[1] It was part of the pro-government Patriotic Movement for National Revival (Patriotyczny Ruch Odrodzenia Narodowego - PRON).

Following the end of communist rule in Poland the federation aligned with various post-communist and social-democratic parties (e.g. Democratic Left Alliance, SLD).

In the summer of 2006, Roman Giertych, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland and a stalwart of the ultra-right-wing and chauvinistic League of Polish Families, voiced his support for the confiscation of OPZZ property and the dissolution of the organization, branding it a mouthpiece of the Social-Democratic Union (SLD) and the heir of the Communist PZPR.

The mission of OPZZ is stated as the defence of social and worker's right of the trade unions.

OPZZ associates 90 nationwide trade union organisations (uniform trade unions and federations) grouped in 12 branches: OPZZ also has its internal territorial structures, with territorial range corresponding to the administrative division of the country.