The Union of Transport Workers (german: Gewerkschaft des Verkehrspersonals, SEV) is a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

in Switzerland.

History

Many transport workers were involved in the

1918 Swiss general strike The 1918 Swiss general strike (german: Landesstreik) took place from 12 to 14 November and involved around 250,000 workers. Background Although Switzerland remained neutral during World War I, it did mobilize its army. The military called 220,0 ...

, and this inspired members of various small unions to found a national union for railway workers. It was established in 1919, as the Swiss Railwaymen's Association, and immediately affiliated to the

Swiss Trade Union Federation The Swiss Trade Union Federation (, SGB; ; , USS) is the largest national trade union center in Switzerland. History The federation was founded in 1880 and represents 361,000 members in its affiliated unions (2015). The SGB has close ties with ...

. While it had a centralised political leadership, under

Robert Bratschi Robert Bratschi (6 February 1891 – 24 May 1981) was a Swiss politician and trade unionist. Born in Bözingen (now part of Biel/Bienne), Bratschi found work with the Swiss Federal Railways, becoming a station master, and then an administrativ ...

, linked with the Social Democratic Party and based in Bern, many of its sectoral groups operated with a high degree of autonomy in industrial matters. While the main base of the union was workers for the public railway system, it accepted other transport workers, including bus workers, people working for private and municipal transport systems and workers in shipping. In 1995, it was renamed as the Swiss Railway and Transport Staff Association, to emphasise the role of these other workers, then in 2009 it became the "Union of Transport Workers".

Leadership

The union was led by its general secretary until 1946, and since then by its president. :1919: Emil Düby :1920:

:1953:

Hans Düby Hans Düby (30 January 1906 – 31 March 1978) was a Swiss trade unionist and politician. Born in Schüpfen, Düby was the son of Emil, who later became the leader of the Swiss Railwaymen's Association. Düby studied music in Bern at the Con ...

:1972: Werner Meier :1981: Jean Clivaz :1987: Charly Pasche :1996:

Ernst Leuenberger Ernst Leuenberger (18 January 1945 – 30 June 2009) was a Swiss trade unionist and politician. He was a member of the National Council from 1983 to 1999, serving as president of the council in 1998, and a member of the Council of States from 1 ...

:2005: Pierre-Alain Gentil :2008: Giorgio Tuti

References

External links

* {{Authority control Trade unions established in 1919 Trade unions in Switzerland Transportation trade unions