ACTWU's current top officers are both attorneys, but Perkel has not witnessed any resentment of this. The difference is that these people are leaders, not professional staff. The professional staff must work closely with the field staff, whereas the leadership often comes no closer than making a speech to the field staff. This, however, raises the whole question of whether a union leader should be “one of the boys” or somehow removed from the rank and file. One school of thought claims the rank and file expect the latter. The ACTWU leaders do not attempt to maintain an image of being on the same level as the workers; they mingle with the workers, but not as equals. With TWUA it was the opposite; the officers were always former workers.
