Its origins trace to pivotal organizations such as the Wuxi Silk Workers' Union in 1922, which led strikes against Japanese-owned filatures in Wuxi and Suzhou, mobilizing over 10,000 workers in 1924. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the JSFTU coordinated clandestine operations in the Subei Plain, disrupting Japanese cotton and coal shipments to occupied Shanghai.[2][3]
Post-1949, the JSFTU centralized labor governance in state-owned industries, managing enterprises like the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge Construction Project in 1960 and promoting Soviet-inspired Labor Hero campaigns. During the 1980s economic reforms, it mediated disputes in Suzhou's emerging Special Economic Zones (SEZs), particularly in foreign-funded electronics factories, and pioneered China's first labor arbitration committees in 1987.[4] In the 21st century, the JSFTU prioritized migrant worker integration through initiatives such as the Jiangsu Migrant Workers' Skill Upgrade Program in 2015 and advanced digital labor platforms under the provincial "Digital Jiangsu" strategy.[5][6]
