Change in leadership of Metalworkers’ Union

Riku Aaltonen to replace Erkki Vuorenmaa as President

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The Social Democratic Group of the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union voted on Saturday evening to replace the union’s current President Erkki Vuorenmaa with a new figure, Riko Aalto. The vote among the SDP representatives was 176 to 124 in favour of Aalto as the SDP candidate for the post.
      In practice, Aalto is a sure winner in the upcoming vote on Tuesday, as the SDP group - which has a majority in the union’s congress that convened on Sunday, is committed to voting en masse for the one that the group choses as its candidate.
      A third candidate, Secretary of Occupational Health Kari Vilkman, pulled out of the race and gave his backing to Aalto.
     
Commenting on the outcome, Aalto said that the numbers in favour of him were surprisingly overwhelming.
      Aalto ascribed his success to a desire within the union to get “new faces and different kinds of things to do”. He said that by “things to do”, he meant planning.
      However, he would not be drawn upon to criticise Vuorenmaa’s leadership style, and thanked him for the support he expressed after the vote.
     
The Left Alliance grouping in the union voted to keep Union Secretary Matti Mäkelä as its candidate for the post. Mäkelä defeated his challenger Jari Myllykoski by a vote of 109 to 68.
      During the union’s congress, which began on Sunday, the delegates are to discuss proposals for a new expanded union called “Team”. Aalto said that he supports the proposal within the framework of conditions set by the union.
      The Metalworkers’ Union is expected to endorse the proposal, calling for the merger of the Metalworkers’ Union, the Chemical Workers’ Union, the Electrical Workers’ Union, the Wood and Allied Workers' Union, the Finnish Railwaymen's Union, and the Finnish Media Union.
      If the merger takes place in 2010, Team would be the largest single trade union in Finland. The Chemical Workers’ Union has decided to organise a referendum among its members on the merger.
      Outgoing President Vuorenmaa, who has headed the powerful Metalworkers' Union for eight years, was tight-lipped on the decision to replace him, and refused to comment before Tuesday's formal vote.


Links:
  Finnish Metalworkers´ Union

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