unions in Germany, the most important being th ...

and the

Chemical, Paper and Ceramic Union The Chemical, Paper and Ceramic Union (german: IG Chemie-Papier-Keramik) was a trade union representing chemical, oil refinery, paper, rubber, ceramics, glass and plastics workers in West Germany. While the Factory Workers' Union of Germany, dissol ...

, to form

IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie The IG Bergbau, Chemie, Energie (IG BCE) is a trade union in Germany. It is one of eight industrial affiliations of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB). History and structure The IG BCE was created in 1997 from the merger of the Chem ...

Presidents

:1949: Philipp Mittwich :1959: Adolf Mirkes :1976: Gerhard Wilhelm van Haaren :1980: Helmut Teitzel :1983: Wilhelm Kappelmann :1985: Werner Dick

References

{{Authority control German Trade Union Confederation Leather industry trade unions Trade unions established in 1949 Trade unions disestablished in 2000