The Secretary General of the trade union was Abdullah Asnag, a pro-independence Arab nationalist and admirer of Nasser who also advocated union with Yemen. Supported by the UAR the ATUC rose in importance when the political disturbances and the violence reached a head and political parties ceased to function. By 1959 it was the only entity representing nationalist aspirations in Aden and it used its leverage to boycott elections as the main grouping of the People's Union.