When the vote proceeded anyway, fellow workers protested by denying the requisite 50percentt majority to all but the two worker candidates, rendering the new union leaderless -- and effectively stillborn.
Here's how it works: Blue-collar worker candidates create resumé profiles with their mobile phones.
Addressing 85% of Brazil's labor market, this recruitment platform is in closed beta, but right now has no cost to worker candidates or companies hiring workers.
"It became apparent that even in races where union members voted overwhelmingly in support of a pro-worker candidate, we could still lose," Mr. Podhorzer said.
Thus, when selecting workers from candidate workers, not only their sum of accumulated familiarity scores of all the landmarks, but also the knowledge coverage of all the landmarks should be considered.
Workers said they retaliated the only way they could, by handing in blank ballots or selecting only worker-candidates.
"We've gotten very good at mobilizing union members to participate in elections and electing more pro-worker candidates," he said, "but we still have to improve dramatically on how we can create an environment so workers can organize".
John J. Sweeney, the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s president, questioned the timing of the effort, saying labor's limited resources could best be used to rebuild the union movement and elect pro-worker candidates.
In Cologne he advocated a policy of coalition between the working class and the democratic bourgeoisie, opposing for this reason the nomination of independent workers' candidates for the Frankfurt Assembly and arguing strenuously against the program for proletarian revolution advocated by the leaders of the Workers' Union.
Some are "anti-worker candidates and officials who seek to undermine the livelihood of working people," Samuelsen said.
