ABSTRACT
Frank Chappie believes he is fighting in a ‘battle for survival’. As general secretary of the 420,000-strong Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union (EETPU) since 1966, he is the trade union movement’s hammer of the left. In fact, Chappie finds it difficult to disguise his utter contempt for the Trades Union Congress establishment, particularly Jack Jones of the Transport and General Workers. In the late 1950s, after the trauma of the Red Army’s invasion of Hungary, Chappie joined the union’s Reform Group to work with former Communists like Les Cannon and Mark Young in wresting control of the union from the Communists. Chappie is a keen supporter of the mixed economy. He sits on the National Economic Development Council Finance for Investment Committee. In 1975 the EETPU purchased a house near to Hayes Court called Culham with a large tract of land for further development.
