André Bergeron
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| Full name | General Confederation of Labor - Workers' Force |
|---|---|
| Native name | Confédération Générale du Travail - Force Ouvrière |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Members | 300,000 |
| Affiliation | ITUC, ETUC, TUAC |
| Key people | Jean-Claude Mailly, secretary general |
| Office location | Paris, France |
| Country | France |
| Website | www.force-ouvriere.fr |
The General Confederation of Labor - Workers' Force (French: Confédération Générale du Travail - Force Ouvrière, or simply Force Ouvrière, FO), is one of the five major union confederations in France. In terms of following, it is the third behind the CGT and the CFDT.
Force Ouvrière was founded in 1948 by former members of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) who denounced the dominance of the French Communist Party over that federation. Various sources, including former CIA officials, have suggested that this split was instigated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and that FO had received funds from the CIA through the American Federation of Labor (AFL)'s Irving Brown.
FO is a member of the European Trade Union Confederation. Its leader is Jean-Claude Mailly.
After World War II, members of the French Communist Party attained considerable influence within the CGT, controlling 21 of its 30 federations. Senior figures such as Robert Bothereau and the former secretary general, Léon Jouhaux, opposed this development. These opponents denounced Communist influence as a threat to the independent position of trade unions, a principle enshrined in the 1906 Charte d'Amiens. They founded a paper, Force ouvrière.
In 1947, a general strike, fought against the backdrop of the developing Cold War, divided the CGT. The Communist ministers were excluded from the government led by Paul Ramadier, a Socialist. In this context, the internal CGT opposition created a new trade-union confederation, called FO. The majority of its founders were from the socialist ranks.
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Wikipedia