Reform Wing Loses in Union Power Struggle

Klaus Zwickel, 64, has never been secretive about his differences with deputy chairman Jürgen Peters. But since an abortive strike last month in eastern Germany over working hours, Zwickel had gone on the offensive, blaming Peters' old-school tactics for pitting the public against the union and handing IG Metall its worst defeat since 1954.

What followed was a public mud-slinging match that had each side accusing the other of mean-spiritedness and ad hominem attacks. Zwickel repeatedly urged Peters to resign. Peters held his ground and went on the counteroffensive.

On Monday morning, Zwickel conceded defeat. At a press conference in Frankfurt, he said he was stepping down immediately, before his planned retirement in October. But he refused to completely shoulder the blame for the failed labor action in June and fired a final shot at his designated successor.

"With this step, I don't take sole responsibility," said Zwickel. "The main responsibility for the failed strike is with the deputy chairman and the regional leader for Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony."

He added: "At no point have they shown a willingness to accept personal consequences for the situation."

Two at the Top

Despite his best efforts, Zwickel had failed in securing support for another leadership constellation and announced that a "tandem solution" will likely be put in place: Peters will lead the union along with Berthold Huber, a regional leader from the federal state of Baden-Württemberg (photo, Huber left).

The IG Metall board had tapped the two men for the post-Zwickel leadership positions in April, but the subsequent internal strife led Huber to withdraw his candidacy. He agreed to stand for the deputy post again just last week. Zwickel said he could not support such a solution.

"Today I can definitely say that there will not be a new beginning at IG Metall," said Zwickel. "Something I think is urgently needed."

The appointments are expected to be ratified at a special union congress in August.

Zwickel's resignation marks the end of his ten-year career at the IG Metall helm and of a three-week leadership struggle that came close to tearing the 2.6-million strong metal workers union apart. It also marked a fight for the future direction of the union. Zwickel, who had planned to step down in October, had hoped to put a reformer in the top spot that could turn the tide at IG Metall, which has seen membership decline sharply in the last decade and its influence wane as demands have grown for more flexible wage bargaining.

Traditionalist

Jürgen Peters is leading figure in the traditionalist camp of the divided union who still supports the ideology of the exploitation of the working class, according to analysts. He has fiercely opposed any reforms which might been seen as weakening German unions' traditional strength and collective-bargaining power. He has been a vocal opponent of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's structural reform package that would ease some workers protections and cut welfare for the long-term employed.

Since joining the union in 1961, Peters has worked his way toward the top. Until the recent strike fiasco, the 59 year old had received high marks for his instincts, tactical skill and ability to play the game of power politics. Even though Zwickel opposed his candidacy as chairman back in April, Peters was able to mobilize forces among the rank and file and prevail against his own boss.

But the failed action in eastern Germany for a 35-hour week looked like it could mark the end of his sparkling career. Even those in his own camp criticized him sharply for dragging out a strike that proved highly unpopular with businesses, the government and even the public. Zwickel had accused Peters, who is in charge of collective bargaining, of misleading his colleagues about the effects of the strike, which led to shutdowns of auto plants in western Germany. Numerous influential union members besides Zwickel pushed for him to resign from his deputy position and withdraw his candidacy for the leadership post.

Peters ignored such entreaties and sat the leadership storm out, working in the background to gather his forces around him. It was a strategy that worked in the end.

Long-Term Effects

It is not clear, however, what Peters' victory will mean for the Germany's second-largest union in the long run. The ascent of a traditionalist could have a negative effect on the German union movement as a whole, say labor analysts.

The traditional industry-wide collective-bargaining agreements that German unions have spearheaded for decades are coming under fire as being too inflexible for today's economy. Some companies are choosing to opt out of collective bargaining agreements, preferring to bypass union leaders and negotiate with workers directly.

Unions are also suffering from massive membership losses and are increasingly losing their standing among the public, who perceive them as stubbornly blocking structural reform that might pull Germany out of its three years of economic stagnation. Calls for union reform and modernization have been on the increase.