News - 28.02.2025

70 Years Since VR Became a Trade Union

On February 28, 1955, the annual general meeting of the Verzlunarmannafélag Reykjavíkur was held. This meeting would not be particularly noteworthy except for one crucial decision: an amendment to the association’s bylaws was approved, stipulating that only wage earners could be members. This decision marked a turning point in VR’s history, as it officially became a trade union for wage earners, with employers leaving more than 60 years after VR was founded.

Verzlunarmannafélag Reykjavíkur was founded in 1891 by both wage earners and employers with the goal of strengthening solidarity within the retail sector. The idea of limiting VR’s membership to wage earners was first proposed at a members' meeting in 1950, when the board was urged to “prepare the division of the association so that from now on, only wage earners will remain in VR,” as stated in Afmælisrit VR, a publication released for the union’s centenary in 1991.

There were differing opinions within VR on how to proceed, with debates on how VR‘s assets should be divided if such a change were made. Eventually, the VR board and a committee representing employers reached an agreement to present a proposal at the 1955 annual meeting regarding the division of assets, contingent on the employers' withdrawal from the union. The proposal read as follows:

"The meeting approves the transfer of the association’s property at Tjarnargata to Verzlunarskóli Íslands, along with a 400,000 ISK bond with a 10-year term, secured by a mortgage on the association’s property at Vonarstræti 4, ranking immediately after existing encumbrances. The board of the association is authorized to sign the deed of transfer and other related documents.

This decision on the aforementioned asset transfer is conditional upon the approval of amendments to the bylaws stipulating that employers shall be removed from the association’s membership register."

At the time, VR’s Chairman, Guðjón Einarsson, stated that the board believed it was appropriate that “as employers leave the association of their own free will, VR should make some contribution to a cultural institution that everyone can support.” Verslunarskóli Íslands had been founded by VR and the Merchants’ Association in 1905 to provide education in the field of commerce.

After discussions and exchanges of views, the proposal was approved by a large majority. Today, February 28, 2025, marks 70 years since VR became an exclusive trade union for wage earners.

VR Then and Now

At VR’s founding meeting in 1891, 33 people joined the association, mostly retail clerks but also some employers. At the time, membership was open to anyone working in retail or managing a retail business. Today, VR has approximately 40,000 members, consisting of wage earners working in various jobs across the general labor market.