Two out of every five trade unionists in the Republic are members of SIPTU. Between now and Friday they are voting for the next SIPTU vice-president, who is effectively a member of a triumvirate which includes the union's president and general secretary. He, or she, has responsibility for industrial relations and can issue strike sanctions to members.
There has been little media coverage of the contest so far. The little there has been has focused on the Waterford rank-and-file activist, Ms Carolann Duggan. She surprised all the pundits when, earlier this year, she ran against the former vice-president, Mr Jimmy Somers, for the union's presidency and polled 37,940 votes, or over 42 per cent.
The fact that she is young, a woman and an extremely articulate champion of her own brand of socialist revolution has added a slightly exotic touch to her candidacy.
Undoubtedly, Ms Duggan has tapped a deep well of dissatisfaction among low paid workers in SIPTU. Many of them are not happy at the comparatively modest increases available under successive national pay agreements. Her appeal is probably greatest among younger members who do not remember the nightmare years of the mid-1980s, when large pay rises were eaten up by inflation and tax rises, when the workforce shrank by 70,000 as industry became increasingly uncompetitive.
Ms Duggan wants the trade union movement, and SIPTU in particular, to return to basics. She believes the union leadership has lost touch with members. "I think workers want to see we stand for what they want."
She says the existing union leadership - and she includes the other candidates in this election - do not want to rock the system.
Her main priorities are to give maximum support to members who want to take industrial action; to repeal the 1990 Industrial Relations Act; and to establish a national minimum wage. She is short on specifics on how she would seek to achieve these aims if elected.
She also says there are some initiatives she would like to take but does not want to discuss them before the election.
Understandably, she tends to gloss over the fact that she is not a shop steward and has never been on strike, for all her commitment to the class struggle.
She characterises the other candidates as middle-aged apparatchiks embedded in union structures. They have 100 years' experience of trade unionism between them, she says, but have never shown concern for issues such as a national minimum wage before she raised it in her campaign against Mr Somers.
Equally understandably, other candidates find this hard to take. The acknowledged front-runner, SIPTU's national industrial secretary, Mr Des Geraghty, was a shop steward at 17 and has been campaigning since.
He says: "I have the track record and the experience but, more important, is what I want for the future."
He is now involved in initiatives to bring services closer to the members. These include the production of an information bulletin for shop stewards; direct access to SIPTU's central computer database for local part-time negotiators; and the promotion of greater involvement by women members through the EU-funded NOW (New Opportunities for Women) programme.
He says unions have to become more democratic and interact better with members. At the same time, they must learn ways of protecting members in an era of the global economics.
He sees unions having to widen the arena in which they operate and confront employers. "We need to develop a new trade union consciousness capable of building alliances with customers, suppliers, governments, regional authorities, international bodies - the aspirations of people generally."
Certainly, his campaign has been marked with efforts to widen the agenda. He has called for another £500 million in tax cuts for the PAYE sector; greater child support services for working parents; and Government action to curb house prices for young home-buyers.
There are three other candidates, all full-time officials.
The Donegal branch secretary, Mr George Hunter, has a strong regional base. . He will appeal to traditionalists within SIPTU who see him as "a safe pair of hands".
The union's equality officer, Ms Noirin Greene, is expected to poll well. She is a member of the Employment Equality Agency and on the executive of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. With a long track record on equality issues - and as a former Waterford branch secretary - she will be competing with Ms Duggan for votes.
The other candidate is Mr Norman Croke, Dublin hotels, restaurants and catering branch secretary. While he has only his own branch nomination, he has a high profile in the union and has campaigned long and hard on low pay.
When the count takes place in two weeks' time, we will have a clearer idea of what SIPTU members want from their union. If Ms Duggan wins we could be heading into stormy seas but then there are no guarantees of easy or safe passages these days.