Ti Lamusse.

Introducing Ti Lamusse:

I am a lecturer in Criminology at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington. I live in Pōneke but grew up in Kirikiriroa and studied at the Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. I have more than a decade’s experience in social movement organising and organisational governance. I have set up organisations and run campaigns on issues such as: criminal justice transformation, climate action, anti-fascism, anti-war, Palestine solidarity, clean air in schools, rainbow rights, and renters’ rights. I have been a union member since 2013 and a TEU member since 2015. I’m the Vice President of the Te Herenga Waka TEU Branch.

I'm standing because:

Our sector is in crisis and our union needs to step up. Business as usual isn’t working. We need bold, transformative action in order to meet the moment.

As Tumu Whakarae – Tiriti | National President – Tiriti, I will fight to transform us into an organising union. We need to become a more democratic and transparent union. I will fight for an approach to organising that draws on our greatest strength: our people. That means campaigning and bargaining in a way that is driven by members, not head office. It means bringing our communities along with us. It means giving power back to members to decide the future of our union and sector. You can find out more about how I plan to do that by clicking here.

What I will bring to the role:

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 been on the board of several organisations and have the governance and organising experience to change TEU 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.

I will bring energy, hope and an organising mentality to TEU leadership. Members from across Aotearoa are getting involved in my campaign. If you believe in what I’m standing for, you can get involved by clicking here.

If I am elected, I hope to achieve:

If elected, I will fight and organise every day for a better tertiary education system. This includes:

1. Fully funded tertiary education

At the heart of all the issues we face is a lack of funding. For decades, successive governments have not increased funding to match inflation. Workers in tertiary institutions are constantly being asked to do more with less.

Our workloads are increasing because there’s no money to replace staff (or staffing has been cut). Even when student numbers increase, there are rarely the additional workers to pick up the additional workload.

The only way to address the chronic issues in our sector is if it is funded properly. As Tumu Whakarae – Tiriti | National President – Tiriti, I will make sure that we are doing everything in our power to win the funding we need.

2. Security for precarious workers

As someone who worked for years as a precariously employed tutor, teaching fellow and library assistant, I know the personal cost of this uncertainty. Precarious workers are asked to put their lives on hold, while employers decide what they want to do with us.

At the same time, precarious workers are absolutely essential to the functioning our tertiary institutions. Workers like tutors and teaching fellows often work well-beyond their contracted hours. They do this because they care deeply about their students and do not have enough contracted hours to do the work required. Too many precarious workers are scared about speaking out, because of the fear of losing future contracts. As a result, exploitation of precarious workers is rife and under-reported in our sector.

As Tumu Whakarae – Tiriti | National President – Tiriti, I will make organising precarious workers a priority.

3. Fighting for every job

Over the last three years, we have lost far too many colleagues and comrades to draconian cuts to staffing. It has been a scary, frustrating, and depressing time to be in tertiary education.

While there have been some inspiring pockets of resistance, the TEU’s national response to these job cuts has been lacking. Our same old approaches are not working. We are not being listened to.

As Tumu Whakarae – Tiriti | National President – Tiriti, I will fight for every job. But to do that, we need to turn up the intensity. We need to change the way we organise in response to these crises. We need a grassroots, community-organising model, drawing on our existing relationships to force the people in power to listen to us (see more here).

4. A living wage for all

Our lowest-paid colleagues do some of the hardest work, for the least recognition.

We all know how hard the last few years have been with the cost-of-living crisis. But for our colleagues on the lowest pay, the crisis isn’t new. It’s something they’ve been dealing with for years, because their wages are not liveable.

As Tumu Whakarae – Tiriti | National President – Tiriti, I will fight for the entire sector to have the living wage as a minimum wage. That means working with local bargaining teams to ensure that a living wage is a key part of our claims. It also means engaging with other community organisations to pressure employers and the government to do the right thing.

I will contribute to the implementation of the TEU's goals by:

Democratising our union. At National Conference this year, we set some great goals as a union. The problem is: most members would not have a clue what those goals are. Too often, members are kept out of key decision-making.

I will use my decade of organising experience to transform the TEU into an organising union that’s more transparent, democratic and member-led. I would do this in two key ways:

1. 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. More delegates mean we can get much more done more as a union. They should also ensure greater democratic decision-making and transparency.

Although we have started work training delegates, this work has not been given the priority it needs. As Tumu Whakarae – Tiriti | National President – Tiriti, I will do everything in my power to support branches to recruit, train and organise delegates. We urgently need to develop strong local and national networks of well-trained delegates. Our current approach is not working and is not well-coordinated. As Tumu Whakarae – Tiriti | National President – Tiriti, I will work with all branches to help them to develop local delegate strategies, as a part of a national strategy to expand and empower delegates.

2. Change our structure to prioritise organising over advocacy.

Unions like the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) have delivered massive wins by members for members. A few years ago, NZNO transformed its structure to make sure that organising, delegate development and strong, local campaigns are at the heart of their work.

We need to learn from the best. If we want to get the kind of wins that nurses have had in the last few years, we need to change the way we do things. That means putting less of our financial and organisational resources into head office and more of our resources into local branch-based organisers.

Now, more than ever, we need to be a union with the power to win. We won’t do that unless we are willing to demand and organise for change. You can get involved in my campaign by clicking here.