The Swiss Typographers' Union (german: Schweizerischer Typographenbund, STB; french: Fédération Suisse des Typographes) 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 ( ...

representing printers, based in Switzerland. The union was founded in 1858 in

Olten Olten (High Alemannic: ''Oute'') is a town in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland and capital of the district of the same name. Olten's railway station is within 30 minutes of Zürich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne by train, and is a rail hub o ...

, becoming the first enduring

in Switzerland. It achieved early success by negotiating wage increases, leading many strikes, and in 1912 it achieved a

closed shop A pre-entry closed shop (or simply closed shop) is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times to remain employed. This is different fr ...

agreement, in co-ordination with its Christian and liberal rivals. It was an early member of the Swiss Trade Union Federation, while in 1892, it led the formation of the

International Typographers' Secretariat The International Typographers' Secretariat (ITS) was a global union federation bringing together unions of printers around the world. History An International Typographical Congress was held in Paris in July 1889, and this led to a determinati ...

, thereafter hosting its headquarters. By the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the union had a national presence, although until 1926 it did not admit women or workers it considered to be less skilled. By 1954, the union had 10,560 members, and this rose to 15,466 by 1979. The following year, it merged with the Swiss Bookbinders' and Carton Makers' Union to form the

Union of Printing and Paper The Union of Printing and Paper (german: Gewerkschaft Druck und Papier, GDP; french: Syndicat du livre et du papier) was a trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of ...

Central Presidents

:1858: Ed. Albrecht :1862: U. Müller :1863: Fr. Niklaus :1864: J. Kleinert :1865: J. Boß :1866: F. Wittmer :1867: K. Ehrensberger :1868: H. Schweizer :1870: J. Rüegg :1872: Fabian Lack :1874: K. Ehrensberger :1876: H. Schweizer :1880: J. Kummer :1886: Friedrich Siebenmann :1888: F. Käser :1889: J. Frank :1892: J. Leisinger :1893: H. Unteregger :1895: A. Ammann :1898: A. Hagmann :1900: E. Pfister :1904: E. Blaser :1905: F. Brosi :1906: Fritz Verdan :1917: Hans Grundbacher :1922: H. Bräuchi :1924: :1927: Hans Huber :1946: Karl Aeschbacher :1950s: Eduard Harsch :1967: Erwin Gerster{{cite web , title=Erwin Gerster zum Gedenken - Durch Beruf und Gewerkschaft geprägt! , url=https://ig.syndicom.ch/pensionierte/news/artikel/erwin-gerster-zum-gedenken-durch-beruf-und-gewerkschaft-gepraegt/ , website=Syndicom , access-date=4 December 2020

References

Printing trade unions Trade unions in Switzerland Trade unions established in 1858 Trade unions disestablished in 1980