Labor Unions
in Disarray
On November 9, 1940, the labor unions of workers and management were officially dissolved. Some unions expected the "social organization of the professions" theoretically allowed by the Labor Charter, and along with their federations and local and departmental unions they temporarily escaped from closure. This did not include the civil servants union, which was dissolved on October 15, 1940 and replaced by professional associations. But rivalries between Vichy factions stalled the creation of a framework for employees through the lone official party. Despite the adoption of the Labor Charter in October 1941 and the creation of single unions in August 1942, problems of labor organization that previously were temporary became permanent. After the German-Soviet pact was signed, the formerly unified members du PCF were banned from membership in the CGT. These victims of anti-communist crackdowns became involved early on in clandestine action, creating popular committees that substituted for union chapters. The dissolution of the unions prompted the establishment of two opposing structures. The union coordinating committee supported Labor Minister René Belin and promoted union corporatism. The committee of economic and union studies, which had authored the Manifeste des 12, a tract signed by 9 ex-confederation members in the CGT and 3 Christian union members, declared that they renounced the Vichy government. All three labor union categories present during the Occupation called for action using what remained of union organizations. Boundaries between the legal, the illegal, and the clandestine were often porous, and strange ways of continuing to operate gradually developed.
