View source for Labour Union (Poland)

{{For|other parties with a similar name|Labour Party (disambiguation)#Poland}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=December 2010}}
{{Update|date=December 2015}}
{{Expand Polish|topic=gov|Unia Pracy|date=July 2017}}
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{{Infobox political party
| country = Poland
| name = Labour Union
| native_name = Unia Pracy
| colours = {{Color box|{{Political party data|color}}|border=darkgray}} [[Red]]
| logo = Arbeitsunion-Logo.svg
| colorcode = {{Political party data|color}}
| leader = [[Waldemar Witkowski]]
| merger = [[Democratic-Social Movement (Poland)|Democratic-Social Movement]]<br>[[Polish Social Democratic Union]]<br>[[Labour Solidarity]]
| foundation = 7 June 1992
| ideology = [[Social democracy]]<br>[[Progressivism]]<br>[[Pro-Europeanism]]
| position = [[Centre-left politics|Centre-left]]<ref name="BWV">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4g1CDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA352|title=The Baltic Sea Region: A Comprehensive Guide: History, Politics, Culture and Economy of a European Role Model|page=352|editor1-last=Henningsen|editor1-first=Bernd|editor2-last=Etzold|editor2-first=Tobias|editor3-last=Hanne|editor3-first=Krister|publisher=Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag|date=15 September 2017|isbn=978-3-8305-1727-6}}</ref>
| headquarters = Ul. Nowogrodzka 4, 00-513 [[Warsaw]]
| national = [[The Left (Poland)|The Left]]
| international = 
| european = 
| youth_wing = Labour Youth
| europarl = [[Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats]]
| website = {{Political party data|website}}
<!-- Values obtained from Wikidata; to edit, see https://www.wikidata.org/-->
| seats1_title     = [[Sejm]]
| seats1           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-lower-house}}
| seats2_title     = [[Senate of Poland|Senate]]
| seats2           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-upper-house}}
| seats3_title     = [[European Parliament]]
| seats3           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|EP}}
| seats4_title = [[Voivodeship sejmik|Regional assemblies]]
| seats4 = {{Composition bar|0|552|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
}}
'''Labour Union''' ({{langx|pl|Unia Pracy}}, ''UP'') is a minor [[social democracy|social-democratic]]<ref name="BWV"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Ingo Peters|title=20 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Transitions, State Break-Up and Democratic Politics in Central Europe and Germany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3LsDJWq7DAC&pg=PA275|access-date=6 February 2013|date=September 2011|publisher=BWV Verlag|isbn=978-3-8305-1975-1|pages=275–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Larry Diamond|title=Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies|url=https://archive.org/details/consolidatingthi00larr_0|url-access=registration|access-date=21 July 2013|date=29 July 1997|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-5794-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/consolidatingthi00larr_0/page/127 127]–}}</ref> [[political party]] in [[Poland]]. It was a member of the [[Party of European Socialists]] (PES) until April 2022.<ref>[https://pes.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Decisions-taken-by-the-PES-Congress-Berlin-2022-1.pdf 2022 Decision taken by the 12th PES Congress], Berlin, 14-15 October 2022.</ref>

== History ==
{{Missing information|section|the history of the party after 2015|date=June 2021}}
Labour Union was formed in June 1992. The party contested the [[1993 Polish parliamentary election|1993 parliamentary elections]], obtaining 7.28% of the popular vote and had 41 representatives elected to the lower house ([[Sejm]]). In the following [[1997 Polish parliamentary election|parliamentary elections of 1997]], UP received only 4.74% of votes, thereby falling short of the required 5% threshold for election to the Sejm. At the [[2001 Polish parliamentary election|2001 parliamentary elections]], UP entered into an [[electoral alliance]] with the major Polish social-democratic party [[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|Democratic Left Alliance]] (SLD), and managed to get 16 of its members elected to parliament. Some of those members subsequently left UP to join the newly created [[Social Democracy of Poland]] (SDPL), a splinter group from the SLD. In May 2004, UP signed an alliance with SDPL, in which both parties agreed to jointly contest the following parliamentary elections under the SDPL banner, and to support the candidacy of [[Marek Borowski]] in the [[2005 Polish presidential election|2005 presidential election]]. At the [[2005 Polish parliamentary election|2005 parliamentary elections]], SDPL gained only 3.9% of the vote, which was insufficient for the alliance to achieve parliamentary representation.

In 2006, UP joined SLD, SDPL and the liberal [[Democratic Party – demokraci.pl]] to form a [[centre-left]] [[electoral alliance]] named [[Left and Democrats]] (LiD) for the upcoming local elections. This electoral alliance was maintained for the [[2007 Polish parliamentary election|2007 parliamentary elections]], and LiD came in third place with 13.2% of the vote, which saw 53 of its candidates elected to the Sejm. Unfortunately for UP, the party was the only one of the four component parties of the LiD alliance not to have any of its candidates elected.

In the [[2011 Polish parliamentary election|2011 parliamentary elections]], its candidates joined the electoral lists of SLD. Again, none of them were elected.

They managed, however, to win one seat on the European Parliament elections in 2004; the party held it in the elections in 2009 and 2014.<ref name=EPMEPS>[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/28379/ADAM_GIEREK_history.html European Parliament / MEPs: Adam Gierek].</ref>

In July 2015, the party joined the [[United Left (Poland)|Zjednoczona Lewica]] (United Left) [[electoral alliance]] for the [[2015 Polish parliamentary election|2015 parliamentary elections]]. The alliance received 7.6% vote of the vote in the elections, below the 8% electoral threshold leaving it with no parliamentary representation. The alliance was dissolved in February 2016.

In the [[2019 Polish parliamentary election|2019 parliamentary election]], Labour Union candidates ran on the [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition’s]] electoral lists; again, none of their candidates managed to get elected.

==Election results==
===Presidential===
{| class=wikitable
! rowspan=2|Election
! rowspan=2|Candidate
! colspan=2|1st round
! colspan=2|2nd round
|-
! # of overall votes
! % of overall vote
! # of overall votes
! % of overall vote
|-
! [[1995 Polish presidential election|1995]]
| [[Tadeusz Zieliński (politician)|Tadeusz Zieliński]]
| 631,432
| 3.5 (#6)
| colspan="2" style="background:lightgrey;"|
|-
! [[2000 Polish presidential election|2000]]
| ''Supported '''[[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]]'''''
| 9,485,224
| 53.9 ('''#1''')
| colspan="2" style="background:lightgrey;"|
|-
! [[2005 Polish presidential election|2005]]
| ''none''
|  colspan="4" style="background:lightgrey;"|
|-
! [[2010 Polish presidential election|2010]]
| ''Supported [[Grzegorz Napieralski]]''
| 2,299,870
| 13.7 (#3)
| colspan="2" style="background:lightgrey;"|
|-
! [[2015 Polish presidential election|2015]]
| ''none''
|  colspan="4" style="background:lightgrey;"|
|-
! [[2020 Polish presidential election|2020]]
| [[Waldemar Witkowski]]
| 27,290
| 0.1 (#10)
| colspan="2" style="background:lightgrey;"|
|-
! [[2025 Polish presidential election|2025]]
| [[Magdalena Biejat]]
| 829,361
| 4.23 (#7)
| colspan="2" style="background:lightgrey;"|
|}

===Sejm===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/–
! Government
|-
!rowspan="2"| [[1993 Polish parliamentary election|1993]]
|rowspan="2"| 1,005,004
|rowspan="2"| 7.3 (#4)
|rowspan="2"| {{Composition bar|41|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
|rowspan="2"| New
|{{partial2|<small>[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]-[[Polish People's Party|PSL]] (1993)</small>}}<br>{{small|([[confidence and supply]])}}
|-
|{{no2|<small>[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]-[[Polish People's Party|PSL]] (1994-1997)</small>}}
|-
! [[1997 Polish parliamentary election|1997]]
| 620,611
| 4.7 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|0|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 41
| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
! rowspan="4" | [[2001 Polish parliamentary election|2001]]
| rowspan="3" |5,342,519
| rowspan="3" |41.0 ('''#1''')
| rowspan="3" | {{Composition bar|16|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| rowspan="3" |New
|{{yes2|<small>[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]-UP-[[Polish People's Party|PSL]] (2001-2003)</small>}}
|-
|{{yes2|<small>[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]-UP (2003-2004)</small>}}
|-
|{{yes2|<small>[[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|SLD]]-UP-[[Social Democracy of Poland|SDPL]] (2004-2005)</small>}}
|-
| colspan=6|<small>As part of the [[SLD-UP]] coalition, that won 216 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2005 Polish parliamentary election|2005]]
| 459,380
| 3.9 (#7)
| {{Composition bar|0|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 16
| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
| colspan=7|<small>In an [[electoral alliance]] with [[Social Democracy of Poland]] and [[Greens 2004]], that won no seats.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2007 Polish parliamentary election|2007]]
| 2,122,981
| 13.2 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|0|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{nochange}} 0
| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of the [[Left and Democrats]] coalition, that won 53 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2011 Polish parliamentary election|2011]]
| 1,184,303
| 8.24 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|0|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{nochange}} 0
| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
| colspan=7|<small>In an [[electoral alliance]] with [[Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)|Democratic Left Alliance]], that won 27 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2015 Polish parliamentary election|2015]]
| 1,147,102
| 7.55 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|0|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of the [[United Left (Poland)|United Left]] coalition, that won no seats.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2019 Polish parliamentary election|2019]]
| 5,060,355
| 27.4 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|0|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], that won 134 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2023 Polish parliamentary election|2023]]
| 1,859,018
| 8.6 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|0|460|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of [[The Left (Poland)|The Left]], that won 26 seats in total.</small>
|}

===Senate===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
! Election
! Seats
! +/–
|-
! [[1993 Polish parliamentary election|1993]]
| {{Composition bar|2|100|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| New
|-
! [[1997 Polish parliamentary election|1997]]
| {{Composition bar|0|100|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2001 Polish parliamentary election|2001]]
| {{Composition bar|5|100|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{Increase}} 5
|-
| colspan="2" |<small>As part of the [[SLD-UP]] coalition.</small>
|-
! [[2005 Polish parliamentary election|2005]]
| {{Composition bar|0|100|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 5
|-
! [[2007 Polish parliamentary election|2007]]
| {{Composition bar|0|100|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{nochange}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2023 Polish parliamentary election|2023]]
|{{Composition bar|1|100|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
|{{Increase}} 1
|-
| colspan="2" |<small>As part of [[Senate Pact 2023]].</small>
|}

===European Parliament===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
! EP Group
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[2004 European Parliament election in Poland|2004]]
| 569,311
| 9.35 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|1|54|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| New
| [[Group of the Party of European Socialists|PES]]
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of the [[SLD-UP]] coalition, that won 5 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2"| [[2009 European Parliament election in Poland|2009]]
| 908,765
| 12.34 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|1|50|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| [[Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats|S&D]]
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of the [[SLD-UP]] coalition, that won 7 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[2014 European Parliament election in Poland|2014]]
| 667,319
| 9.97 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|1|51|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0 
| [[Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats|S&D]]
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of the [[SLD-UP]] coalition, that won 5 seats in total.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[2019 European Parliament election in Poland|2019]]
| 168,745
| 1.24 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|0|52|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 1 
| −
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of the Left Together coalition, that didn't win any seat.</small>
|-
! rowspan="2"|[[2024 European Parliament election in Poland|2024]]
| 741,071
| 6.30 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|0|53|{{party color|Labour Union (Poland)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| −
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of [[The Left (Poland)|The Left]] coalition, that won 3 seats in total.</small>
|-
|}

===Regional assemblies===
{| class=wikitable
|-
! Election year
! % of<br>vote
! # of<br>overall seats won
! +/–
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[1998 Polish local elections|1998]]
| 12.0 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|89|855|hex=#1e1c49}}
| {{increase}} 89
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of the [[Social Alliance (Poland)|Social Alliance]].</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2002 Polish local elections|2002]]
| 24.6 (#1)
| {{Composition bar|189|561|{{party color|Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)}}}}
| {{increase}} 100
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As [[Democratic Left Alliance – Labour Union]].</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2006 Polish local elections|2006]]
| 14.2 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|66|561|hex=#FF4500}}
| {{decrease}} 123
|- 
| colspan=7|<small>As part of the [[Left and Democrats]].</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2010 Polish local elections|2010]]
| 15.2 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|85|561|{{party color|Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)}}}}
| {{increase}} 19
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As [[Democratic Left Alliance – Labour Union]].</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2014 Polish local elections|2014]]
| 8.8 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|28|555|{{party color|Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 57 
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of [[:pl:SLD Lewica Razem|SLD Lewica Razem]].</small>
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[2018 Polish local elections|2018]]
| 6.6 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|11|552|{{party color|Democratic Left Alliance (Poland)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 17
|-
| colspan=7|<small>As part of [[:pl:SLD Lewica Razem|SLD Lewica Razem]].</small>
|}
{{Polsoc}}

==Leaders==

* [[Waldemar Witkowski]]
* [[Marek Pol]]

==Members of European Parliament==
* [[Adam Gierek]] (2004–2019)<ref name=EPMEPS/>

== Important former members ==

* [[Ryszard Bugaj]], left in 1998
* [[Zbigniew Bujak]], until c.1997
* [[Tomasz Nalecz|Tomasz Nałęcz]], left in 2004 to newly created [[Social Democracy of Poland]]
* [[Aleksander Małachowski]], died January 26, 2004
* [[Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka]], left in 2005, founded [[Union of the Left (Poland)|Union of the Left]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.uniapracy.org.pl/ Home page] {{in lang|pl}}

{{Polish political parties}}
{{Party of European Socialists}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labor United}}
[[Category:1992 establishments in Poland]]
[[Category:Former member parties of the Socialist International]]
[[Category:Labour parties]]
[[Category:Party of European Socialists member parties]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1992]]
[[Category:Progressive parties]]
[[Category:Social democratic parties in Poland]]