The Norwegian Union of General Workers ( no, Norsk Arbeidsmandsforbund, NAF) is 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 ( ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It has a membership of 33,000 and is affiliated with the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). The union was founded on 13 April 1895, by 12 transport workers, as the Norwegian Road and Railway Union. However, the union decided to accept all unskilled workers, and in 1900 became the NAF. The union was an early affiliate of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, and was initially its largest member, with 25,000 members by 1907. However, the federation wished to establish industrial unions, and so numerous industry groups were split out of the NAF as independent unions. The Norwegian Sawmill, Site and Planing Workers' Union was formed in 1911, the

Norwegian Union of Paper Industry Workers The Norwegian Union of Paper Industry Workers ( no, Norsk Papirindustriarbeiderforbund, NPF) was a trade union representing workers involved in manufacturing paper in Norway. The union was founded in 1913, as a split from the Norwegian Union of G ...

in 1913, and the Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees in 1920. The process was stepped up in 1923, when the

Norwegian Union of Building Industry Workers The Norwegian Union of Building Industry Workers ( no, Norsk Bygningsindustriarbeiderforbund, NBIAF) was a trade union in Norway, organized under the national Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. It was founded in 1923 as the Norwegian Union o ...

Norwegian Union of Chemical Industry Workers The Norwegian Union of Chemical Industry Workers ( no, Norsk Kjemisk Industriarbeiderforbund, NKIF) was a trade union representing workers in the chemical industry in Norway. The union was founded in 1924, as a split from the Norwegian Union of G ...

Norwegian Union of Food, Beverage and Allied Workers The Norwegian Union of Food, Beverage and Allied Workers ( no, Norsk Nærings- og Nytelsesmiddelarbeiderforbund, NNN) is a trade union in Norway. The union was founded in 1923, as a split from the Norwegian Union of General Workers, and it immedi ...

, and

Norwegian Union of Textile Workers The Norwegian Union of Textile Workers ( no, Norsk Tekstilarbeiderforbund, NTF) was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in Norway. The union was founded on 1 November 1924, as a split from the Norwegian Union of General Worke ...

were all split out. By 1924, the union had only 5,500 members remaining, mostly in the mining industry and sections of the railway industry. However, it rapidly built up membership in road construction, and by 1939, they formed half of its total membership of 29,000. By 1996, the union had 32,032 members, of whom 40% worked in the metal industries, 30% in production, 20% in constructions, and the remainder mostly in mining and quarrying, and utilities. Its membership has remained steady, and in 2019 was 34,072.

Presidents

:1895:

Olav Strøm Olav Johannes Strøm (born 25 September 1866 in Grue, died 24 August 1963 in Kvinesdal) was a Norwegian trade union leader, and one of the pioneers of trade unions in Norway. He worked as a young man at a brickyard, and in 1886, founded the firs ...

:1903: Richard Hansen :1918: Elias Volan :1920: Johs. M. P. Ødegaard :1948: Christian Henriksen :1955: Adolf K. Lien :1961: Walter Kristiansen :1966: Paul Sundt :1966: Øystein Larsen :1980: Ole Flesvig :1981:

Harald Øveraas Harald Eugen Øveraas (16 July 1927 – 9 February 2014) was a Norwegian trade unionist. He hailed from Velfjord. He started working on the Nordland Line at the age of 15, and later worked in mines at Svalbard, Malm and Løkken Verk. His first ...

:1991: Arnfinn Nilsen :2003: Erna Hagensen :2019: Anita Paula Johansen

References

External links

* Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions 1895 establishments in Norway Trade unions established in 1895 {{Europe-trade-union-stub