Zensendomei () 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 workers in light manufacturing and service industries. The union was founded in July 1946, as the Japan Federation of Textile Workers' Unions, and it affiliated to the General Federation of Japanese Trade Unions. In 1950, it moved to the new

All-Japan Trade Union Congress The All-Japan Trade Union Congress (), better known by its Japanese abbreviation Zenrō) was a national trade union federation that existed in Japan from 1954 to 1964. History Zenrō was established in 1954 by a number of unions on the right-wing ...

, and then in 1964 to its successor, the

Japanese Confederation of Labour The Japanese Confederation of Labour (Dōmei; ) was a national trade union federation in Japan. The federation was founded in 1964, with the merger of the All-Japan Trade Union Congress, the National Council of Government and Public Workers' Uni ...

. By 1967, it was the federation's largest affiliate, and the third-largest union in Japan, with 505,461 members. It proved influential in the confederation, and in 1980, its president, Tadanobu Usami, became the confederation's president. In 1969, the union absorbed a number of other unions which represented supermarket workers. It soon began representing workers in the wholesale trade, and by the mid-1990s was considered unique among Japanese unions in employing large numbers of organisers, and negotiating pay and conditions on an industry-wide basis. The union became known for the large proportion of members who were women, although most of its organisers and staff members were men. Despite its large membership, the union was often regarded as weak and uncombative, and in later years, it struggled with declining employment in the textile industry. In 2002, the union merged with the Japanese Federation of Chemical, Service and General Trade Unions and the small Japan Federation of Textile and Clothing Workers' Unions, to form the Japanese Federation of Textile, Chemical, Food, Commercial, Service and General Workers' Unions.

Presidents

:1948: Minoru Takita :1971: Tadanobu Usami :1988: Jinnosuke Ashida :1996: Tsuyoshi Takagi

External links

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1946 Trade unions disestablished in 2002 Textile and clothing trade unions Trade unions in Japan