Voting by postal ballot is underway in the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) in the University of Sydney and union members have until August 30 to decide.
Rank and File Action USyd (RAFA), the group whose members led the fight for better pay and conditions in the new enterprise agreement (EA) and are championing students’ right to demonstrate on campus, is standing a diverse ticket of academic and professional staff for the union executive, branch committee and national council.
RAFA describes its team as “a broad-left alliance of experienced and active unionists”. It is headed by presidential candidate David Brophy, with Nick Riemer for academic vice-president, Jason Todd for general vice-president, Riki Scanlan for secretary and Markela Panegyres for the branch committee (casuals representative).
RAFA is also fielding candidates for the branch committee and the national council.
RAFA states that it is “committed to the principle of respectful and comradely member-led unionism, fighting to uphold our workplace rights and assertively pursuing increased wages and better conditions and job-security”.
It points to its members undertaking “basic union work — all the time, whether or not we’re negotiating an EA”.
RAFA believes the union movement can, and should, also advocate for broader social justice issues, including for First Nations rights and Palestine solidarity while also fighting “management’s austerity agendas in staffing and curriculum” and its attempts to separate teaching and research.
Its vision is for the university to be a place where knowledge is disseminated “for the public good” and “where all staff, professional and academic, are respected”.
RAFA helped lead the branch throughout the 2022–23 strike campaign for a decent EA and it has been working hard since then to “enforce our industrial rights and ensure management respects our new enterprise agreement”.
RAFA wants to lead the branch in the next bargaining round and it promises to push for industrial rights, grow the branch membership and foster democratic union activity.
Endorsements for the RAFA team have come in from university staff members, including Coel Kirkby who said: “Our university needs a militant and non-sectarian left committed to upholding and improving our conditions.”
Meaghan Morris said RAFA has a “humane and practical vision for our university, with active commitment to job security, fair pay, social justice and real democracy within the NTEU”.
Aiden Magro said “I want our union to keep fighting the forces of corporatisation, casualisation and neoliberalism at University of Sydney”.
NTEU Renewal and NTEU Fightback are also contesting positions.
NTEU Renewal says it stands “for the many not the few”, although it is fielding Fiona Gill, who quit the branch committee last year for its strong stand for Palestine, for branch secretary. It proposes its supporters vote in the national council and branch committee elections for candidates from its ticket, RAFA and Fightback.
NTEU Fightback criticised the branch leadership after a majority of members decided to accept management’s EA offer last year and despite the leadership advising against accepting the offer. It is not fielding candidates for office-bearer positions president, rather suggesting a vote for RAFA candidates in those.
[Click on the link for more information on RAFA, Fightback and Renewal.]