The Danish Textile Workers' Union (, DTAF) was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing workers in the textile industry in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The origins of the union lie in the men's hand weavers' society formed in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in 1873. The decline of handloom weaving led it, in 1884, to begin accepting both industrial weavers and women as members. In 1885, small unions in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...

and

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

joined the Copenhagen union, and in 1885 it founded the new Danish Weavers' Union.Lars K. Christensen, "Denmark: the textile industry and the formation of modern industrial relations". In: In its first decade, the union grew very slowly, frequently organising strikes which it struggled to fund. In 1892, it created a strike fund, and began negotiating wage agreements with employers, and in 1895 it changed its name to the "Danish Textile Workers' Union". In 1898, it signed a national agreement with the new Textile Manufacturers' Federation, and that year it also became a founder member of the

Danish Confederation of Trade Unions LO, The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions ( Danish: ''LO, Landsorganisationen i Danmark'' or simply ''LO'') was founded in 1898 and was an umbrella organisation (the largest of the three national trade union centers in Denmark) for 18 Danish ...

(LO). Union membership peaked in 1951, but then fell rapidly, as employment in the industry declined. In 1973, the small Danish Rope Makers' Union merged into DTAF. By 1977, the union had 16,442 members, of whom two-thirds were women. The following year, it merged with the Danish Clothing Workers' Union, to form the Danish Clothing and Textile Workers' Union.{{cite web , title=Dansk Beklædnings- og Textilarbejderforbund , url=http://denstoredanske.dk/Erhverv,_karriere_og_ledelse/Erhvervsliv/Fagforeninger/Dansk_Bekl%C3%A6dnings-_og_Textilarbejderforbund , website=Den Store Danske , publisher=Gyldendal , accessdate=9 February 2020

References

Trade unions established in 1885 Trade unions disestablished in 1978 Trade unions in Denmark Textile and clothing trade unions