Dieter Schulte
Dieter Schulte ( born January 13, 1940 in Duisburg ) is a German trade unionist. He spent eight years as chairman of the DGB.
Life and work
Union activities in the operating
Schulte attended elementary school in Duisburg. 1954-1959 he served an apprenticeship in bricklaying. In 1959 he moved to the steel industry and worked as a burner at Thyssen Niederrhein AG in Duisburg- high field. Later he became a quality monitor at Thyssen Stahl AG.
In 1957 his entry into the IG Bau, stone and earth, then 1959 transfer to the IG Metall. From 1970 Schulte held various union functions: steward, head of the trust body, a member of the local and district's bargaining committee. He joined the SPD in 1972. During the same period, his rise began as a works council and trade union official. Between 1975 and 1983 he represented the interests of steelworkers as council and later as a full-time Works at ThyssenKrupp Steel, Hamborn -Beeckerwerth. In 1983 he enlisted as a member of the Group Works Council of ThyssenKrupp Steel AG. 1987 Chairman of the factory Hamborn and 1990, Council Chairman of Thyssen Stahl AG.
DGB Presidency
In 1991 Schulte in the internal union organization tip, when he was elected to the Executive Board of IG Metal and Head of the branch office in Dusseldorf. On 14 June 1994 Schulte was elected at the 15th Annual Congress of the Union of the DGB with 75.7 % of the delegates' votes as a successor to the late Heinz -Werner Meyer as Chairman of the DGB. After his re-election at the 16th Annual Federal Congress in 1998 with 72.9 % of the delegates' votes, he stood on the Federal Congress in 2002 not more to choose from.
At the head of the DGB pragmatist Dieter Schulte pursued a policy of centralization of union power. An organizational reform should particularly strengthen the competencies of the federal executive. In addition to its integration capability and diplomatic skills he were the collective political opponents and the qualities one tough negotiator ' attests. Schultes hardness was shown in 1996 when he had the steel workers organized protests under the slogan, fire to Bonn '.
Schulte was one of the forces of reform in the DGB. He reminded the audience not only an organizational reform of the Federation, but drew attention to the dynamics of the world economy and the rapid social change, the unions would have to accompany critically and constructively. In addition to his proposals for reform DGB, he spearheaded a joint initiative for full employment with the social partners in the Alliance for Jobs and pleaded for an ecological and social renewal of the industrial society. As one of the first, he called on the whole society dialogue on the reform of the welfare state and the expansion of trade union work on Europe, which are coupled in detail on an investment program, one, building program Ost ', the introduction of a state-owned industrial and technology policy and more participation rights for employees would have.
However, this pragmatic approach to reform has been criticized in return as increasingly apolitical attitude of the DGB; in a time that was becoming perceived by many trade unionists as always eco -friendly. That fact - and the lack of involvement of the middle DGB official level in the work of the DGB - tip under Schulte - meant that Michael Sommer, who wanted to particularly address these problems, elected to succeed him with expectant 94.1 % of the delegates' votes in 2002 been.
After the Presidency
Since early 2003, Schulte is Vice Chairman of the SPD - affiliated Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
In the media, the Social Democrat Schulte came last in September 2005, when he attacked the IG Metall chairman Jürgen Peters because of its hidden recommendation to vote for the Left Party in Hannover Allgemeine Zeitung. There Peters had speculated that it could Schulte gave the answer " be a majority left of center on September 18. ": " Peters is on the wrong track. Unions must wear their positions in the government willing parties, instead of a group to support of stragglers who wants to unsubscribe on the back seat of the Parliament ideological battles only. I have serious doubts that Peter speaks with this course for the majority of IG Metall. "
Volunteering
- Dieter Schulte is a board member of the Association Against Forgetting - For Democracy