Michael Sommer
Michael Volker Sommer ( born January 17, 1952 in Buederich, today part of the sea Busch) is since May 28, 2002 President of the German Trade Union Federation ( DGB) and since 1981 member of the SPD. He is married to journalist Ulrike Sommer.
Life
Summer was born in the sea bush. His mother († 1986) was the chief secretary and the father authorized officer in the defense group Rheinmetall. He lived as a child in an orphanage and later moved with his mother to Berlin. He studied from 1971 to 1980 Political Science at the Otto Suhr Institute of the Free University of Berlin on a scholarship from the Hans Boeckler Foundation ( 1977-1979 ) and spent three years as a member of the SEW- university group.
DPG / Verdi
Since 1971 he is member of the German postal union (DPG ), which has been merged into the union Verdi 2001. Initially (1971-1980) he had held various volunteer union functions. After graduation and his thesis on privatization prospects in the German postal system (1979 ), he worked full-time for the postal union: 1980 as a lecturer in the education center of the DPG in Gladenbach. In 1981, Michael Sommer Secretary of the DPG District Board Bremen, 1982 Head of Press and Public Relations at the main board of the DPG and - after a three-month study in the USA ( 1987) - 1988-1993 head of department headquarters Affairs and Head of the Management Board and policy matters at the main board of the DPG. Since October 1993, this was the summer a member of the National Executive of the DPG and Deputy Chairman since October 1997 the DPG.
Since 18 March 2001, he was Deputy National Chairman of the United Services Union Ver.di.
DGB Chairman
On 28 May 2002 he was elected Chairman of the German Trade Union Federation, on 10 December 2004 first vice president of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU ) and Chairman of the ICFTU Steering Committee, Deputy President of the newly founded on 3 November 2006 the International trade Union Confederation ( ITUC). On 25 June 2010 he was elected to the 2nd ITUC World Congress on the President of the International Trade Union Confederation. His term as DGB leader ends in spring 2014.
Positions
Summer, in its capacity as DGB Chairman multiply tax increases. Most recently, he was in favor of raising the top tax rate to 49 percent, a tax on the rich addition of three percent, the reintroduction of wealth tax and a higher inheritance tax. He advocates a generally binding minimum wage of 8.50 euros per hour.
On 5 February 2013, Summer met with Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière. De Maizière followed an invitation of the DGB and is for 30 years, the first defense minister, who was invited to discussions in the DGB house. Following the conversation said de Maiziere: " The Bundeswehr is a part of the peace movement ", just as it would be the unions. Summer was pleased with " [ ... ] a very nice conversation with a very open minister. " For his public execution of the " shoulder to shoulder with the German Armed Forces " Summer was heavily criticized from within the company and through various union-affiliated FriedensakivistInnen. He was accused that he thanks to the intensified by the DGB meeting, how would the undisputed acceptance of the utterance de Maizières, the Bundeswehr was part of the peace movement, which undermine objective and historically necessary critical relationship between unions and the Bundeswehr and instead promote a common policy what, for example, the daily newspaper new Germany with the title " DGB now part of the troops ," commented. From the ranks of the peace movement, which works closely with the traditional trade unions, several open letters were written to Michael Sommer and partly online, partly in daily newspapers, published as Young World.
Honors
- 2007: Grand Gold Medal with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria
- 2012: Cross of Merit 1st class of the Federal Republic of Germany
- 2013: Arno Lustiger price
Others
Michael Sommer was on May 23, 2004 Member of the 12th, on 23 May 2009 Member of the 13th, on 30 June 2010 a member of the 14 and 18 March 2012 a member of the 15th federal assembly. He was always elected on the proposal of the SPD.
In September 2013, he donated his wife, who suffers from kidney failure, one of his kidneys.