Finnish Trade Union Federation ( fi, Suomen Ammattijärjestö, SAJ, sv, Finlands Landsorganisation, FLO) was the first central organisation of

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 in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, established in 1907. It was a part of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP), all union members were also party members. SAJ's membership peaked at 110,000 in 1917.Tepora, Tuomas & Roselius, Aapo: ''The Finnish Civil War 1918: History, Memory, Legacy'', p. 32. Brill Academic Publishers, 2014. . Finnish Trade Union Federation was a member of the

International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres The International Secretariat of National Trade Union Centres (ISNTUC), often simply referred to as the International Secretariat and later renamed the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), was an international consultative body of trade ...

since 1909.

History

In the 1918

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

were mostly composed of SAJ members. It was also one of the organizations forming the Supreme Workers' Council which was the parliament of

Red Finland The Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (FSWR), more commonly referred to as Red Finland, was a self-proclaimed Finnish socialist state that ruled parts of the country during the Finnish Civil War of 1918. It was outlined on 29 January 1918 by t ...

.Punaisen Suomen valtiomuoto
(in Finnish). University of Tampere. Retrieved 28 June 2015. After the Civil War, the radical SAJ members established the

Socialist Workers' Party of Finland Socialist Workers' Party of Finland ( fi, Suomen Sosialistinen Työväenpuolue, SSTP) was a Finnish political party in the early 1920s. The SSTP consisted of radical leftists who split from the Social Democratic Party of Finland after the Finnish ...

(SSTP) in May 1920. The main force behind SSTP was the illegal

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

, and a year later the Communists gained a majority in SAJ.Campbell, Joan: ''European Labor Unions'', p. 555–556. Greenwood Press, 1992.
Google Books
/ref> After the rise of the extremist right-wing Lapua Movement, the SAJ was banned in 1930 due to the newly passed Communist Law. The Communists then founded the shortly-lived Red Trade Union and the Social Democrats 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). In 1960, the dissident SAK members formed another central organization which was also called SAJ. The new organization and SAK merged in 1969, forming the present-day

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 ...

List of chairmen

Eero Haapalainen Eero Haapalainen (Russian Эро Эрович Хаапалайнен, ''Ero Erovich Khaapalaynen''; 27 October 1880 – 27 November 1937) was a Finnish politician, trade unionist and journalist, who was one of the most prominent figures of the Finn ...

1907–1911 *

Matti Paasivuori Matti Paasivuori (6 May 1866, Ilmajoki - 16 June 1937 in Helsinki) was a Finnish politician from the Social Democratic Party. Paasivuori was the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party on three occasions: 1909–1911, 1913–1917 and 1926–193 ...

1911–1912, 1918–1920, 1926–1929 *

Oskari Tokoi Antti Oskari Tokoi (15 April 1873 – 4 April 1963) was a Finnish people, Finnish socialist who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. In 1917 Tokoi acted as a Chairman of the Senate of Finland and thus he was the world’s ...

1912–1917 *

Johan Lumivuokko Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...

1917–1918 * Matti Väisänen 1920–1923 *

Edvard Huttunen Edvard is a form of Edward and may refer to: * Edvard Askeland (born 1954), Norwegian jazz musician * Edvard Befring (born 1936), Norwegian educationalist * Edvard Beneš (1884–1948), Czech politician * Edvard Christian Danielsen (1888–1964), ...

1923–1925 *

Erkki Härmä Erkki is a Finnish and Estonian given name (derived from Erik). Notable people with the name include: * Erkki Aadli (born 1974), Estonian orienteer * Erkki Aaltonen (1910–1990), Finnish composer * Erkki Ala-Könni (1911– 1996), Finnish et ...

1926 * Iisakki Heikka 1929–1930 *

Yrjö Murto Yrjö Aleksanteri Murto (24 August 1899 – 17 December 1963) was a Finnish communist politician and trade unionist. Born to a working-class family, Murto became a saw mill worker, and joined both the Finnish Woodworkers' Union and the Finnish ...

1930

References

{{Authority control Defunct trade unions of Europe National trade union centers of Finland 1907 establishments in Finland 1930 disestablishments in Finland Trade unions established in 1907 Finnish Civil War Defunct organisations based in Finland