LEADS THE NION AJAW DEFEND THE THAT CARES ATHETUC THE STATE OUT OF AUEW secretary left vacant by the retirement of Bob Wright Right wing candidate Bill Morgan hammered Derek Simpson in the contest for the seal coeing tee bast seat covering the East Midlands and East Anglia In Scotland, the broad left SOCH DONE.
Airlie, only hung on to hi executive council seat bi the skin of his teeth test, broad esi naia.
contest left candidate John Tocher polled some 50,000 votes, or 23 per cent of the votes cast. This was enough to take him through to the cond ballot - Will will be a straight fight with Bill Jordan next March But there is a huge task ahead if Tocher is to stand any chance and a long term challenge to the right wing is to be built. What was an which took place against a background of hundreds of thousands of engineers on the dole, national wage rates falling behind price rises by eight per cent in four years, proposals by the employers to eliminate conditions at work built up over 50 years, savage attacks on trade unions by the Tory government, a possible split in the TUC "yes"!' No involving the AUEW. But per cent the registered members did not feel motivated to vote The combined vote of the two front runners, Jordan and Tocher, amounts ito only 15 per cent of the registered voters.
This is partially accounted for by the sheer number of candidates, including national figures like EC member Gerry Russell national ul callse David Graham Scotland. But this far story. that the right wing, combined with the failure of a clear cut campaigning alternative by the broad left, has produced apathy — a dangerous developThe right wing leadership does not have the enthusiastic support of the ranks. But the broad left was unable to take any advantage of this because it failed to genuinely campaign around a clear set of terests of the members at such a time of crisis.
For instance the most prominent broad left leader in the union - Jimmy Airlie - over the past months attacked the cessfully fought for clain of the Ford machied the leadership or attacked the leadership the NUM, supported the employers proposals savage the apprenticeship system, blazed the in promoting prestrike ballots. As for taking government cash for ballots, Airlie's silence has been deafening as it has week and thur or week and a number crucial issues facing the membership.
not possible to challenge the right wing b the type of strategy which consists of trying to win union laws At the Rules right.
third of the AUEW's membership are women. can their support be by denouncing — as Airlie di the so called 'sexual' claim of the Ford women machinists as 'divisive' What a disaster for the left inside the union when it is the right wing in Scotlan which is appealing for sup port on the basis of its op position to Airlie's polic on women's rights.
On the other hand Tocher's presidential cam paign coul strengthen the ving. The against the right wing. clear victories of broad left candidates Northey Graham in the two assistant divisional organiser elections show's what is possible.
In the wake of the miners' strike Jordan has defined clearly where he stands with the scab miners' breakaway and all it stands for. By clearly campaigning on the key issues, and reaching out to develop the interests of the whole Tocher's can strengther allocal he left in the union step in the fight against the entire defeat
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polich will defend ins res policies terference in see de-
elections by moving to the implement the Tory anti-