The union movement was far from united at yesterday's eight-hour meeting to select Labour's candidate for the Manurewa seat, which George Hawkins is vacating after a 20-year tenure.It is a safe Labour seat and almost guarantees representation in the next
The union movement was far from united at yesterday's eight-hour meeting to select Labour's candidate for the Manurewa seat, which George Hawkins is vacating after a 20-year tenure.
It is a safe Labour seat and almost guarantees representation in the next Parliament, which was why factions at the meeting pushed as hard as they could.
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), the biggest in the country, wanted its own man to get the job, union organiser Jerome Mika.
"It was great to see so many people mobilised but it was a very long, hot day and it was sort of a war of attrition," winning candidate Louisa Wall told NZPA.
Ms Wall revealed she was supported by the Service and Food Workers' Union (SFWU), which she belonged to when she was a 12-year-old dishwasher at Cobb and Co in Taupo.
The SFWU wanted a Maori woman to be Manurewa's next MP and Ms Wall said two others, the Maritime Union and the Northern Amalgamated Workers' Union, had thrown their weight behind her as well.
The leader of the EPMU is Labour Party president Andrew Little, but he couldn't have any part in the selection process because Mr Mika effectively works for him.
"I am pretty adamant that I won it on merit," Ms Wall said.
"Both at the question and answer, and the feedback on my speech...the way I was able to answer the questions meant I had quite a few supporters."
Ms Wall went into the contest against six other nominees as one of the underdogs, which she thought could have worked in her favour.
"It's actually what a democratic process is all about."
