Vic union boss powers down RETIRING union boss Dean Mighell has advocated for nearly 20 years to give workers a better work-life balance, but forgot to practise it himself. The Victorian Electrical Trades Union (ETU) boss, who turns 50 in December, says it is time to leave to spend time with wife, Mandy, and teen sons, Daniel and Jack. "My family has paid a price for what I've done," Mr Mighell, who has headed the ETU since 1995, told AAP. He said his greatest achievement was promoting a work-life balance by negotiating a 36-hour working week, but admitted he had never been good at practising it himself. Upon retiring, Mr Mighell said he didn't regret ending the union's long-standing affiliation with the Labor party in 2010, more than three years after he was forced to quit the party. "My only regret is I didn't do it sooner," he said. Mr Mighell was booted out of the party while Kevin Rudd was prime minister, after a tape emerged of him swearing and boasting about his negotiations with bosses. "To be sacked by a prime minister, who was a comic swearer, will always go down as one of the most amusing chapters in my life," he said. Ending the Labor link gave the union leverage and independence, he added. ETU membership had tripled under his watch, growing from about 8500 members to 19,200 while its assets jumped from $8.5 million to $52 million. Mr Mighell will be replaced as state secretary on Monday by Troy Gray.