Maike Schollenberger: New Verdi boss is fighting for the future for Baden-Württemberg!

Maike Schollenberger: New Verdi boss is fighting for the future for Baden-Württemberg!

The Verdi union in Baden-Württemberg has a new state boss, Maike Schollenberger. The 35-year-old was elected at the state district conference in Leinfelden-Echterdingen with an impressive 96.1 percent of the vote. Schollenberger succeeds Martin Gross, who has headed the state district since 2016 and is now retiring. Her election took place in a setting that attracted around 160 delegates and numerous guests, including Economics Minister Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut and Social Affairs Minister Manne Lucha. According to the Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Schollenberger was the only candidate and was unanimously nominated by the state district executive committee, underscoring her clear support within the union.

Maike Schollenberger, who comes from Markgröningen and trained as a postal clerk, began her career at Verdi in the youth representation and later worked as a union secretary in Stuttgart. Until 2014 she also worked as a letter deliverer at Deutsche Post. Her last position before the election as state leader was as one of two deputies to Martin Gross. The new manager wants to position Verdi as a participatory union and plans to get involved in social movements, particularly in the fight against old-age poverty and right-wing extremism as well as in the climate movement.

Focus on collective bargaining conflicts and social challenges

Schollenberger has major challenges ahead of her: social conflicts are increasing and she expects tougher collective bargaining conflicts due to the growing gap between rich and poor. The Verdi union, which has around 1.9 million members nationwide and over 200,000 members in Baden-Württemberg, advocates for the interests of employees in various industries. These include public services, transport, trade, communications, health, social services as well as post and logistics. The central task remains negotiating collective agreements and organizing strikes and warning strikes to improve working conditions.

At a May rally, Schollenberger had already called for a common fight against “threatening neoliberalism”. Your commitment is also anchored in your private life; She shares an allotment garden with friends and lives in an apartment with a small balcony in Stuttgart. With regard to the professional future of the members, she emphasizes the importance of free time and unpaid care work. Her clear stance and political ambitions mark her as a dynamic and future-oriented union leader who is determined to strengthen Verdi in the coming years.

The Verdi community is looking forward to the coming challenges with tension. Schollenberger not only stands for collective bargaining disputes, but also for a comprehensive political discourse within the union and beyond. Your first goal will be to lay the foundation for a strong and inclusive union that defends the interests of employees in a rapidly changing world of work.