| Native name | Zenkoku ippan tōkyō zeneraru yunion |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 2010 |
| Country | Japan |
| Website | Tozen Website |
Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオン Zenkoku ippan tōkyō zeneraru yunion) is a Japanese labor union. Known as the Tokyo General Union, or Tozen (東ゼン Tōzen), was formed in 2010, and is one of few foreign-led multiethnic unions in Japan. It is a general union, and thus does not restrict membership by industry.[1]
However, Tozen's members tend to be from the publishing, banking, and foreign language teaching industries, with most members located in the Kanto region.
The Executive President is Louis Carlet. [2]
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Some unions, according to their own webpages, trace their roots back to 1956, with the founding of Jōnan Chūshō Gōdō Rōdōkumiai (城南中小合同労働組合).
In 1994, the National Union of General Workers Tokyo South was formed, then renamed NUGW Nambu in 2003. In 2004, the Foreign Workers Caucus was formed inside Nambu, which would eventually come to have 11 local branches.
On April 25, 2010, six of these branches voted to separate from Nambu and form Tozen. This was done, which led to the FWC within Nambu suspending its operations.
Tozen obtained official corporate registration in July 2010.
While Tozen uses General Union in its name, it has no relationship to the General Union, Fukuoka General Union or the National Union of General Unions.
Tozen has a number of branches at different workplaces, including: The Japan Times, Linguaphone, Philippine National Bank, Syndicat des Employés de l’Institut franco-japonais, Lyceé franco-japonais, Sophia University, and Simul Academy. Tozen also represents ALTs at various companies as well as university workers.
Tozen is an activist union and has taken action through the courts and industrial relations bureaucracy a number of times.