The Central Union of Construction Workers () was 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 building labourers in Germany. The first national congress of local unions of building labourers was held in May 1889, and it agreed to launch a national journal, ''Der Bauarbeiter''. With the repeal of the

Anti-Socialist Laws The Anti-Socialist Laws or Socialist Laws (; officially , approximately "Law against the public danger of Social Democratic endeavours") were a series of acts of the parliament of the German Empire, the first of which was passed on 19 October 187 ...

, it was possible to form legal trade unions, and at the 3rd Congress of Construction Workers, in Halle, on 6 April 1891, the Central Union of Masons was established. It adopted ''Der Bauarbeiter'' as its journal. The union initially had 2,500 members. It affiliated to the

General Commission of German Trade Unions The General Commission of German Trade Unions () was an umbrella body for German trade unions during the German Empire, from the end of the Anti-Socialist Laws in 1890 up to 1919. In 1919, a successor organisation was named the Allgemeiner Deutsch ...

, and by 1904, its membership had grown to 33,245. By 1910, this had risen further, to 65,572. At the start of 1911, it merged with the

Central Union of Masons The Central Union of Masons () was a trade union representing bricklayers in Germany. Regular conferences of masons were held in Germany in the 1880s. With the repeal of the Anti-Socialist Laws, it was possible to form legal trade unions, and a ...

, to form the

German Construction Workers' Union The German Construction Workers' Union (, DBV) was a trade union representing building workers in Germany. The union was founded on 1 January 1911, when the Central Union of Masons merged with the Central Union of Construction Workers, the two ...

Presidents

:1891: F. Krens :1901: Gustav Behrendt

References

{{Authority control Builders' labourers' trade unions Trade unions in Germany Trade unions established in 1891 Trade unions disestablished in 1911