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ACTIVISTPROFILE<br />
OUR STRENGTH IS<br />
IN OUR MEMBERS<br />
We had a chat with<br />
Airports Delegate<br />
Carolyn Dwyer at SNP<br />
Security to find out what<br />
it’s like to be a delegate<br />
and more!<br />
HOW DID YOU GET<br />
INVOLVED IN THE UNION?<br />
I’ve been involved in unions<br />
my whole working life. I<br />
always believed workers<br />
should join the union<br />
because they are there to<br />
protect their rights. When I<br />
first came to work at SNP, I<br />
realised there was a need for<br />
people to speak up for fellow<br />
employees, especially as the<br />
EBA was coming along.<br />
Not many people wanted<br />
to put their hand up to be<br />
a delegate so I decided to<br />
volunteer and give it a shot. I<br />
couldn’t have done it without<br />
the backing of my colleagues,<br />
help from other delegates<br />
and support from the <strong>TWU</strong><br />
officials. I’ve now been a<br />
delegate for about four years.<br />
WHAT’S THE KEY TO A<br />
STRONG UNION YARD?<br />
The key to a strong yard, I<br />
think, is honesty. Being honest<br />
and reliable and having the<br />
courage to back one another<br />
up. These things all make<br />
a huge difference. Being<br />
sincere to one another and<br />
doing what you can to help.<br />
Standing strong with fellow<br />
SNP delegates David<br />
Strizhevsky and Bassam Daher<br />
at the Delegates’ Conference.<br />
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO NEW<br />
STARTERS IN THE YARD?<br />
I tell new starters to talk<br />
to other workers, get some<br />
ideas from them, don’t take<br />
my word for things. I don’t<br />
want to push membership<br />
down people’s throats but<br />
I tell them that we work in<br />
an environment where it’s<br />
easy to be human and make<br />
mistakes and that they’ll need<br />
someone to watch their back.<br />
We’re able to find<br />
loyalty in each other in the<br />
workplace as a union. If we<br />
have to make hard decisions<br />
“<br />
WE ALL NEED TO<br />
UNDERSTAND THAT<br />
YOU DON’T GET<br />
ANYWHERE BY<br />
ACTING INDIVIDUALLY<br />
AND THAT WE NEED<br />
TO BE UNITED AND<br />
ORGANISED.<br />
we can do it standing<br />
together to make sure we can<br />
get an outcome that benefits<br />
all of us.<br />
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO<br />
BE A <strong>TWU</strong> DELEGATE?<br />
Some people don’t realise<br />
how hard the unions fought in<br />
Australia to get the wages and<br />
conditions that we have today.<br />
The majority of employers<br />
will never give you good<br />
wages and conditions out of<br />
the goodness of their heart,<br />
especially big businesses.<br />
A good day’s work should<br />
get you a fair days pay, but<br />
these days big businesses<br />
seem to be trying to wind<br />
back the clock! They want<br />
you in a desperate position so<br />
that you’ll work any time and<br />
for anything. That’s my belief<br />
and that’s what drives me to<br />
be a delegate.<br />
WHAT ARE YOU ESPECIALLY<br />
PROUD OF AS A DELEGATE<br />
IN YOUR YARD?<br />
At the moment I’m proud<br />
of the issues we constantly<br />
bring to our bosses’ attention.<br />
It’s these smaller fights and<br />
wins that make sure we don’t<br />
go backwards and we keep<br />
our rights.<br />
I’m proud of the growth<br />
in our membership and happy<br />
that people can feel like<br />
they can trust the <strong>TWU</strong>. Our<br />
strength is in our members<br />
and it’s the members<br />
that work to make all our<br />
livelihoods better.<br />
14 | <strong>TWU</strong>NEWS SUMMER <strong>2015</strong> FACEBOOK.COM/<strong>TWU</strong>NSW<br />
<strong>TWU</strong>NSW.ORG.AU
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