FDGB ATTEMPTS TO INFLUDENCE 1955 SHOP UNION ELECTIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A006500830003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 18, 2008
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: May 20, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2008/03/18: CIA-RDP80-00810A006500830003-9
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY This material contains information affecting tha
National Defense of the Unfted Statss within the
INFORMA'T'ION REPORT meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title is, u.s.c.
Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revel-
- ^ ~ - - ~ --^-' - ` alien of which in any manner to an unauthorized
II ~ person -isi.prohibited by law.
S-E-C-R-E-T
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
East Germany
FDGB l~ttez7pts to Influenoe
19;5 Shop Union =%leationa
DATE DISTR.
N0. OF PAQES
REQUIREMENT No. RD
REFERENCES
20 May 1955
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THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
In anticipation of further difficulties in the current shop union
elections in East Berlin and East Germar~y, the FDGB Bundesvoratand has
set up election b rigadea composed of full-time employees of the
Bundesvorstand and cf the directorates of the various trade unions 25X1
subordinate to it. The members of these brigades have been relieved
of all other assignmer~ta and are to devote their time exclusively to
election preparation and supervision in the enterprises assigned to
them. Each brigade consists! of~from three to five members and is
responsible for certain specific VEBra. ~- ,
2. The brigades are to function as follows: IIpon arrival at the assigned
enterprise, the brigade is to re ort not to the BGL (Betriebsgecrerkschafts-
leitung - Shop IInion Directorate but to the SED :arty :secretary of the
plant. They will advise the brigade as to the status of thy: election
campaign and will call attention to any particular difficulties which
have been encountered. They will furthermore report what the BPO
(Betriebsparteiorganisation - Shop Farty Directorate) has done to assure
the proper outcome of the elections and will give a political char-
acterization of the current BGL Chairman. If the BGL Chairman is not
considered completely reliable by the SED, not he, but the most reliable
SED mesibers of the BGL will take part in the further consultations with
the brigade. The BGL Chairman ~or the reliable SED BGI,..members, in
turn, must then report what the BOL has done to promote successful
elections. The brigade will thereupon review the protocols of past
election ssemblies. Next, the director of the cadre department will be
consulte~and an agreement will be reached as to the desirability of the
proposes} candidates. The criteria to be considered in selecting qualified
candidates are:
a. Tarty membership prior to 1933
b. NSDr',P membership ' ='
c. Rank held in the Weh_
d. i'resent party membership ~ ~ ~ -~
e. Behavior on 17 June 1953
f. Activities du ring the elections of October 1954
g. Activities during the West Berlin elections of December 1954
h. r'articipation in other West Berlin activities
i. Qualifications as a worker
STATE ARMY NAVY v AIR FBI AEC
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Finally, the chief cashier of the BGL is to render a report on the
payment of FDGB membership dues.
In instances where the brigade is not satisfied with tre political
composition of the newly elected BGL, the election will be declared
null and void and a new election aeheduled. The members o! the brigade
and the most politically reliable $BD members of the plant are to
participate in this election. The reasons to be given for snnull'ins
the previous election can be: ,
a. That the eleotion was invalid because the proper political
considerations had not been emphaei$ed; or
b. That there were not enough production workers in the BGL; or
c. There were too few women or youthful members in the BCL.
4. The brigades are to supervise the plants assigned to them until all
trade-~anioa elections have been oonolnded. They must see to?it that
all BGLs have at least 51~i SBD members. If it appearr ualikes,~r that
this goal will be attaiaed~ even totally unqualllied workers are to
be sleated, provided they are SBD members. Bvea workers with ao
political aftiliatione who have dose good work in previous DGLs are to
be replaced by 88D members.
5? One member o! as lDdB brigade aeeignod the responsibility for live Bast
Berlin 9BDs reports that in the plants in which he worked the majority of
the BGLs elected oonsiotsd of loaner 9PD memb~-r?~ former 1f8DAP members, and
workers who hcd been more or less openly against tho 98D r~aime during
the revolt of 17 June 1953? 3ED mombors were not oleoted as a rule.
He reports that unoltioially the FDGB had planned to have no public
disouesions in the plants on the individual candidates for eleotion to the
BGLa. Inetructicna to this effoct, however, failed to roach responsible
FDGB and SED functione.ries ir. the plants in time, so thst many of the
SED members on the list of candidates had been re~eeted by the voting
workers as a result of what was said in the public discusaions.?
6. .,mong the main arguments the workers used against voting for the SED
candidates was that these Isere not eualified to hold a BGL position
because they had done no union work in the past. Itees claimed that
the SID members often were not properly qualified as workers and
therefore couldn~t act as representatives of their interests. Ths
? workers claimed that only they were qualified to decide which of their
colleagues could best represent them.
7. The brigade member states further that the FDGB has had little difficulty
in achieving the election results desired in the union groups of the
facto directorates and in the Departments for fork (~.bteilungen fuer
rrbeit~, since both of these groups are made up primarily of reliable
SED members. Great difficulty, on the other had, has been encountered
among the production workers themselves and among the members of the
sn-called "technical intelligentsia". This condition obtains not only
in East Berlin but 81so in East German plants.
`~r~
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8. among the asin arguments against the politios of the S=D used by
produotion workers and me~tbers of the "teohnioal intelligentsia"
to agbers of aDfiS bs~igadea are th? tollowing~
a. the leading role of the 3gD is aokaowlsdged~. flowe~er~ it i?
ezperted that 3$D membsre sho~rld be models for all othtr_ workers
both teahaioally and as iadividnatltould dotbett~rototrid ite~ilt~ofswea~C
.. this is not the aase. Ths Party
? members inatsad of proposing theca as osadidatee for the BaL.
b. The fnnotionaries of the a"DG1B Dundesworsta~d haws ooepletely d4~osoed
theaselwes from oontaot with the working olaesee and often do not
represent the best interests of the workers, asp for esa~ple~ is the
norm question.
o. The neoeseary requirements for i"uiililiing the work plans are not
present. It is the duty o! the unions to iateroede with the
appropriate government departments so that the plans whioh ass set
up are truly realisable. There should be an end pat to the prabtioe
of making iadiwiduals responsible for !allures which is the last
analysis are the result of tauity pisaning.
d. Ia one =ast Seriia plant the question wa~ saised~ itoohe~ ~~~:id
strike against remilitarisatioa i~ Host ormany~ why
1'DOS do the sue in grit aermaay?
~ This introductory statomsat is to bo regarded as
merely tactical.
l The general feeling among the workers is that
they are-against rearmaooat. The ispreseioa?ga4~aod
is that the workers is the aatioaalised oatespslieo
are opposed to the rea:,ameat of the ladoral g~ublio
as well as of Cast Germany.
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