Election Champions!
We Now Have 235 NDU Election Champions and We Want More!
This week, 235 members who have already put their names forward to be NDU election champions will receive their Champions badge and their first mission which is to:
- Wear the Champions badge with pride
- Hang the Champions poster in a prominent place in their workplace
- Distribute the NDU's Election 08 leaflet to workmates and,
- Keep helping people enrol to vote.
We would like you to join us! In this election campaign, the NDU is asking as many members as possible to become election champions and take a leadership role by carrying out small achievable tasks for the union in the lead-up to the election.
NDU Secretary Laila Harre is quick to point out that it is not meant to be a difficult task,
"Indeed, the whole point is for our champions to get a little bit more enjoyment and learning out of the election and sharing that with others."
She said that she is excited by the prospect of members' fuller involvement in the election campaign through the champions' scheme,
"I was in Australia recently and I was very impressed with the Australian Union campaign Your Rights At Work (YR@W) which encouraged members to become union "heroes". The campaign worked because it had buy-in and involvement of hundreds of members across the country. The bottom-up local approach to campaigning is always much more successful than being told by head office what you have to do! If we can do the same thing here, not only are we able to generate member interest in the election, we also boost morale and strengthen our union."
Cathy Casey, the new NDU election co-ordinator says that says the election champions' network will be a key linkage for the NDU to achieve its goal of returning a worker friendly government and building the union.
"An NDU election champion could be someone at work who people can turn to discuss election issues and give them some advice; it could be someone who makes it her mission to make sure everyone in her family and workplace is enrolled to vote; or it could just be someone like you who just wants to do a little bit more to help ensure a worker friendly government is re-elected."
"You can volunteer yourself or you can be nominated through your LOC or be recommended by another NDU member. We want a shop floor "election champion" in every NDU work site in the country - and that's a lot of champions!"
Throughout the country, a total of 235 members have already put their hand up to become NDU election champions and nominations are still piling in.
So start thinking. The NDU wants someone in your workplace to be an election champion. Is it you? If not, who do you suggest? If you would like to become an election champion, or volunteer a workmate, then email Cathy Casey.
