François Poels (12 April 1881 – 27 December 1926) was a Belgian trade union leader. Born in

Elsene ( French, ) or ( Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Brussels' city centre, it is geographically bisected by the City of Brussels. It is also bordered by the munic ...

, Poels completed an apprenticeship as a

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

. In 1906, he joined the Union of Lithographers in Brussels, becoming its deputy general secretary in 1911, and general secretary in 1912. He argued in favour of a single union covering the whole printing trade, and as a step towards this, in 1913, he merged his union into the new Union of Workers in Lithography and Kindred Trades, becoming its first general secretary. Poels served on the Committee d'Appel du Secours de Chomage during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

then, after the war, left his trade union post to become secretary of the Brussels Labour Exchange. However, he remained involved with his old union, and in 1920, he was elected as general secretary of the International Federation of Lithographers, Lithographic Printers and Kindred Trades. Poels also became secretary of the Brussels School of Lithographers. He died in 1926, aged 46.

References

1881 births 1926 deaths Belgian trade unionists Activists from Brussels {{trade-unionist-bio-stub