Opposition,Factions and Candidates in AEU Elections in Australia 1907-72

Abstract

This paper analyses 65 years of data on elections to paid office in Australia's largest manufacturing union. Attention is mainly concentrated on the changing nature of both candidates and opposition within the AEU. The closeness of elections, the supply of candidates and differences between ballots for vacant and occupied positions are noted. The period of most intense combat between two organised parties within the AEU seems to be causally connected with the subsequent slump of interest in elections among the union's members.