FINNISH UNIONS AND THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73-00475R000200010001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: October 25, 1967
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

lath Mil CU
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release
1111?altib 330
STAT
OCT? 51367
inrush
Unions and
The CIA
fly Rohm! ituntford
London Observer
lIcisinthi
The United States Cen-
tral Intelligence Agency
has been drawn into the ri-
valry within the Finnish
trade union movement with .
the accusation that the
CIA has.- been providing
flint's for one side. Allega-
tions hnve been circulating
privately for some time,
but now a public accusa-
tion has been made by a
former trade union offi-
cial, Nino Kolionen,
According to Koljonen, the
Confederation of Finnish
Trades Unions (SAJ) has for
some time been receiving a
subsidy of 168,000 dollars
from the CIA. The purpose,
he claims, has been to pro-
long the split in the Finnish
Trade Union movement.
The movement has been
long divided into two fac-
tions. The SAJ is run by
members of the Social Demo-
cratic Party and belongs to
the Internotional Confedera-
tion of Free Trade Unions in
Brussel s: their rival, the
Finnish Trade Union Federa-
tion (SAK), is under Commu-
nist leadership
BREAK
The
?
The SAJ broke away from
the then Finnish Trades Un-
ion Congress in 1958 when the
1 , TUC came under Communist
influence, and since then
there has been a continuous
and running battle between
r
. them and the SAK.
i The division mirrored the
enmity between the Social
Democrats and the Commu-
,oists. But now that both be-
liong to the so-called "popular
front" government (of which
the third member Is the.Can-
ter or Farmers' Party), the
htitagehistri has whnofi ati
least en the surface. There I
have been moves towards a
ret414=
ion .
II uhn wont(' prefer to see I
I CA I
50-Yr 2013/12/18 : CIA-RDP73-00475R000200010001-4
a n anti-Commimist bastion
among the trade?anions. He
further claims that the gen-
eral secretary of the SAJ,
Jankko Rantanen, and the or i
ganizing secretary, Malin ii
A ippinen, have been cooper-1
siting with the CIA, 'Since
they ton disapprove of reunif-
ication.
DISGUISE
According to Koljonen, the
alleged CIA subsidies have
been disguised as originating
from the International Con-
federation of Free Trade
Unions or Scandinavian do-
iinrs. lie says that they take
the form of both outright
Os and loans. Ile claims to
lave written evidence that
Interest has been paid on the
latter.
Understandably, the SAK
have made capital out of Kol-
jonen 's accusations. There
are at present negotiations
between them and the SAJ
for reunification. But little
progress has been made,
Rim pooh oido want; control
of the new organization, and
a working compromise has
not even begun to appear.
SAK spokesmen accept
Koljonen's accusations a s
fact. Some of them apparent-
ly want the SAJ ignored and
ndividual unions absorbed
into the SAK ? an ideal solu-
tion from their point of view,
since it would give the SAK
and the Communist Party
control of the whole Finnish
trade union movement.
ARTICLE
Fienish trade union offi-
cials are suggesting private-
ly that there may be indirect
confirmation o f Koljonen's
accusations in an article by
Thomas Braden in the Los
Angeles Times, which claims
that the CIA has been paying
great attention to trade union
movements abroad.
But the whole affair seems
a counter-blast to long-
standing suspicions that the
SAX has been receiving reg-
'liar help from the Soviet
Union. And it seems that the
kernel of Koljonen's criti-
cism is that Finnish trade
unionists ? whatever their
camp ? take too light a view
of .accepting financial help
from outside.. _
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/12/18: CIA-RDP73-00475R000200010001-4