The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) is a

global union federation A global union federation (GUF) is an international List of federations of trade unions, federation of national trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups. Historically, such federations in the social democratic t ...

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 ...

s with members in a variety of industries, many of which relate to food processing.

History

The federation was founded in 1920 with the merger of the

International Federation of Bakers, Pastry Cooks and Allied Workers' Associations The International Federation of Bakers, Pastry Cooks and Allied Workers' Associations was a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing bakery workers. History On 24 and 25 August 1907, an international congress of bakers wa ...

, the

International Federation of Meat Workers The International Federation of Meat Workers was a global union federation bringing together unions representing butchers and abattoir workers. The German Central Union of Butchers organised the first International Conference of Meat Workers in 19 ...

, and the

International Federation of Brewery Workers The International Secretariat of Brewery Workers was a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing workers in breweries and mills which processed grains for brewing. History The first international conference of brewery work ...

. Originally named the International Union of Food and Allied Workers' Associations (IUFAWA), its affiliates were all European until 1950, but it then rapidly expanded worldwide. In 1958, the

International Federation of Tobacco Workers The International Federation of Tobacco Workers (IFTW) was a global union federation bringing together unions representing workers involved in growing, processing or selling tobacco. History The idea of an international federation of tobacco worker ...

merged into the federation, which renamed itself as the International Union of Food, Drinks and Tobacco Workers' Associations, then in 1961 the

International Union of Hotel, Restaurant and Bar Workers The International Union of Hotel, Restaurant and Bar Workers (IUHR) was a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing hospitality workers. History In the late 19th- and early 20th-century, the Union of German Restaurant Wor ...

merged in, and the federation became the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF). By 1978, the federation's affiliates had a total of 2.1 million members. During the 1980s, the IUF campaigned against

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

following the assassination of union leaders in Guatemala. In 1988, the IUF was the first international trade union to sign a

global framework agreement A Global Framework Agreement or GFA, previously called International Framework Agreement or IFA is a non-binding agreement between global union federations and multinational companies, which at minimum ensures workers within a company's world-wide o ...

with the French food multinational BSN (

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational corporation, multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in 1919 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris, where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock mark ...

). In 1994, the

International Federation of Plantation, Agricultural and Allied Workers The International Federation of Plantation and Agricultural Workers (IFPAAW) was a global union federation bringing together unions representing land workers. History The federation was created on December 2, 1959, when the Plantation Workers In ...

merged into the IUF, which took its present name. In 2006, most of the former affiliates of the

World Federation of Agriculture and Food Workers The World Federation of Agriculture and Food Workers (, FEMTAA) was an International Trade Federation affiliated to the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). History The federation was established in December 1982 at a meeting in Bogota, when the ...

joined the federation.

Current operations

In 2019, the IUF was composed of 422 member organisations in 127 countries, representing more than 10 million workers. The organization represents workers employed in agriculture, the preparation and manufacture of food and beverages, hotels, restaurants and

catering Catering is the business of providing food services at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major service ...

services and in tobacco processing. The international headquarters of IUF is located in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Within the organization, there are autonomous regional organizations for Africa, Asia/Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America.

Affiliates

As of December 2019, the IUF has the following affiliates:

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1920:

Jean Schifferstein Jean Schifferstein (28 June 1878 – 19 May 1941) was a Swiss and international trade union leader of German origin. Born in Bingen am Rhein, Schifferstein completed an apprenticeship as a cooper. As a journeyman, he worked in Bern and in Rh ...

:1941:

Hermann Leuenberger Hermann Leuenberger (15 July 1901 – 30 December 1975) was a Swiss people, Swiss trade union leader and politician. Born in Basel, Leuenberger started an apprenticeship as a painter, but became active in the Social Democratic Party of Switzerl ...

(acting) :1949: Juul Poulsen :1968: Dan Gallin :1997: Ron Oswald :2017: Sue Longley :2025: Kristjan Bragason (acting)

Presidents

:1920:

Max Wilhelm Max Wilhelm (26 November 1884 – 27 November 1954) was a German trade union leader, active in Switzerland. Born in Dachau, Wilhelm completed an apprenticeship as a baker and then became a journeyman. In 1907, he ended up in Geneva, where he ...

:1934: Robert Fischer :1939:

:1949:

Marius Madsen Marius Madsen (1896 or 1897 – 28 June 1982) was a Danish trade union leader. Madsen came to prominence in the Danish Brewery, Distillery and Mineral Water Workers' Union, and was elected as its president in 1926. He was soon elected to th ...

:1958:

Hans Nätscher Hans Nätscher (13 November 1896 – 28 February 1980) was a German trade unionist. Born in Lohr am Main, Nätscher completed an apprenticeship as a butcher in Würzburg, which was interrupted by serving in the military from 1915 to 1918. He ...

:1964: John Swift :1967: Henri Ceuppens :1970:

Daniel E. Conway Daniel Edward Conway (October 18, 1911 – April 13, 1987) was an American labor union leader. Born in East St Louis, Illinois, he moved to Los Angeles, where he began working as a baker. He joined the Bakery and Confectionery Workers' Internation ...

:1977:

Sigvard Nyström Sigvard Nyström (13 August 1916 – 1994) was a Swedish trade union leader and anti-fascist. Born in Stockholm, he found work as a lift attendant in a warehouse for the SARA restaurant, where he joined the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Worker ...

:1981:

Günter Döding Günter Friedrich Wilhelm Döding (4 September 1930 – 8 August 2005) was a German trade union leader. Born in Isenstedt, Döding worked as a coal miner before becoming a cigar sorter. He joined the Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG), ...

:1989:

Lage Andréasson Lage Roland Andréasson (15 September 1930 – 25 March 2023) was a Swedish trade union leader. Andréasson served as the president of the Swedish Food Workers' Union (Livs) from 1979 until 1991, and as president of the International Union of Food ...

:1993: Willy Vijverman :1997: Frank Hurt :2002: Paul Andela :2012: Hans-Olof Nilsson :2017: Mark Lauritsen

References

External links

IUF official website

IUF Facebook page

IUF Latin America website

On the history and policy of the IUF
��comprehensive information on the IUF and its predecessors in PDF (3MB): a brief history of the IUF, an interview with Dan Gallin (General Secretary of the IUF 1968-97) and an inventory of records and reports of the IUF and its predecessors in the library of the

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as t ...

(FES).
Interview with Dan Galin, IUF General Secretary 1968-1997
��web version of interview printed in FES history document. {{Authority control Global union federations Agriculture and forestry trade unions Food processing trade unions Trade unions established in 1920