Affiliated Trade Unions

The Labor Party was formed out of the trade union movement to give working people their own political voice. The link from the workplace to the party through affiliated trade unions is what makes Labor unique to this day. This link is more important than ever as we work together to tackle the urgent problems working people face.

Many – though not all – Australian unions are formally affiliated to the ALP.

The basis of affiliation with the ALP is in accord with the objectives of the trade union movement that aim to improve the standard of living for their members.  By affiliating to the ALP, trade unions make use of political action as well as industrial action to achieve outcomes for their members.

Affiliation to the ALP is at the state level – state branches of the unions are affiliated to state branches of the ALP.  Affiliated unions give financial support to the ALP, and have voting rights at State Conference, where they are represented by 50% of delegates to the conference.

An association with a political party allows an a trade union to pursue its aims for the benefit of its members along more than one path. The ALP aims to support trade unions in pursuit of their industrial goals and many unions support the ALP in pursuit of its political goals.