The Union of Belgian Textile Workers ( nl, Textielarbeiderscentrale van België, TACB; french: Centrale des Ouvriers Textiles de Belgique, COTB) 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 workers in the textile trades in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The union was founded in 1898 as the National Textile Workers' Association of Belgium, linked to the

Belgian Workers Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist P ...

. In 1908, it became the Textile Workers Center of Belgium, with the wool workers federation of

Verviers Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...

joining. However, after

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 Flemish leadership decided to centralise the union, and the Verviers federation left, only rejoining in 1935. In 1945, the union was a founding constituent of the

General Federation of Belgian Labour The General Labour Federation of Belgium (french: Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique, or FGTB; nl, Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated ...

. The union's membership peaked at 79,953 in 1953, then fell steadily, in line with employment in the industry. By 1993, it had only 28,126 members. The following year, it union merged with the

Union of Clothing Workers and Kindred Trades in Belgium The Union of Clothing Workers and Kindred Trades in Belgium ( nl, Centrale der Kleding en Aanverwante Vakken van België, CKAVB; french: Centrale du Vêtement et Parties Similaires de Belgique, CVPS) was a trade union representing workers in the clo ...

and the

General Diamond Workers' Association of Belgium The General Diamond Workers' Association of Belgium ( nl, Algemene Diamantbewerkersbond van België, ADB; french: Syndicat des Ouvriers Diamantaires) was a trade union representing workers in the diamond trade in Belgium. The union was founded on ...

, to form the Textile-Clothing-Diamond Union.

Presidents

:1921: Alfons Segier :1932: :1954: Alfons Baeyens :1963: Marcel Lefèvre :1976: :1980: Jan Monserez :1988: Donald Wittevrongel

References

{{Authority control Trade unions in Belgium Textile and clothing trade unions Trade unions established in 1898 Trade unions disestablished in 1994 1898 establishments in Belgium 1994 disestablishments in Belgium