FRANKFURT, July 21 — The battle to control Germany's most powerful union, IG Metall, appeared to come to an abrupt end today, as the union's longtime chairman, Klaus Zwickel, announced that he would step down early rather than accept his deputy as successor.þþMr. Zwickel, who had planned to retire in October, said he would quit now after failing to derail the candidacy of Jürgen Peters, whom Mr. Zwickel blames for calling IG Metall's disastrous strike in eastern Germany. þþAt a news conference here, Mr. Zwickel, 64, criticized Mr. Peters, saying he ÿat no point exhibited the slightest tendency to accept personal consequencesÿ for the failed strike last month.þþThe feud between IG Metall's leaders has been closely watched because it is seen as part of a broader struggle over the future of organized labor in Europe. The union was forced to drop its campaign for a shorter workweek in the factories of eastern Germany after its hard-nosed negotiating tactics were repudiated by Germans across the political spectrum.þþÿThis isn't just about two union leaders fighting each other,ÿ said Michael Bolle, a political scientist at the Free University of Berlin. ÿIG Metall is undergoing dramatic changes. With the adoption of the euro, its whole bargaining situation changed. It has to think of new strategies.ÿþþOn the face of it, Mr. Peters's apparent victory over Mr. Zwickel would suggest that the union learned little from its recent humiliation. Mr. Peters built his appeal to the rank-and-file members on his militant style.þþIG Metall's executive board seems likely to select Berthold Huber, a more moderate leader who ran the Baden-Württemberg chapter, as vice chairman under Mr. Peters. Both appointments would be ratified at a special conference, which will probably be at the end of August.þþMr. Huber, who earlier pulled out of the race for vice chairman, may take over responsibility for negotiating wage agreements, a job now held by Mr. Peters. þþAnalysts question how Mr. Peters will accept a less confrontational deputy in such a critical post. þþÿIt looks like a messy compromise,ÿ said Klaus F. Zimmermann, the president of the German Institute for Economic Research. ÿMaybe they're doing it because they're not sure who will win ultimately.ÿþþMuch will depend, Mr. Zimmermann said, on a private agreement worked out between Mr. Peters and Mr. Huber, who was once Mr. Zwickel's favored candidate and a rival of Mr. Peters.þþMr. Peters tried to strike a conciliatory note. ÿOur talks and our recommendation,ÿ he said, ÿare from the shared desire to remove tension from the organization and steer it back into quiet waters.ÿþþIG Metall, which represents metal workers, lost 44,000 of its 2.8 million members in the first half of 2003, and nearly a million members in the last decade.þþThe strike in eastern Germany, IG Metall's worst defeat in a labor action since the 1950's, managed to turn even loyal supporters of organized labor against the union. The goal was to use brief strikes to force factories to reduce the workweek to 35 hours from 38, in line with factories in western Germany.þþThe strikes crippled car plants throughout the country by cutting off their supply of components. Volkswagen, BMW and DaimlerChrysler were forced to halt production at a time when their sales were suffering because of the stagnant economy and the strengthening of the euro.þþPublic opinion turned against the strike, which was viewed as ill timed and economically destructive.þþMr. Zwickel argued that Mr. Peters misled IG Metall's board about the length of the strikes, and their likely fallout. He had demanded that Mr. Peters resign. The German government, which has close ties to Mr. Zwickel, also signaled that it would prefer if Mr. Peters did not take control.þþBut Mr. Bolle said Mr. Peters might surprise people. He noted that Mr. Peters is less closely aligned to the Social Democratic Party of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder than Mr. Zwickel. That could be healthy for an organization seeking new ways of doing things.þþÿI'm personally convinced that he is a pragmatist,ÿ Mr. Bolle said. ÿUnder Peters, the union could change its ways.ÿþþFor most observers, however, the spectacle of late-night meetings, dueling news conferences and nasty accusations indicates that despite today's resignation, IG Metall remains an institution in turmoil.þþÿIt's not clear where this union is going,ÿ Mr. Zimmermann said. ÿIt's only clear that it will be less powerful, not more powerful.ÿþþ
Source: NY Times
