The Metalworkers' Union ( fi, Metallityöväen Liitto, Metalli) 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 (s ...

representing workers in the metal industry in Finland. The first Metalworkers' Union in Finland was founded in 1899, but was banned in 1930. Later that year, a new Metalworkers' Union was founded by 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 Fo ...

(SDP). The union affiliated to the

Finnish Federation of Trade Unions The Finnish Federation of Trade Unions ( fi, Suomen Ammattiyhdistysten Keskusliitto, SAK) was a national trade union centre in Finland. The federation was established in 1930, after the Finnish Trade Union Federation (SAJ) was banned. Its initial ...

(SAK). Unlike many unions, it remained with the SAK in 1960, when supporters of the SDP formed the

Finnish Trade Union Federation Finnish Trade Union Federation ( fi, Suomen Ammattijärjestö, SAJ, sv, Finlands Landsorganisation, FLO) was the first central organisation of trade unions in Finland, established in 1907. It was a part of the Social Democratic Party of Finland ...

(SAJ). Members of Metalli who wished to join the SAJ formed two new unions: the Steel, Mining and Machine Shop Union, and the Union of Industrial Workshop and Power Workers. In 1969, the SAK and the SAJ merged, to form the

Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, usually referred to by the acronym SAK ( fi, Suomen Ammattiliittojen Keskusjärjestö; sv, Finlands Fackförbunds Centralorganisation, FFC) is the largest trade union confederation in Finland. Its ...

. Metalli joined the new federation, and the two breakaway unions rejoined it. The

Finnish Mining Union Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

merged into the Metalworkers' Union in 1969, followed in 1974 by the

Precious Metal Workers' Union Precious may refer to: Music * Precious (group), a British female pop group Albums * ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992 * ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998 * ''Precious'' (Ours album), 2002 * ''Precious'' (Precious album), 2000 * ...

, and in 2003 by the

Automobile and Machinery Union A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

. By 1998, it had 166,854 members. In 2009, the union was part of negotiations to form the

Industrial Union TEAM The Industrial Union TEAM ( fi, Teollisuusalojen ammattiliitto, TEAM) was a trade union representing manufacturing and print workers in Finland. The Chemical Union had been keen to unite the various industrial union in Finland for several years, ...

. While a narrow majority of members voted in favour of a merger, this did not reach the required three-quarters majority, and so the union remained independent. In 2017, Metalli merged with TEAM and the Wood and Allied Workers' Union, to form the

Industrial Union Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...

Presidents

:1940: Yrjö Rantala :1947:

Valdemar Liljeström Valdemar (Vladimir) Liljeström (26 February 1902 in Saint Petersburg – 11 November 1960, Geneve, Switzerland) was a Finnish trade union activist and politician. He was at first a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland and, afte ...

:1960: Onni Närvänen :1967: Sulo Penttilä :1983: Per-Erik Lundh :2000: Erkki Vuorenmaa :2008: Riku Aalto

References

{{Authority control Metal trade unions Trade unions in Finland Trade unions established in 1930 Trade unions disestablished in 2017