International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations

The federation was founded in 1920 with the merger of the International Federation of Bakers, Pastry Cooks and Allied Workers' Associations, the International Federation of Meat Workers, and the International Federation of Brewery Workers.[1] Originally named the International Union of Food and Allied Workers' Associations (IUFAWA), its affiliates were all European until 1950, but it then rapidly expanded worldwide.[2]

In 1958, the International Federation of Tobacco Workers merged into the federation, which renamed itself as the International Union of Food, Drinks and Tobacco Workers' Associations, then in 1961 the International Union of Hotel, Restaurant and Bar Workers merged in, and the federation became the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF). By 1978, the federation's affiliates had a total of 2.1 million members.[2][3]

During the 1980s, the IUF campaigned against Coca-Cola following the assassination of union leaders in Guatemala. In 1988, the IUF was the first international trade union to sign a global framework agreement with the French food multinational BSN (Danone). In 1994, the International Federation of Plantation, Agricultural and Allied Workers merged into the IUF, which took its present name. In 2006, most of the former affiliates of the World Federation of Agriculture and Food Workers joined the federation.[4]

In 2019, the IUF was composed of 422 member organisations in 127 countries, representing more than 10 million workers.

The organization represents workers employed in agriculture, the preparation and manufacture of food and beverages, hotels, restaurants and catering services and in tobacco processing.

The international headquarters of IUF is located in Geneva, Switzerland. Within the organization, there are autonomous regional organizations for Africa, Asia/Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America.

As of December 2019, the IUF has the following affiliates:[5]

• IUF official website
• IUF Facebook page
• IUF Latin America website
• On the history and policy of the IUF—comprehensive information on the IUF and its predecessors in PDF (3MB): a brief history of the IUF, an interview with Dan Gallin (General Secretary of the IUF 1968-97) and an inventory of records and reports of the IUF and its predecessors in the library of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).
• Interview with Dan Galin, IUF General Secretary 1968-1997—web version of interview printed in FES history document.