Polish Teachers' Union (, ZNP, also translated as ''Union of Polish Teachers'', ''Polish Teachers' Association'', ''Association of Polish Teachers'') is the largest Polish

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 ...

for teachers and educators and their largest professional association.

History

First Polish teachers trade unions date to 1905, the year that marks the period of unrest known as the

Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907) A major part of the Russian Revolution (1905), Russian Revolution of 1905 took place in the Russian Partition of Poland and lasted until 1907 (see Congress Poland and Privislinsky Krai). It was the largest wave of strikes and widest emancipatory ...

.wiązek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego

WIEM Encyklopedia WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The encyclopedia was based on the first printed edition was released in mid-1990s (with Vo ...

The Polish Teachers' Union has been created in 1930 from the merger of the Union of Polish Teachers of Elementary Schools and the Trade Union of Teachers of Polish High Schools, both dating to 1919. In the 1930s, ZNP, numbering over 50,000 members before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and being the largest Polish association and trade union for educators, became increasingly influenced by

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

s, which caused it to be eventually suspended by the conservative and right-leaning Polish government. In response, the socialist wing of ZNP organized the large Polish teachers strike (1937), which succeeded in having the government back down and reinstate the organization. ZNP at that time maintained also auxiliary institutions, such as the Pedegogical Institute, and run summer vocational courses. During the war, ZNP continued to exist as part of the

underground education in Poland during World War II During World War II in Poland, education often took place underground. Secretly conducted education prepared scholars and workers for the postwar reconstruction of Poland and countered German and Soviet threats to eradicate Polish culture. Back ...

, in the form of the

Secret Teaching Organization Secret Teaching Organization (, ''TON'' also translated as the ''Secret Teaching Society'' or ''Clandestine Teaching Organization'') was an underground Polish educational organization created in 1939 after the German invasion of Poland to provide ...

.Tajna Organizacja Nauczycielska

The Organization was created towards the end of October 1939 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

response to German closure of most Polish educational institutions and repressions against teachers.Josef Krauski, ''Education as Resistance: The Polish Experience of Schooling During the War'', in Roy Lowe, ''Education and the Second World War : studies in schooling and social change'', Falmer Press, 1992,

M1 Google Print, p.128-138Ewa Bukowska
'' Secret Teaching in Poland in the Years 1939 to 1945''
London Branch of the Polish Home Army Ex-Servicemen Association After the war, ZNP was reinstated by Rząd Tymczasowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, the new Polish communist government, but had relatively little real influence. It was briefly suspended during the martial law in 1981. In 1984 it joined the

All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions The All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions (, OPZZ) is a national trade union center founded in 1984. History Following the decisions of the Polish government declaring the Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity trade union illegal, the OPZ ...

. Like most other Polish trade unions, ZNP became independent after the

fall of communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

in 1989. The Union leaders decided to keep it aligned to the Polish left ( Social Democracy of Poland), which caused a split, as some of the members left for the

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

-aligned trade unions. Nonetheless, it remained and is currently the largest Polish

for teachers and educators.

Structure

The Union is governed by the National Meeting of the Delegates which convenes every four years. On day-to-day basis, the Main Office takes care of the routine organizational activities.

References

External links

Official homepage
(in English) {{Authority control Education trade unions Trade unions established in 1930 Trade unions in Poland