The
Red International of Labour Unions , widely known as the
Profintern , was an international body established with the aim of co-ordinating Communist activities within
trade unionA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
s. It was intended to act as a counterweight to the influence of the 'Amsterdam International', the Social Democratic International Federation of Trade Unions (branded as the 'Yellow International' by the
CominternThe Comintern was an international Communist organization founded in Moscow in March 1919...
). Its formation was proposed by
Grigory ZinovievGrigory Yevseevich Zinoviev was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet Communist politician.-Before the 1917 Revolution :Gregory Zinoviev was born in Yelizavetgrad , Ukraine,...
at the Congress of the
Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik)The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the ruling and only legal political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the...
in March 1920, but the founding conference, attended by national delegations from a large number of countries, did not take place until July 1921.
The
Red International of Labour Unions , widely known as the
Profintern , was an international body established with the aim of co-ordinating Communist activities within
trade unionA trade union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas, such as working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts with employers...
s. It was intended to act as a counterweight to the influence of the 'Amsterdam International', the Social Democratic International Federation of Trade Unions (branded as the 'Yellow International' by the
CominternThe Comintern was an international Communist organization founded in Moscow in March 1919...
). Its formation was proposed by
Grigory ZinovievGrigory Yevseevich Zinoviev was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet Communist politician.-Before the 1917 Revolution :Gregory Zinoviev was born in Yelizavetgrad , Ukraine,...
at the Congress of the
Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik)The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the ruling and only legal political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the...
in March 1920, but the founding conference, attended by national delegations from a large number of countries, did not take place until July 1921. The full-time secretariat of RILU consisted of the Spaniard,
Andres NinAndreu Nin Pérez, was a Spanish Communist revolutionary.-Early life:...
, the Russian trade unionist
Mikhail TomskyMikhail Pavlovich Tomsky was a factory worker, trade unionist and Bolshevik leader. He was the Soviet leader of the All Russian Central Council of Trade Unions.Tomsky attempted to form a trade union at his factory in St. Petersburg resulting in his dismissal...
and General Secretary
Solomon A. LozovskySolomon Lozovsky was a prominent Bolshevik revolutionary, a high official in various parts of the Soviet government, including as a Presidium member of the All-Union Central Council of Soviet Trade Unions, a Central Committee member of the Communist Party, a member of the Supreme Soviet, a deputy...
.
In addition to its
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
headquarters, RILU established four overseas offices in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
(Central European Bureau),
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, (Latin Bureau),
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
(Balkan Bureau) and the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
(British Bureau). In Britain, the Bureau worked closely with the
National Minority MovementThe National Minority Movement was a British organisation, established in 1924 by the Communist Party of Great Britain, which attempted to organise a radical presence with the existing trade unions...
. North American Communist Parties established the
Workers' Unity LeagueThe Workers' Unity League was created in 1929 as a labour central operated by the Communist Party of Canada on the instructions of the Communist International....
(
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) and the
Trade Union Unity LeagueThe Trade Union Unity League was an industrial union umbrella organization of the Communist Party of the United States between 1929 and 1935...
(United States)
In May 1927, the
Pan Pacific Trade Union SecretariatThe Pan Pacific Trade Union Secretariat was established as the Asia and Pacific branch of the Profintern at a conference in Hankou, China in May 1927. The conference set the headquarters of the PPTU in Shanghai...
was established in Shanghai as the Asia and Pacific branch of the RILU. In 1929, the
Confederación Sindical LatinoamericanaConfederación Sindical Latinoamericana was a Latin American revolutionary trade union confederation 1929-1936, being the Latin American branch of the Red International of Labour Unions. The affiliates of CSLA led significant labour struggles during the period 1935-1936.Trade unions close to RILU...
was formed as the Latin American branch of RILU.
The Profintern was dissolved in 1937.