The Union of Private Sector Employees (german: Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, GPA) 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

white collar worker A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or other administrative setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, ...

s in Austria. The union was founded in 1945 by the

Austrian Trade Union Federation The Austrian Trade Union Federation or Austrian Federation of Trade Unions ( de: ''Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund'', abbreviated OeGB or ÖGB) is a labour union of employees. It is constituted as an association and is subdivided into seven ...

. It became the largest affiliate of the federation in 1978, and by 1998, it had 298,044 members. It was strongest among white collar manufacturing workers, but also had many members in banking and commerce. Despite being the largest union in Austria, its membership density was only 30%.{{cite book , last1=Campbell , first1=Joan , last2=Windmuller , first2=John , title=European Labor Unions , date=2012 , publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group , isbn=031326371X , page=24 In 1989, the union became the first in Austria to elect a woman as president. In November 2006, it merged with the

Union of Printing, Journalism, and Paper The Union of Printing, Journalism, and Paper (german: Gewerkschaft Druck, Journalismus, Papier, commonly abbreviated DJP) was an Austrian trade union. History The Printer's Union began in 1842 with the establishment of the Association for the Su ...

, to form the

Union of Private Sector Employees, Printing, Journalism, and Paper The Union of Private Sector Employees, Printing, Journalism, and Paper (german: Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten, Druck, Journalismus, Papier, commonly abbreviated GPA-DJP) is the largest trade union in the Austrian Trade Union Federation. It re ...

Presidents

:1945:

Friedrich Hillegeist Friedrich Hillegeist (21 February 1895 – 3 December 1973) was an Austrian politician. Life After attending the Academy of Commerce from 1913 to 1929, Hillegeist worked as a Clerk at Siemens-Schuckert in Vienna. From 1929 he was secretary of t ...

:1962: Rudolf Häuser :1974: Alfred Dallinger :1989:

Eleonora Hostasch Eleonora "Lore" Hostasch (born 9 July 1944) is an Austrian politician and trade union leader. Life Hostasch was born and raised in Vienna. She became a bank employee at BAWAG in 1962. From 1975 – 1994 she was chairperson of the BAWAG works ...

:1994: Hans Sallmutter :2005:

Wolfgang Katzian Wolfgang Katzian (born October 28, 1956 in Stockerau, Austria) is an Austrian politician and president of the Austrian Trade Union Federation since June 14th 2018. In 2005 he became chairman of the Union of Private Sector Employees (GPA), whi ...

References

Clerical trade unions Finance sector trade unions Trade unions established in 1945 Trade unions disestablished in 2006 Trade unions in Austria 1945 establishments in Austria 2006 disestablishments in Austria