Speaker: Benedikt Hopmann

Benedikt Hopmann is a German politician and lawyer. He worked as a welder in the 1980s. He was a member of the works council of his company, later chairman of the works council and is a member of IG-Metall. In the works council he campaigned for the 35-hour week. At the end of the 1980s he was a member of the Berlin House of Representatives and parliamentary group spokesperson for the Alternative List for Work and Companies.
Hopmann founded his own law firm in Berlin with a partner. As a lawyer, he works mainly in the field of labour law and has been involved in two prominent cases, some of which went all the way to the European Court of Human Rights, both of which were decided in favour of his clients. For some years Hopmann has been increasingly campaigning for the (political) right to strike and represented some of the Gorillas employees dismissed after a strike in court. He is co-editor of the book series WIDERSTÄNDIG and describes himself as a political activist.