The union was officially founded on 17 September 1980, the union's supreme powers were vested in a legislative body, the "Convention of Delegates" ("Zjazd Delegatów"). The executive branch was the National Coordinating Commission ("Krajowa Komisja Porozumiewawcza"), later renamed the National Commission ("Komisja Krajowa"). The Union had a regional structure, comprising 38 regions ("region") and two districts ("okręg"). At its highest, the Union had over 10 million members, which became the largest union membership in the world. During the communist era the 38 regional delegates were arrested and jailed when martial law came into effect on 13 December 1981 under General Wojciech Jaruzelski. After a one-year prison term the high-ranking members of the union were offered one way trips to any country accepting them (including Canada, the United States, and nations in the Middle East).