The Histadrut rapidly became a central force in social, economic, and even security affairs, attaining the position of a "state within a state".
The Histadrut supported last summer's popular social justice movement that brought 400,000 Israelis out into the streets at its peak.
The Histadrut, which represents hundreds of thousands of government and private-sector workers, called the strike to protest government plans to overhaul the pension system, which would raise the retirement age and reduce benefits.
The Histadrut came out in support of that movement, which focused largely on the high cost of housing and other consumer goods but also raised questions about wealth concentration and promoted the belief that too few people were sharing in the country's growing affluence.
Those workers earn substantially less than those represented by the Histadrut.
She also organized and became first president of the Histadrut Nashim Ivriot (Jewish Women's Organization).
But Ofer Eini, the chairman of the Histadrut, rejected the call.
The Finance Ministry also plans to take control of pension funds held by the Histadrut.
Mr Peretz, chairman of the Histadrut, the main trade-union federation, is a clear-eyed leftist on all fronts.
Then he slashed Israel's inflation rate from 450%to16%6% by forcing the Histadrut labour confederation and big business into a national compact.
The family was especially opposed to the domination of labor unions, such as the Histadrut, which exercised tremendous power over Israeli businesses.
