analysis
“Generation Z” of those under 30 wants to work less and get good wages. Actually good omens for unions. They are aggressively recruiting young people – and are faced with many question marks. By E. Atif, M. Böff and A. Leimbach.
“Generation Z” of those under 30 wants to work less and get good wages. Actually good omens for unions. They are aggressively recruiting young people – and are faced with many question marks.
An unusual break at the Heinrich Kleyer vocational school in Frankfurt: sharply at 9 a.m. two young union activists stand in front of the playground and energetically distribute flyers. By calling for “more wages, more free time, more security” they are trying to win trainees over to the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB). On May 1st you could take to the streets with them and demonstrate for better working conditions.
“You often hear about unions, but I don’t really think they can improve my working conditions,” says a trainee during the distribution campaign. A young woman says: “I think campaigns like this are good because we hear the basics about trade unions at school, but they make me realize how I can be helped in concrete terms.”
For DGB youth representative Meike Reicharts, it is essential to actively approach young people. “We want to show them that they are not alone, but that we can fight together for their rights,” says DGB youth representative Meike Reichartz tagesschau.de. “Many people don’t realize that when they become members they not only become part of an organization, but can also have a direct influence on their working conditions.”
Membership growth at unions
The DGB includes almost six million union members. These are spread across eight unions that cover all industries and economic sectors in Germany. Membership numbers are increasing in many unions.
The service union ver.di says it has had “the most successful year to date” since it was founded in 2001. Around 190,000 new members were recruited in 2023, said ver.di spokesman Jan Jurczyk tagesschau.de.
The number of members rose to almost 1.9 million. Ver.di is the second largest union in Germany behind IG Metall. According to a spokesman, the latter is seeing more popularity among new admissions than it has been for a long time. Last year there were around 129,000 entries.
“The collective bargaining agreements are usually better, and recruitment is also more successful because people have become more self-confident,” says Jurczyk. According to the employer-related Institute of the German Economy (IW) in Cologne, the strategy of the service union in particular is “organizing around conflict. The aim is to win members through tough collective bargaining disputes.”
Demographic change as Challenge
However, at the same time, many members are leaving the unions – around 150,000 people at ver.di last year. As with other institutions, demographic change is also noticeable here. Many people joined in the 1970s or 1980s, have been union members for most of their working lives, and are now nearing retirement.
So the question arises: How many young people will move up when the so-called “baby boomer” generation retires and thus terminates their union membership.
Members come and go faster
The type of membership has already changed, says ver.di spokesman Jurczyk. In the past, members often stayed for decades, whereas today many only join for a year or two to solve specific problems, such as setting up a works council. Then some would leave again.
Jurczyk sums it up like this: “People come in more easily, but they also come out more easily.” Despite prejudices in society about the work ethic of “Generation Z”, trade unions like ver.di have not observed a decrease in commitment among young people, on the contrary: “They are awake, attentive, controversial and hard-working.”
Ver.di is convinced that the shortage of skilled workers, the trend towards more commitment, but also inflation and rising rents will continue to motivate people to join unions in the future. Many are less afraid of a possible job loss, they are less deterred and are therefore more committed.
Greater focus on young people
However, it remains uncertain whether the increase in membership at ver.di will become a long-term trend. IG Metall also knows: “The shortage of skilled workers fundamentally strengthens the position of employees, but is not a sure-fire success for unions,” said a spokesman. It is still about systematically addressing people in the companies and convincing them to become members.
Many unions are trying to appeal more to younger people, be it via social media and flyers or at vocational schools, nursing schools or universities. According to its own information, ver.di alone was able to gain around 50,000 new members between the ages of 18 and 29 last year.
There are different strategies. The chemical union IG BCE, for example, “stands for cooperative negotiations,” judges the IW Cologne. They are trying to attract new members through so-called bonus regulations for union members. “That’s difficult because employers are often skeptical about it.”
Collective bargaining coverage has fallen
In order to be prepared for the future, unions must be closely networked with works councils and thus have access to the company, according to the IW Cologne. However, it also shows that in some cases there is no need for unions at all. “In many companies, the working atmosphere is good, the working conditions are perceived as fair and internal conflicts are resolved amicably between management and the workforce.”
The IW Cologne considers the unions’ efforts to demand government support to strengthen collective bargaining to be of little use. “More generally binding collective agreements reduce the incentive to become a union member rather than increase it.”
The background is demands that politicians create greater binding force in collective agreements by law – also in order to reduce the wage differences that still exist between East and West. “In fact, collective bargaining coverage is relatively low not only in East Germany, but also in West Germany,” writes the Munich Ifo Institute. If you want to increase collective bargaining coverage, you first have to increase the incentives, for example by taking greater account of differences in the performance of East German companies in the collective agreements, according to the Ifo.
The two DGB trade unionists in Frankfurt are satisfied after their half-hour distribution campaign. Most people accepted the flyers and there were also interesting conversations.
“The earlier young people know what rights they have and how they can stand up for them, the better they will be able to assert themselves at work without being intimidated by their boss or accepting everything,” says a youth representative of the trade union federation.
At least they got some of the students thinking: “It made me realize again that you have more power when you organize and come together for a cause,” said one. If there are very specific concerns at work, he could imagine joining a union. “But if I feel fundamentally dissatisfied, my first thought would be to change jobs.”