From the 1930s onwards, the Trade Union Youth organizations in several cities handled the union movement’s interdisciplinary youth work, but with little contact across the country.

By Knud Holt Nielsen

The level of activity declined throughout the 1950s, but from the mid-1960s there was a new upswing when the Trade Union Youth branches, together with apprentice unions within the blacksmith union, were the driving force behind the extensive apprentice revolt in 1966.

In 1970, the Trade Union Youth organizations and several of the unions’ apprentice associations formed the National Organization of Apprentices and Young Workers (LLO). From the 1970s to the mid-1980s, Trade Union Youth and LLO were the driving force behind countless demonstrations and action weeks for higher apprentice wages, more housing for young people and better educational conditions. Particularly famous was the apprenticeship movement’s symbol “Red Wilfred”, which was invented for LLO’s week of action in 1973.

Red Wilfred in action, occupying the Ministry of Housing’s property in Løngangsstræde, 1974

At the same time, Trade Union Youth and LLO were central to many labor struggles, especially when employers refused to sign collective agreements. When Hotel og Restauration in 1982 began the fight to force the burger giant McDonalds to sign a collective agreement, it was Trade Union Youth and LLO who stepped in as foot soldiers and picketers.

Read more about the McDonalds conflict.

LLO was formed despite opposition from LO, HK and Metal. In 1972, LO recognized the organization as the youth organization of the trade union movement, but there were still contradictions between the young people in the apprenticeship movement and LO. This was further reinforced by the fact that the Danish Communist Youth was the leading force in the LLO and Trade Union Youth organizations.
In 1976, LO broke off cooperation with LLO and instead formed the Joint Organizations’ Youth Committee. This was the signal for a long and bitter conflict that destroyed large parts of the trade union movement’s youth work. Among other things, large parts of the youth work within a number of unions were simply shut down when the young people continued to insist on being affiliated with LLO. The conflict only really ended when LLO was disbanded in 1988.

The modern apprenticeship movement has long been a largely untold story. Now there is an opportunity to make up for this. The archives of the organizations have been organized and contain materials from 1931 until 1990. They contain extensive material in the form of minutes, correspondence, internal reports, flyers, pamphlets and much more. Among other things, it can shed light on the great youth mobilizations of the 1960s and 1970s, the development of trade union youth work, the conflict between social democrats and communists for power in the trade union movement, and not least the internal power struggles between the left-wing political youth organizations.