Sören, you've already worked as a trade union officer at IG Metall Berlin. Tell us a little about it.

I did organizing and rank-and-file structure work at IG Metall Berlin in 2019 and 2020. Back then, I was already working with many colleagues from companies in the digital sector. Together with Patrick Hesse from the Berlin-Brandenburg-Saxony (BBS) regional office and Thomas Weber for example, I worked with colleagues at CARIAD, VW's software and development company, back then we established first activist’s structures in the drive for their first collective agreement.

What do you find particularly exciting about the digital economy project?

I'm fascinated by the opportunity to do organizing thorougly for the first time in the digital sector. In Berlin there have been efforts for more than 15 years to understand this sector and unionize it. But those who have worked with employees in this sector rarely have had backup. The topic of tech work had a rather exotic status. Now, for the first time, we are tackling it with a lot of effort, a large team and a clear vision of what we want as IG Metall Berlin. With the digital team, we can additionally find answers to questions about the intensive transformation process of our working world for the entire organisation.
I also really enjoy working with the often interesting international scene in the digital economy. You learn something new every day and get to hear a wide variety of life stories and work biographies, that already makes the interaction with workers from the sector exciting. And even if the so-called “tech workers” are not necessarily considered a clientele that is traditionally close to the union or easy to handle: once people catch fire for the union, they become passionate about it and start to modify and implement their own image of IG Metall to their company – be it culturally, in terms or communication or visually. That is usually a totally exciting process to be part of.

How did you come to join IG Metall?

I grew up in a union family, union membership can be traced back to my great-grandparents. Even as a child, I often went to EVG seniors' events with my grandfather, a railroad unionist. Things like that shaped me from early on. I then became a member of IG Metall during my apprenticeship in the steel industry and during my time at university I was involved in voluntary work with our sister union ver.di.

What did you do professionally before joining IG Metall?

After my apprenticeship, I studied philosophy and sociology. Throughout my studies, I was active in trade union youth education and traveled a lot as a educator for the youth sections of DGB, ver.di and, last but not least, for our IG Metall – most of the time in vocational schools. During this time, I learned how to get people excited about the union. It was therefore great when the opportunity came up to join the organizing section of IG Metall Berlin back in 2019.

What are you focusing on in the digital team?

I'm really looking forward to returning to CARIAD. I was already able to support the colleagues there in 2020 during the integration of the R&D departments of the VW brands into the CARIAD entity. At that time, there was not quite this affinity with IG Metall that we have today, many colleagues were rather distanced. I remember that many were afraid that their work arrangements could become too bureaucratized by the collective agreement. Breaking down these barriers was therefore a great experience. I'm looking forward to working with them again as I’ll be the responsible union rep for CARIAD together with my colleague Sandra Rullich. I´m also currently involved in setting up a number of works councils in the digital economy. However, building up rank-and-file union structures in our companies will remain the primary focus of my work.

What builds you up? Where and how do you recharge your batteries?

Reading, weightlifting, traveling and going to punk shows only to name a few activities. Friends and like-minded people are the ones that help me recharge my batteries and, above all, by learning new things. Currently I am learning Spanish, for example. Although English is generally sufficient as a business language in digital companies, knowing other languages helps to break down barriers with colleagues even faster.