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Firstly, what is a union?

Members are the union. A union is simply a democratic organisation of working people standing up for their rights on the job and in society.

You may already collaborate with parent groups, social groups and community sports groups – working together to achieve outcomes. Being a member of the IEU is a similar collective, except you are focused on your workplace.

“The IEU is people like me”

The IEU is you because you are a member of the IEU.

The IEU was formed by a courageous group of people like you.

In 1984, a group of courageous people demanding a fair go for workers in non-government education met on the footpath of Greenhill Road and conceived the Association of Teachers in Independent Schools (ATIS). This was after the non-government section of the SA Institute of Teachers was evicted from the SAIT meeting over the issue of government funding for non-government schools.

This was the first bold step in organising across independent schools where there had been no particular previous history of workplace activism outside of institutionalised staff associations to a union of members, currently numbering approximately 3,600.

You can watch a 30 minute video about the history of IEU(SA) ‘Footpath to Independence’ below

Why you joined the IEU

Your reason for joining the IEU may be the same as why many other members join:

• job insurance
• you may be a unionist
• you care about social justice issues
• a colleague recommended our support
• our member benefits
• professional learning
• superannuation, leave and pay advice, or
• contract advice.

And there are many other reasons as well.

Union Values

Unions also bring people together in the community to stand up for issues and values that matter to all working people. The constant set of Union values concerning fairness at work are:

• Safe conditions.
• Appropriate wages.
• Training and skill recognition.
• The quality of life one buys with one’s wages, and
• The quality of the society that we belong to.

The 3 legged stool – a symbol of Union Values

Our Secretary, Glen Seidel, explains Union Values with the 3 legged stool metaphor.

“The 3 legged stool is the symbol of Union Values!

The seat is the core of unionism – it is based on values. That is the Why we chose to belong.

Leg 1 is our industrial values – a fair deal at work with safe conditions, reasonable workloads and wages and individual support. This may be the main purpose for unions for some people. For them that leg may be longer than the others.

Leg 2 is our set of professional values – we are growing our IEU Professional Learning leg as exemplified by Teacher Learning Network and inhouse professional learning sessions.

Leg 3 is the social values that underpin Unionism. Unions have led social change related to work:

• industry superannuation,
• parental leave,
• WH&S,
• holidays and other leave.

Unions have also been active in social issues such as:

• women’s rights – eg. #enoughisenough – March4Justice, Share the Dignity Charity
• religious discrimination issues
• the environment
• First Nations Peoples
• Asylum Seekers
• LGBTQI+”

“I only joined to get help with my matter”

And that is fine. We are here to help all members at whatever level they need assistance and to whatever level they want to be involved with the IEU.

But if we go back to the definition of ‘What is a Union’ – a union is simply a democratic organisation of working people standing up for their rights on the job and in society.

The more people that join the union the larger your collective voice in your workplace. That collective voice ensures you are heard by your employer and have more power towards bargaining for better outcomes.

Can I be involved in organising for, and assisting the IEU?

Yes! The effectiveness of the IEU in your workplace is based on members knowing that they are the union and that they can do a lot for themselves by organising, supporting and becoming a Sub-branch Representative (REPs) in their school.

But even if you don’t wish to be a REP – you can still actively organise colleagues at your school to join the IEU and increase your collective voice.

As a member you can be actively involved in organising for the IEU if you talk with other members about issues in your workplace, discuss IEU membership with non-members and actively respond to IEU requests for feedback in surveys, to meet with IEU Organisers and discuss school issues and to actively participate in Enterprise Agreement (EA) Bargaining.

Members can be involved in the IEU at levels of Sub-branch Representative, Executive Ordinary Member or Executive Office Bearers.

You can read more about becoming a REP here – https://ieusa.org.au/reps/

You can read about the structure of the IEU here – https://ieusa.org.au/about-us/union-structure/

Membership is value

As we have just discussed, membership of the IEU offers much value:

• Industrial values
• Professional values
• Social values

To truly leverage this value, be active in your membership:

• Talk with us before signing contracts.
• Contact us immediately if you are requested to attend meetings.
• Review your pay slips regularly and ask your school Organiser to check if they are correct against your school EA.
• Keep us updated on changes to your employment, contact details or work times.
• Ask us for advice before you request long service leave, leave without pay or parenting leave.
• Attend our free professional learning courses online and at the IEU Office.
• Utilise our member benefits discounts and offers through Union Shopper and Teachers Health.
• And the really important one – don’t wait until you can’t work or you have exhausted all your leave because of a workplace injury – speak with us before this happens!

It really does pay to be a member of the IEU.

We will let a member explain this for you:
“I’ve finally started using Union Shopper. The 4-5% discount for groceries at Woolworths & fuel at Caltex (plus dozens of other outlets ie Rebel, JB etc etc) alone covers the cost of union fees (after the tax deduction)………..so being with the IEUSA is effectively a free membership”

Enjoy your membership, contact us on 8410 0122 or enquiries@ieusa.org.au if you have any questions and be sure to encourage non-members to join the IEU!