The Textile and Clothing Workers' Union (, Teva) 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 involved in making

textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

History

The union was founded in 1971, when the Textile Workers' Union merged with the Textile and Knitting Workers' Union and the Union of Clothing Workers. These unions had been members of separate federations, but they had all joined the

Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, usually referred to by the acronym SAK (; ) is the largest trade union confederation in Finland. Its member organisations have a total of more than one million members, which makes up about one fif ...

in 1969, prompting the merger. The union's membership initially increased, peaking at 48,254 in 1980. Employment in the industry then declined rapidly, and despite the small Finnish Textile Mechanics' Union merged into Teva in 1989, by 1998, it had only 18,829 members. In 2004, it merged into the

Chemical Union The Chemical Union (, Kemia) was a trade union representing workers in light industries in Finland. The union was established in 1993, when the Chemical Workers' Union merged with the Rubber and Leather Workers' Union The Rubber and Leather Wo ...

Presidents

{{Unreferenced section, date=January 2024 :1970: Väinö Kujanpää :1974: Seppo Niemi :1986: Tuulikki Kannisto :1991: Pirkko Oksa

References

Textile and clothing trade unions Trade unions in Finland Trade unions established in 1971 Trade unions disestablished in 2004