Unions write history
 |
 |
The GBI, SMUV, VHTL and unia unions, which merged in October 2004 to form the new Unia trade union, keep central archives that date back to the 1830s. In 2004, after weighing up various options, a decision was made to combine these central archives and present them on permanent loan to the Swiss Social Archives in Zurich. On 7 October 2004 the founding unions of Unia signed an agreement to this effect with the Social Archives. As part of this agreement, the Social Archives also undertakes to take over Unia's archive material.
Social movements and social change
|
 |
The Swiss Social Archives have been documenting social issues, social movements and social change for the past 100 years. Inclusion of the extensive union archives of GBI, SMUV, VHTL and unia represents a milestone in the Social Archives' collection. The files of Unia's founding unions are among the most important sources of Swiss social history and provide a rich fund of historical material which to date has been available to researchers of history and social science only in fragmented form. The archives comprise more than 1000 meters of files on paper, handwritten documents, minutes, annual reports and congress reports, newspapers, brochures and pamphlets, flyers, posters, photographs, film and audio material.
Availability
| |||||
|
Unia was quick to recognise the historical value of its archives and provided financial support for their professional upkeep. Now the Unia archives are under one roof at the Swiss Social Archives, and available to anyone with an interest in social and union history.