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Labour Union (Poland)
Encyclopedia
The Labour Union is a social-democratic
political party
in Poland
. It is a member of the Party of European Socialists
and Socialist International
.
Labour Union was formed in June 1992. The party contested the 1993 parliamentary elections
, obtaining 7.28% of the popular vote and had 41 representatives elected to the lower house, Sejm
. In the following parliamentary elections of 1997
, the UP received only 4.74% of votes, thereby falling short of the required 5% threshold for election to the Sejm. At the 2001 parliamentary elections
, the UP entered into an electoral alliance with the larger centre-left
party Democratic Left Alliance
(SLD), and managed to get 16 of its members elected to parliament. Some of those subsequently left the UP to join the newly created Social Democracy of Poland (SDPL), a splinter group of the SLD. In May 2004, the UP signed an alliance with SDPL, in which both parties agreed to jointly contest the following parliamentary elections under the SDPL banner, and to support Marek Borowski
in his fight for the Polish presidency in 2005. At the 2005 parliamentary elections
, the SDPL gained only 3.9% of the vote, which was insufficient for the alliance to achieve parliamentary representation.
In 2006, the UP joined the SLD, SDPL and the Democratic Party – demokraci.pl parties to form an electoral alliance
of centre
and centre-left parties, named Left and Democrats
(LiD), for the upcoming local government elections. This electoral alliance was maintained for the 2007 parliamentary elections
, and LiD came in third with 13.2% of the vote, which saw 53 of its candidates elected to the Sejm. Unfortunately for UP, the party was the only one of the four component parties of the LiD alliance not to have any of its candidates elected.
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. It is a member of the Party of European Socialists
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
and Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
.
Labour Union was formed in June 1992. The party contested the 1993 parliamentary elections
Polish parliamentary election, 1993
Polish parliamentary election in 1993 to Sejm and Senate of Poland was held on the 19 September. In Sejm elections, 52.13% of citizens cast their votes, and 95.7% of those were counted as valid. In Senate elections, 52.1% of citizens cast their votes, and 97.07% were valid...
, obtaining 7.28% of the popular vote and had 41 representatives elected to the lower house, Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
. In the following parliamentary elections of 1997
Polish parliamentary election, 1997
The Polish parliamentary election in 1997 to the Sejm and Senate of Poland was held on the 21 September. In the Sejm elections, 47.93% of citizens cast their votes, 96.12% of which were counted as valid...
, the UP received only 4.74% of votes, thereby falling short of the required 5% threshold for election to the Sejm. At the 2001 parliamentary elections
Polish parliamentary election, 2001
Polish parliamentary election in 2001 to Sejm and Senate of Poland were held on the 23rd September. In Sejm elections, 46.29% of citizens cast their votes, 96.01% of those were counted as valid...
, the UP entered into an electoral alliance with the larger centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
party Democratic Left Alliance
Democratic Left Alliance
Democratic Left Alliance is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Formed in 1991 as a coalition of centre-left parties, it was formally established as a single party on 15 April 1999. It is currently the third largest opposition party in Poland....
(SLD), and managed to get 16 of its members elected to parliament. Some of those subsequently left the UP to join the newly created Social Democracy of Poland (SDPL), a splinter group of the SLD. In May 2004, the UP signed an alliance with SDPL, in which both parties agreed to jointly contest the following parliamentary elections under the SDPL banner, and to support Marek Borowski
Marek Borowski
Marek Stefan Borowski is a Polish left-wing politician. He led the Democratic Left Alliance for a time and was Speaker of the Sejm from 2001 to 2004....
in his fight for the Polish presidency in 2005. At the 2005 parliamentary elections
Polish parliamentary election, 2005
Parliamentary elections for both houses of the Parliament of Poland were held on September 25, 2005. Thirty million voters were eligible to vote for all 460 members of the lower house, the Assembly of the Republic of Poland , and all 100 members of the upper house, the Senate of the Republic of...
, the SDPL gained only 3.9% of the vote, which was insufficient for the alliance to achieve parliamentary representation.
In 2006, the UP joined the SLD, SDPL and the Democratic Party – demokraci.pl parties to form an electoral alliance
Electoral alliance
An electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...
of centre
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
and centre-left parties, named Left and Democrats
Left and Democrats
Left and Democrats was a centre-left political coalition in Poland which was created on September 3, 2006, before the Warsaw municipal election of 2006. The coalition's aim was to provide an alternative for both the national-conservative Law and Justice party and the liberal-conservative Civic...
(LiD), for the upcoming local government elections. This electoral alliance was maintained for the 2007 parliamentary elections
Polish parliamentary election, 2007
Early parliamentary elections for both houses of parliament were held in Poland on 21 October 2007 after the Sejm voted for its own dissolution on 7 September 2007. The election took place two years before the maximum tenure of four years, with the previous elections having been in September 2005...
, and LiD came in third with 13.2% of the vote, which saw 53 of its candidates elected to the Sejm. Unfortunately for UP, the party was the only one of the four component parties of the LiD alliance not to have any of its candidates elected.
Members of Polish Parliament (Sejm)
MP, constituency- Andrzej AumillerAndrzej AumillerAndrzej Aumiller is a Polish politician, Minister of Construction and Member of Parliament representing Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland . He is a graduate in gardening from the Agriculture Academy in Poznań...
, PoznańPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be... - Barbara Błonska-Fajfrowska, KatowiceKatowiceKatowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
- Bronisław Dankowski, KoninKonin, PolandKonin is a town in central Poland on the Warta river. It is the capital of Konin County. Since 1999, it has been in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Previously, it was the capital of Konin Voivodeship . In 2006, the population was 81,233....
- Hanna Gucwińska, Wrocław
- Marian Janicki, KaliszKaliszKalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
- Ewa Kralkowska, Łódź
- Józef Kubica, GliwiceGliwiceGliwice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
- Jerzy Müller, ElblągElblagElbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
- Jan Orkisz, KrakówKrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
- Alfred Owoc, Gorzów WielkopolskiGorzów WielkopolskiGorzów Wielkopolski is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the biggest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 125,149 inhabitants...
- Zielona GóraZielona GóraZielona Góra is a city in Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland, with 117,557 inhabitants within the city limits and 294,000 inhabitants within the metropolitan area, including three neighbouring counties .... - Ryszard Pojda, RybnikRybnikRybnik is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship. Rybnik is located close to the border with the Czech Republic and just outside the southern border of the largest urban area in Poland, the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union...
- Marek Pol, Konin
- Danuta Polak, CzęstochowaCzestochowaCzęstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
- Zofia Wilczyńska, KoszalinKoszalinKoszalin ; is the largest city of Middle Pomerania in north-western Poland. It is located 12 km south of the Baltic Sea coast. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999...
Important former members
- Ryszard BugajRyszard BugajRyszard Bugaj is a Polish politician and economist, former leader of Unia Pracy and former advisor to the then president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński.-References:...
, left in 1998 - Zbigniew BujakZbigniew BujakZbigniew Bujak was an electrician and foreman in 1980 at the Ursus tractor factory near Warsaw, Poland. He became engaged with trade union activists, and during the strike action, he organized strike committees at the Ursus factory...
, until c.1997 - Tomasz NałęczTomasz NaleczTomasz Nałęcz is a Polish historian, leftist politician, former vice-Speaker of the Sejm and a former member of the Socjaldemokracja Polska party ....
, left in 2004 to newly created Socjaldemokracja Polska - Aleksander Małachowski, died January 26, 2004
- Izabela Jaruga-NowackaIzabela Jaruga-NowackaIzabela Jaruga-Nowacka was a Polish political figure who had served in the national Parliament since 1993 and, in May 2004, rose to become Deputy Prime Minister under Prime Minister Marek Belka, serving until October 2005, while also, concurrently, filling in his cabinet, from November 2004 to...
, left in 2005, founded Union of the Left