Editorial:The power of a Union
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128 No 7, 29 September 2023, page no. 5
TAFE educators' recent successful EB outcome (see page 11) had me reflecting on the power of a Union and the importance of members engaging in the democratic processes of our Union.
Don’t get me wrong, I have known the might of being part of the collective since I first became a QTU member in the early 90s. The issues of the day included student performance standards, the introduction of points in the teacher transfer system, advanced skills teachers (AST), EB negotiations, and non-contact time for primary and special schools. As a beginning teacher in Central Queensland, the idea of AST was not something that particularly affected me, and as a secondary teacher, neither did the provision of non-contact time in primary and special schools. However, that did not stop us as members of the QTU taking the necessary action to support members in other sectors, other salary classifications or other locations.
QTU members have a proud history of standing together to achieve these wins. This is why the wins in the TAFE EB are significant. Facing an offer that would mean that TAFE educators would be treated differently in terms of the COLA payment to other TAFE employees, they united, together, stood their ground and won.
Similarly, the QTU has a proud history of campaigning for the communities in which they work. We have been active in the referendum to support a republic, the marriage equality plebiscite, sexual and gendered harassment and reproductive rights campaigns. Members were also heavily involved in the Your Rights at Work campaign, even though changes to the federal industrial relations system didn’t directly affect them as state employees. They did it to fight for the rights of the wider community.
We are currently involved in the Voice to Parliament referendum campaign. We believe that winning this referendum will be a powerful and unifying moment for our country. Unions always stand up for fairness, justice and making sure no one is left behind. This campaign is no different.
A Voice to Parliament will give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a say on issues that impact them, and lead to practical change in First Nations communities. So many of our members work and live in First Nations communities across our state. Providing an education for First Nations children, informed by First Nations people, is necessary if we are truly going to close the educational disadvantage gap.
For me, one of the troubling mantras of this campaign has been “if you don’t know, vote no.” As an educator and an activist, I feel this slogan diminishes the importance of finding out, of learning. If we allow politicians and others to make statements that support people not finding out, not learning, then does that not demonstrate the value that they place on what we, as educators, do every day?
I truly do not believe that any parent or teacher (or anyone who values education) would accept a proposition that its okay to do nothing, to remain uninformed, to not find out, to not learn. Our whole interaction as educators is inquiry-based learning – an invitation for our students and for our communities to be curious. I know as a parent I used to express frustration when my children would ask the perennial “why?”, but I would not change those questions, their thirst for knowledge, for anything.
My ask of members for this campaign then is if you don’t know, find out. Do what you do and take the opportunity to listen and learn, and then make an informed decision.
While I believe that this referendum can be a step in healing our country, and that learning more about the rich culture of our First Nations people and constitutional recognition are an important part of Australia’s path to reconciliation, I accept that some people may not agree with this proposition. However, I do not accept it is helpful to not agree with this proposition because you have not sought to find out what you did not know. And to be encouraged not to learn, to act in a particular way because you are afraid of change, by leaders in this country does not bode well – for our profession or the value they place on it.
After all, isn’t that what all the Union’s campaigns are about – campaigning to improve working conditions, campaigning to improve the lives of our students, our colleagues, our communities and ourselves, campaigning for change? Because when we win, not only do our conditions and resourcing improve, so do those of our students.
As American anthropologist and social campaigner Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has”.
Consequently, we should encourage people to learn; to be thoughtful. And we should never doubt that united, we as a profession can achieve so much – we should never doubt the power in our Union.