International Secretariat of Stone Masons

The International Secretariat of Stone Masons, also known as the International Secretariat of Stone Workers, was a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing stone masons, quarry workers and paviours.

The unions of stone masons in Austria, Germany, Norway, and Sweden, began working together in 1898. In 1903, they decided to form an international federation, which was launched at a conference in Zurich, where its headquarters were also located. In 1923, the small International Secretariat of Stone Setters joined the stone masons, and by 1925 the federation had 14 affiliates, with a total of 108,455 members, growing to 127,500 by 1935.[1][2]

Throughout the federation's existence, it was led by secretary Robert Kolb.[1][2] He retired on 1 January 1947, when the federation merged into the International Federation of Building and Wood Workers.[3]

Affiliates

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As of 1922, the following unions were affiliated:[4]

Union Country Affiliated membership
Austria 8,500
Union of Belgian Stoneworkers Belgium 2,580
Czechoslovakia 5,700
Denmark 644
Finland 3,000
France 3,200
Central Union of Stone Workers of Germany Germany 62,189
Hungary 3,500
Italy 2,787
Netherlands 1,253
Norwegian Union of Stone Industry Workers Norway 750
Serbia ?
Swedish Stone Workers' Union Sweden 3,118
Swiss Construction Workers' Union Switzerland 1,800
Uruguay 2,500
Granite Cutters' International Association United States 10,000

References

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  1. ^ a b Sassenbach, Johannes (1926). Twenty-five years of international trade unionism. Amsterdam: International Federation of Trade Unions. p. 112.
  2. ^ a b Repertoire des organisations internationales. Geneva: League of Nations. 1936. p. 259.
  3. ^ "Robert Kolb". Tätigkeitsbericht: 3. 1949.
  4. ^ The American Labor Yearbook. New York: Rand School of Social Science. 1924. pp. 272–273.