[1] The GBI adopted a more left-wing position than its predecessors, leading industrial action including a major strike of construction workers in 2002.
However, many of the areas it covered were in decline, and its membership fell accordingly.
[1] By 1998, its membership was down to 99,780, with 90% working in construction, 8% in woodworking, and just 2% in other areas.
[2] In 2003, membership had fallen a little further, to 90,983, and the following year, the union merged with the Union for Industry, Trade and Services and the Union of Sales, Trade, Transport and Food, forming Unia.
[1] Throughout its history, the union was led by Vasco Pedrina.