The Finnish Musicians' Union (, ) is 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 musicians in Finland. The union was founded in 1917, and was initially led by

Robert Kajanus Robert Kajanus (2 December 1856 – 6 July 1933) was a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher. In 1882, he founded the Helsinki Orchestral Society, Finland's first professional orchestra. As a conductor, he was also a notable champion and i ...

. While most of the union's members, its leading figures were composers, but in 1945 they split away to form the Finnish Society of Composers. That year, the union affiliated to the

Finnish Federation of Trade Unions The Finnish Federation of Trade Unions (, 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 affiliates were unions which supported the ...

(SAK), but it left in 1957. In 1974, it joined SAK's successor, the

Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, usually referred to by the acronym SAK (; ) is the largest trade union confederation in Finland. Its member organisations have a total of more than one million members, which makes up about one fif ...

. As of 2020, the union had 3,605 members. About one-third of its members are orchestral musicians, soloists and conductors, and the remainder include popular musicians and ballet dancers. The union is a member of the

International Federation of Musicians The International Federation of Musicians (, FIM) is a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing music performers. FIM counts member unions in 70 countries and three regional groups in Europe, Africa and Latin America. I ...

and the Nordic Musicians' Union. The union owns Radio Helsinki, the G Livelab venue, and artists' residences in London, Berlin and

Raseborg Raseborg (; , ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern coast of the country. Raseborg is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Raseborg is approximately , while the Raseborg sub-region, sub-region has a popul ...

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References

{{Authority control Musicians' trade unions Trade unions in Finland Trade unions established in 1917 1917 establishments in Finland