The Finnish Seafarers' Union (FSU, formerly known as Finnish Seamen's Union; , SMU) 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 maritime and inland waterway transport workers in Finland. The Helsinki Seamen's and Firemen's Union was founded in 1916, and from 1920, it was known as the Finnish Seamen's and Firemen's Union, covering the whole country. It was banned in 1930, but a group of socialist trade unionists immediately founded a new union of the same name, and so the union considers its history to be continuous from 1916. In 1934, it joined the Finnish Federation of Trade Unions (SAK). In 1938, Niilo Wälläri was elected as the union's president, known for his advocacy of industrial action. Under his leadership the union secured 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 ...

for the Finnish Merchant Navy. The union's membership grew, reaching 6,805 by 1955, but in 1956 it resigned from the SAK. Three years later, it was a founding affiliate of the rival Finnish Trade Union Federation (SAJ), and since 1969 it has been affiliated to its successor, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions. By 1998, the union had 10,146 members, while in 2020, its membership was about 9,500.

Presidents

:1938: Niilo Wallari :1968: Olavi Keitele :1976: Reijo Anttila :1992: Per-Erik Nelin :2000: Simo Zitting

External links

References

{{Authority control Seafarers' trade unions Trade unions in Finland Trade unions established in 1916