Tonnis van der Heeg (29 March 1886 – 15 August 1958) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

trade unionist, politician, and resistance activist. Born in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, van der Heeg became a tailor. He joined the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP), inspired by his colleague, Evert Kupers, and also Progress through Brotherhood, a tailors' trade union. In 1908, he became the full-time leader of the Amsterdam district of the Union of the Clothing Industry, and he led a major, successful, strike, in 1913. In 1915, he became the union's general secretary, and then in 1918, its president. As leader of the union, van der Heeg led a series of strikes which achieved a national wage scheme resulting in increased pay, reduced hours, and sick and holiday pay. He relocated to

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

in 1921, winning a seat on the city council in 1926, and becoming the local party chair in 1931. Although he was a founder of the Independent Socialist Party split, he returned to the SDAP within weeks. Although he was opposed to communism, he argued that communists should be free to join mainstream unions. In 1919, van der Heeg helped refound the

International Clothing Workers' Federation The International Clothing Workers' Federation (IGWF) was a global union federation representing workers involved in making and repairing clothes. History The federation was established in 1893 at a conference in Zürich. The following year, it es ...

, and in 1920, he became its general secretary. In 1924, he spent a lengthy period in a sanatorium, suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, but he recovered well and returned to work the following year. He was elected to the executive of the

Dutch Confederation of Trade Unions The Dutch Confederation of Trade Unions (, NVV) was a Dutch social-democratic trade union. History The NVV was founded in 1906 as a merger of fifteen smaller unions, as a result of the inability of the previous unions to control the radical ele ...

(NVV) in 1932, and was associated with its left-wing, calling for the union to devote more efforts to organising women, and for it to admit unemployed workers. In 1933, he called for a boycott of German goods, in opposition to its Nazi government, and he called for active support for the Republicans in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. The Nazis occupied the Netherlands in 1940, and van der Heeg was fired from his union post, while in 1941, Hilversum council was dissolved. He found work as the head of the local Distribution Service, using the role to illicitly distribute ration cards to members of the

Dutch resistance The Dutch resistance () to the History of the Netherlands (1939–1945), German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized as non-violent. The primary organizers were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, C ...

who were in hiding. The network was discovered in 1943, and van der Heeg went into hiding, until his arrest, late in 1944. During the war, the Nazis had merged the Union of the Clothing Industry into the textile workers' union. Van der Heeg agreed that it should continue on a merged basis, as the General Union of Workers in Textile and Clothing Companies, and in 1945, he was elected as its president. He argued that the NVV should be more critical of government policy in Indonesia, and unsuccessfully argued that the NVV should merge with the communist Unity Trade Union. He retired in 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heeg, Tonnis van der 1886 births 1958 deaths Dutch resistance members Dutch trade unionists People from Groningen (city) Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands) politicians