International Federation of Boot and Shoe Operatives and Leather Workers

The International Federation of Boot and Shoe Operatives and Leather Workers was a global union federation representing unions of shoemakers and leather workers, principally in Europe.

History

An International Federation of Boot and Shoe Operatives was founded in 1889 in Paris, while the International Workers Congress was underway. It was headquartered in Zurich, and led by a secretary named Martens. It achieved an agreement between unions in several countries that shoemakers who travelled to another country would have their membership benefits honoured, and some support was given to major industrial actions. But most of the member unions took little interest in the federation. It was moribund from 1897, and dissolved in 1900.[1]

In 1907, a conference in Stuttgart agreed to establish a new federation of the same name. Led by Josef Simon, it was based in Nuremberg. In 1919, it renamed itself as the International Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives, Leather, Skin and Hide Workers. In 1921, the International Federation of Saddlers' Unions and the International Union of Leather Workers merged in, and the federation became the "International Federation of Boot and Shoe Operatives and Leather Workers". By 1925, it had 26 affiliates, with a total of 357,504 members.[1][2]

In 1933, due to the rise to power of the Nazis, the federation's headquarters were moved to London, and George Chester took over as general secretary. It became moribund during World War II, but in 1946, was reconstituted as the International Shoe and Leather Workers' Federation (ISLWF).[3][4]

The federation merged in 1970 with the International Textile and Garment Workers' Federation, forming the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation.[2]

Affiliates

In 1960, the following unions were affiliated to the federation:[5]

UnionCountryAffiliated membership
Australian Boot Trade Employees' FederationAustralia23,000
Danish Shoemakers' UnionDenmark5,600
Danish Tanners' UnionDenmark860
Federation of Hides, Leather, and Kindred TradesFrance3,500
Federation of Leather WorkersGreece6,000
General UnionBelgium6,500
General Union of Miscellaneous IndustriesNetherlands1,440
Glovemakers' Union of DenmarkDenmark230
Irish Shoe and Leather Workers' UnionIreland4,272
United Italian Federation of Clothing WorkersItaly6,424
Leather UnionWest Germany90,300
National Federation of the Shoe IndustryCuba1,672
National Union of Boot and Shoe OperativesUnited Kingdom77,417
National Union of Leather WorkersSouth Africa8,000
New Zealand Federated Footwear Trade UnionNew Zealand3,544
Norwegian Union of Shoe MakersNorway4,248
Norwegian Union of Hide and Leather WorkersNorway1,550
Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper OperativesUnited Kingdom7,190
Swedish Saddlemakers' and Upholsterers' UnionSweden1,393
Swedish Shoe and Leather Workers' UnionSweden10,500
Swiss Clothing, Leather and Equipment Workers' UnionSwitzerland3,000
Transvaal Leather and Allied Trades Industrial UnionSouth Africa3,000
United UnionsSweden4,342
Upholsterers' Union of DenmarkDenmark1,000
Union of Textile, Clothing and Leather WorkersAustria13,000

General Secretaries
1907: Josef Simon[1]
1933: George Chester[4]
1949: James Crawford[4]
1957: Sydney Robinson

References
  1. Sassenbach, Johannes (1926). Twenty-five years of international trade unionism. Amsterdam: International Federation of Trade Unions. p. 106–107.
  2. Rütters, Peter (2001). International Trade Union Organisations (PDF). Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. p. 18. ISBN 3898920453. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  3. Repertoire des organisations internationales. Geneva: League of Nations. 1936. p. 258.
  4. Yearbook of the International Free Trade Union Movement (1957), p.570
  5. Goldberg, Arthur (1960). Directory of International Trade Union Organizations. Washington DC: United States Department of Labour. pp. 15.1–15.14.
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