The Dutch Catholic Union of Transport Personnel (, KBV), also known as "Sint Raphaël", 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 the transport industry in the Netherlands. The union was founded in 1903, as the Dutch Roman Catholic Union of Railway and Tramway Personnel, at a conference in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

. By 1910, it had 4,000 members. From 1925, it was affiliated to the Roman Catholic Workers' Federation. In 1941, the Nazi occupiers ordered the union to come under their control, but the members instead dissolved it. The union was re-established in 1945, affiliating to the Catholic Workers' Movement. Around thie time, it absorbed small unions representing workers at

Van Gend & Loos Van Gend & Loos was a Dutch distribution company. It was established in 1809, and was purchased by DHL in 2003. History Van Gend & Loos was established by the Antwerp-based innkeeper and carriage driver Jan-Baptist van Gend. He had marri ...

, and

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

. As a result, it renamed itself as the KBV. From 1963, the union was affiliated to the

Dutch Catholic Trade Union Federation The Dutch Catholic Trade Union Federation (, NKV) was a national trade union centre bringing together Catholic trade unions in the Netherlands. The federation was established in 1925, as the Roman Catholic Workers' Federation. It disbanded in 194 ...

(NKV). That year, it absorbed the Dutch Catholic Union of Transport Workers. In 1969, it decided to accept all workers, regardless of religion, and renamed itself as the Transport Workers' Union NKV. The NKV formed the

Federation of Dutch Trade Unions The Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (, FNV) is a national trade union centre in the Netherlands. The FNV is a significant player in the field of work and income. The trade union consists of a central federation, complemented by several sectoral ...

(FNV) in 1974, and the union similarly formed a Federation of Transport Trade Unions, with the Transport Workers' Union NVV, and the

Federation of Maritime Workers The Federation of Maritime Workers (, FWZ) was a trade union representing sailors in the Netherlands. The union was founded in 1967, when the recently founded General Association of Seafarers merged with the Central Organisation of Sailors and Fis ...

, although the maritime union left in 1976. By 1980, union membership was 20,916. On 1 January 1982, the union and the Transport Workers' Union NVV fully merged, forming the Transport Workers' Union.{{cite web , title=Archief Vervoersbond NVV , url=https://search.iisg.amsterdam/Record/ARCH01554/ArchiveAppendices , website=IISG , accessdate=23 October 2020

References

Catholic trade unions Transportation trade unions Trade unions established in 1903 Trade unions disestablished in 1982 Trade unions in the Netherlands