Ti Lamusse - VUW.

My name is Ti Lamusse and I’m a Lecturer at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington. I am running for TEU National President-Tiriti because our sector is in crisis and our union needs to step up.

About Ti

I have been a union member since 2013 and a TEU member since 2015. I know the reality of working in precarious, underpaid employment at New Zealand tertiary institutions. From 2015 to 2020, I was on a series of short-term contracts as a tutor, teaching fellow, and library assistant at the University of Auckland.

I also have more than a decade’s experience in organising in social movements. I have co- founded several organisations and have led successful campaigns involving hundreds of thousands of people. I know how to get people involved to take action on issues they care about. I have the governance and organising experience to change our union for the better.

I have strong progressive values. I co-led the recent successful campaign for the TEU to stand in solidarity with Palestine. I have built and co-led Te Tiriti-structured organisations. I also know the paramount importance of membership democracy, bringing people along as we fight for a better world together.

For a stronger TEU

The TEU needs to make some big changes in order to address the crises we face. As President-Tiriti, I will fight to transform us into an organising union. A more democratic and transparent union.

To achieve these goals, I will prioritise the development of member delegates. The TEU is an outlier in the New Zealand trade union movement because of our massively underdeveloped delegate structures. In well-functioning, organising unions, delegates get the mahi done. Proper delegate structures should also ensure greater democratic decision-making and transparency.

For a better Tertiary Education Sector

After decades of funding shortfalls, we’re facing hundreds of job losses and worsening working conditions. As President-Tiriti, I will fight for: a fully funded tertiary sector that protects jobs, provides secure employment, and pays a living wage. To win, we will need to change the way we organise.

That means adopting a grassroots, community-organising model. This approach starts with the people on the ground. Our members on site, not head office, have the best understanding of what their issues at work are. Then, local organisers and delegates build strong relationships with other local community groups. We demonstrate our shared struggle. From there, we work together as a broader collective to pressure our employers, and the government, to hear us. This is a winning strategy. The Living Wage movement in Aotearoa adopts this approach. VUW won a living wage, precisely because of this approach.

We also need to change the public perception of tertiary education. We have a lot of mahi to do to build up that public support. As someone with more than a decade’s experience of running grassroots campaigns in the media, I know how to do this.

Find out more here: ti4teu.nz
Get involved here: https://ti4teu.nz/get-involved/