The Election of International Union Officers

Abstract

A psychologist points out that the referendum method of electing inter national union presidents, used by the Steelworkers and some other labor unions, gives greater play to internal union politics. In the 1957 re-election of David McDonald to the presidency of the USW, considerable internal dissatisfaction was given an outlet in the rise of a strong opposition candidate, a rare occurrence in American unions. The author suggests reasons why such opposition is almost never apparent in the politics of unions using the more common delegate electoral system.