The union was founded on 13 June 1946, in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany.
By the end of the month, it had 421,558 members, making it the largest component of the new Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB).
In 1951, metallurgical workers were moved into a new Industrial Union of Metallurgy, but in 1958 they returned.
In December 1989, it signed a co-operation agreement with the West German IG Metall, and in April 1990, it became an independent union.
However, in May, the West German union's attitude changed, and it decided instead to set up its own branches in East Germany.