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to approve contracts or to call strikes; however, they are obligated to keep the central organization informed of important wage negotiations and disputes. If, without the prior consent of the LO, a union initiates a strike which involves more than 3% of its membership, its right to financial assistance from the LO during the conflict is forfeited. The Metal Workers remain the largest affiliate, with 370,146 members in 1970, while the Municipal Workers held second place with 231,247 members. The next four affiliates in order of size are the Building Workers (177,353), the Government Workers (163,351), the Commercial Workers (117,159), and the Factory Workers (90,195). Local level coordination among affiliates and between them and the LO is maintained by 254 regional labor councils throughout the country.
The governing bodies in the LO are the congress, the general council, and the executive board. The LO congress, in which each affiliated union has at least one delegate, ultimately determines policy for the LO. Its 300 delegates elected by the national unions meet only once every 5 years, however, and then only for a brief session. In the long intervals between congresses the general council, composed of about 140 delegates elected by the affiliated unions, decides policy. It meets once or twice a year, although additional meetings may be called. Two of its principal functions are the discussion of collective bargaining issues and the formulation of wage recommendations to the unions. The real power in the LO is the executive board, which consists of three full-time LO officials — the president, vice president, and secretary, who sit ex officio — and 10 part-time members. The part-time members are elected by the congress for 5-year terms; the three top officers, also, by definition, congress designees, sit for indefinite terms. The executive board, which meets at least once a week, is primarily concerned with investigating and settling conflicts between affiliated unions, assisting and participating in collective bargaining by these unions, and representing the LO on various governmental and private bodies.
The primary activity of the LO is to represent the interests of the workers vis-a-vis management. This function is especially important in the case of the LO because of the highly centralized bargaining process in the labor market and the large proportion of that market for which the LO acts as a bargaining agent. In addition, the LO is engaged in a number of important ancillary activities. For example, it maintains a large research staff of expert who provide the detailed studies of economic conditions on which much of the bargaining process rests. The LO is also engaged in educational and informational programs. It operates four training schools, which together can accommodate 556 trainees at a time. The cost of these training programs came to SKr15.8 million in 1968. The official organ of the LO, Trade Union Movement, is published biweekly and goes to the union leadership throughout the country.
Although the LO is a private organization, it plays such an important role in society that it has come to be regarded as semipublic in nature. As such, the LO is frequently called upon by the executive branch, legislative committees, and commissions of inquiry to provide information or to express its opinion on a wide variety of matters. The LO manages some public funds, such as unemployment insurance. Perhaps its most important link with public authority, however ,is a product of its special connection with the ruling Social Democratic Party. When the LO was established, members were required to join the party — a stipulation that was formally dropped in 1909. But this abolition did not diminish in any way the cooperation and ties which exist between these two organizations. The LO and its member unions provide the major financial support and membership of the party. About 600,000 LO members are collectively affiliated with the Social Democrats through their unions.
The Central Organization of Salaried Employees (TCO) represents the interests of white-collar workers. The TCO was founded in 1944, a latecomer compared to the other major labor organizations; however, it has grown with remarkable rapidity, almost tripling in size within two decades. The TCO grew by 6% in 1970 to reach a total of 657,725 members, excluding pensioners (including pensioners the total membership is almost 720,000). Of the total membership, 56.6% are men, 58.3% are in private industry, 26.7% work for the national government, and 15% for local government. The TCO has organized about 70% of all white-collar workers, and as technological development continues to cause more and more workers to trade in blue collars for white ones, its size and influence are likely to continue to grow. The TCO is composed of 23 affiliated unions, which range in size from the Swedish Union of Clerical and Technical Employees in Industry (202,951 members in 1970) and the Swedish Association of Supervisors and Foremen (66,245) to the Swedish Union of Organists and Choirmasters (2,100).
The organization of the TCO resembles that of the LO, and there is a similar strong tendency toward centralization. Policy is made mainly by the triennial congress of 200 delegates, who are chosen by affiliated
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