By E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh
I am proud and honoured to head our union, E tū, as we celebrate 10 years since our launch.
We are a growing union – we have grown by 1,500 fee-paying members in the past year. None of the three unions who amalgamated to form E tū had had any sustained growth at any time in the 21st century, and nor did E tū for our first few years.
We chose a course when we formed E tū: to be a campaigning and organising union so that we could be a sustained and sustainable force for decent work and better lives.
Every time a working person chooses to join and stand with us – E tū – our power increases. Every time a group of E tū members elect a delegate to lead them, our power increases. Every time a delegate leads a group of workers to organise around an issue and win a collective agreement or other victory, we improve lives. This is E tū every day.
We are the most digitally advanced union in the country. Our ability to make decisions based on good information is a result of our digital investment and our commitment to be fit for the future. Our ability to communicate with workers, our members, and the wider public is strong because it’s those very workers who stand up as spokespeople for our union, ensuring real people and their stories are leading the conversation.
We are a campaigning union where we join with allies to campaign for transformational change. Our most recent campaign victory occurred in September this year, on a nationwide Women’s Day of Action. That day was the culmination of many campaign events, education events, public meetings, rallies, media stories, lobbying and public appearances by E tū members and our allies. On the Women’s Day of Action the Labour Party committed, for the first time, to fund pay equity to at least the $12.8 billion stolen by the current government. That is a transformational campaign victory.
At the time of our 10th anniversary, I reflect on our journey to get here. Our logo includes a tukutuku pattern, which represents the weaving together of the many strands that form E tū. The oldest thread in our tukutuku dates from 1863, when a group of engineers first formed a union. Since then many threads have been woven into the fabric of our union to create who we are now. Part of the weaving is forming and maintaining relationships to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Part is the joining together of workers from different industries. We are a union diverse in industry, age, ethnicity and culture, and in gender and sexual orientation. From this diversity, we build our strength by what we do together.
I pay tribute to our dedicated staff and to all the members who continue their commitment to organising and campaigning for decent work and decent lives.
Looking forward, I see further transformation. We continue to organise and campaign to transform the care industry in Aotearoa, to secure safe airports as part of an international campaign for decent work, to ensure a just transition through the effects of climate change so that no worker is left behind, and to return to industry standards that eradicate poverty for working people.
We are E tū proud. Kia kaha tātou.