# Swedish Trade Union Confederation

The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Swedish: Landsorganisationen i Sverige ; literally "The National Organisation in Sweden"), commonly referred to as LO (Swedish: ), is a national trade union centre, an umbrella organisation for fourteen Swedish trade unions that organise mainly "blue-collar" workers. The Confederation, which gathers around 1.5 million employees out of Sweden's 10 million people population, was founded in 1898 by blue-collar unions on the initiative of the 1897 Scandinavian Labour Congress and the Swedish Social Democratic Party, which almost exclusively was made up by trade unions. In 2019 union density of Swedish blue-collar workers was 60%, a decline by seventeen percentage points since 2006 when blue-collar union density was 77%. A strong contributing factor was the considerably raised fees to union unemployment funds in January 2007 made by the new centre-right government.

## Organisation

The fourteen affiliates of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation span both the private and the public sector. The member unions are fully independent, with the role of the Confederation limited to the co-ordination of wage bargaining, international activities, trade union education and other areas. Another important task is to promote the organisation's views to decision-makers and the general public. It also has representatives on the governing bodies of many government authorities. The Confederation is also responsible for research and signing labour market insurance schemes. The member unions, however, carry the responsibility for the administration of the unemployment insurance funds.
While its Danish sister organisation, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions, cut its formal ties to the country's Social Democratic party in 1995, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation maintains a strong cooperation with the Social Democrats. Although the organisations are independent from each other, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation has a representative on the party's executive committee elected by the Party Congress. Also, both the Confederation and the member unions contribute substantial amounts of money to the party.
Until 1987 there was a system of collective membership in the Social Democratic Party for members in the confederation, in which the local union could apply for membership in the Social Democratic Party, effectively enrolling all its members into the Social Democratic Party. (An individual could decline to be part of this collective membership.)
In 1956 social democratic newspaper Stockholms-Tidningen was acquired by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation. Until recently, it owned 50.1% of the evening newspaper Aftonbladet, the largest daily newspaper in Scandinavia (as of 2005). As of 2012, the organisation owns 9% of the newspaper. The organisation bought Aftonbladet in 1956 but sold off 49.9 percent to the Norwegian media company Schibsted on 2 May 1996.
The number of member unions has been reduced by mergers. Most recently the Forest and Wood Workers' Union and the Graphic Workers' Union merged into the single GS Union on 1 June 2009.

## Affiliates
### Current affiliates

Membership of LO affiliates (31 December 2018) :
| Union | Abbreviation | Founded | Men | Women | Total | Change (2017) |
| Swedish Building Workers' Union | Byggnads | 1949 | 77 512 | 1 218 | 78 730 | 409 |
| Swedish Electricians' Union | SEF | 1906 | 18 518 | 456 | 18 974 | 333 |
| Swedish Building Maintenance Workers' Union | Fastighets | 1936 | 13 624 | 12 700 | 26 324 | 718 |
| GS | GS | 2009 | 31 987 | 6 861 | 38 848 | 1 096 |
| Swedish Commercial Employees' Union | Handels | 1906 | 45 665 | 77 672 | 123 337 | 1 001 |
| Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union | HRF | 1918 | 10 949 | 16 017 | 26 966 | 921 |
| IF Metall | IF Metal | 2006 | 200 292 | 46 543 | 246 835 | 305 |
| Swedish Municipal Workers' Union | Kommunal | 1910 | 108 426 | 391 728 | 500 154 | 7 333 |
| Swedish Food Workers' Union | Livs | 1922 | 15 317 | 8 041 | 23 358 | 1 062 |
| Swedish Painters' Union | Målarna | 1887 | 9 833 | 1 277 | 11 110 | 47 |
| Swedish Paper Workers' Union | Pappers | 1920 | 11 722 | 2 190 | 13 912 | 370 |
| Swedish Union for Service and Communications Employees | Seko | 1970 | 53 981 | 18 175 | 72 156 | 960 |
| Swedish Musicians' Union | SMF | 1907 | 1 805 | 469 | 2 274 | 13 |
| Swedish Transport Workers' Union | Transport | 1897 | 41 494 | 8 343 | 49 837 | 1 889 |
| TOTAL | | | 641 125 | 591 690 | 1 232 815 | 15 575 |
| | | | 52% | 48% | | 1.25% |

### Former affiliates

| Union | Abbreviation | Founded | Left | Reason not affiliated | Membership (1910) | Membership (1954) |
| Employees' Union of State Power Stations | KPF | 1921 | 1970 | Merged into SEKO | N/A | 1,173 |
| State Hospital Personnel Union | SSF | 1908 | 1967 | Merged into Kommunal | 347 | 7,928 |
| Stockholm Union of Sculptors | | 1896 | 1910 | Dissolved | 32 | N/A |
| Swedish Agricultural Workers' Union | SLF | 1908 | 2001 | Merged into Kommunal | 1,752 | 38,980 |
| Swedish Bakery and Confectionery Workers' Union | Bageri | 1896 | 1922 | Merged into Livs | 3,168 | N/A |
| Swedish Boilermakers' Union | SDF | 1903 | 1948 | Merged into Fabriks | 154 | N/A |
| Swedish Bookbinders' Union | SBbaf | 1893 | 1973 | Merged into GF | 1,176 | 11,391 |
| Swedish Brewery Industry Workers' Union | SBiaf | 1899 | 1965 | Merged into Livs | 2,045 | 7,939 |
| Swedish Bricklayers' Union | Murare | 1890 | 1961 | Merged into Byggnads | 4,082 | 15,594 |
| Swedish Building Wood Workers' Union | Btaf | 1924 | 1949 | Merged into Byggnads | N/A | N/A |
| Swedish Butchers' Union | Slakteri | 1904 | 1922 | Merged into Livs | 321 | N/A |
| Swedish Chimney Sweeps' Union | SSf | 1919 | 1981 | Merged into Kommunal | N/A | 963 |
| Swedish Civil Administration's Employees' Union | CPF | 1905 | 1970 | Merged into SEKO | 220 | 6,676 |
| Swedish Clothing Workers' Union | SBaf | 1889 | 1972 | Merged into Beklädnads | 2,091 | 37,959 |
| Swedish Cooperage Union | Tunnbinderi | 1892 | 1936 | Merged into Trä | 314 | N/A |
| Swedish Defence Forces Civilian Employees' Union | FCPF | 1917 | 1970 | Merged into SEKO | N/A | 20,016 |
| Swedish Factory Workers' Union | Fabriks | 1891 | 1993 | Merged into IF | 20,195 | 63,086 |
| Swedish Forest and Wood Workers' Union | Skogs- o Trä | 1998 | 2009 | Merged into GS | N/A | N/A |
| Swedish Forest Workers' Union | SSAF | 1918 | 1998 | Merged into Skogs- o Trä | N/A | 36,486 |
| Swedish Foundry Workers' Union | Gjutare | 1893 | 1964 | Merged into Metall | 2,588 | 11,408 |
| Swedish Gilders' and Glaziers' Union | Förgylleri o Glas | 1900 | 1913 | Dissolved | 282 | N/A |
| Swedish Graphic Workers' Union | GF | 1973 | 2009 | Merged into GS | N/A | N/A |
| Swedish Industrial Union | IF | 1993 | 2006 | Merged into IF Metall | N/A | N/A |
| Swedish Hairdressers' Union | FAF | 1906 | 1989 | Merged into Handels | 46 | 4,407 |
| Swedish Hat and Fur Workers' Union | Hatt o Päls | 1922 | 1933 | Merged into SBaf | N/A | N/A |
| Swedish Hat Workers' Union | Hatt | 1903 | 1922 | Merged into Hatt o Päls | 117 | N/A |
| Swedish Lithographic Union | Litograf | 1904 | 1973 | Merged into GF | 240 | 4,712 |
| Swedish Metalworkers' Union | Metall | 1888 | 2006 | Merged into IF Metall | 30,826 | 234,157 |
| Swedish Miners' Union | Gruv | 1895 | 1994 | Merged into Metall | 2,442 | 11,939 |
| Swedish Post Union | SPF | 1886 | 1970 | Merged into SEKO | 2,658 | 17,986 |
| Swedish Prison Employees' Union | Vårdpers | 1906 | 1970 | Merged into SEKO | 496 | 1,557 |
| Swedish Pulp Operators' Union | SP | 1920 | 1946 | Merged into Pappers | N/A | N/A |
| Swedish Railway Employees' Union | SJMF | 1899 | 1970 | Merged into SEKO | 18,022 | 64,834 |
| Swedish Road Workers' Union | SVaf | 1914 | 1970 | Merged into SEKO | N/A | 16,640 |
| Swedish Saddlemakers' and Upholsterers' Union | SSoT | 1890 | 1962 | Dissolved | 666 | 5,573 |
| Swedish Sailors' Union | SSF | 1932 | 1996 | Merged into SEKO | N/A | 14,487 |
| Swedish Saw Mill Industry Workers Union | Sågverks | 1897 | 1949 | Merged into SSAF | 3,732 | N/A |
| Swedish Sheet Metal Workers' Union | SBOP | 1893 | 2000 | Merged into Byggnads | 1,512 | 3,505 |
| Swedish Shoe and Leather Workers' Union | SSoL | 1888 | 1972 | Merged into Beklädnads | 3,528 | 10,882 |
| Swedish Social Insurance Employees' and Insurance Agents' Union | FF | 1918 | 2002 | Disaffiliated | N/A | 7,947 |
| Swedish Stone Industry Workers' Union | Sten | 1897 | 1970 | Dissolved | 3,053 | 5,328 |
| Swedish Stucco Workers' Union | Stuckatör | 1904 | 1948 | Dissolved | 53 | N/A |
| Swedish Tele Union | SvT | 1901 | 1970 | Merged into SEKO | 705 | 20,718 |
| Swedish Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Union | Beklädnads | 1972 | 1993 | Merged into IF | N/A | N/A |
| Swedish Textile Workers' Union | Textil | 1898 | 1972 | Merged into Beklädnads | 3,443 | 41,864 |
| Swedish Tile and Slab Workers' Union | SKoP | 1891 | 1946 | Merged into Fabriks | 428 | N/A |
| Swedish Tobacco Industry Workers' Union | Tobaks | 1889 | 1964 | Merged into Livs | 1,910 | 1,784 |
| Swedish Typographers' Union | Typograf | 1886 | 1973 | Merged into GF | 4,022 | 15,804 |
| Swedish Wood Industry Workers' Union | Trä | 1924 | 1998 | Merged into Skogs- o Trä | N/A | 60,321 |
| Swedish Wood Workers' Union | Trä | 1889 | 1924 | Dissolved | 7,972 | N/A |
| Union of Waiters of the Göteborgssystem in Stockholm | GSSF | 1905 | 1910 | Dissolved | 125 | N/A |
| United Unions | DFF | 1905 | 1962 | Dissolved | 1,707 | 14,687 |

## List of chairmen

* Fredrik Sterky, 1898–1900
* Herman Lindqvist, 1900–1920
* Arvid Thorberg, 1920–1930
* Edvard Johanson, 1930–1936
* Albert Forslund, February–September 1936
* August Lindberg, 1936–1947
* Axel Strand, 1947–1956
* Arne Geijer, 1956–1973
* Gunnar Nilsson, 1973–1983
* Stig Malm, 1983–1993
* Bertil Jonsson, 1994–2000
* Wanja Lundby-Wedin, 2000—2012
* Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson, 2012–2020
* Susanna Gideonsson, 2020–2024
* Johan Lindholm, 2024–present