Members of the Community and Public Sector Union – State Public Service Federation (CPSU-SPSF) in Victoria have formed a rank-and-file caucus. They’re determined to take back their union. Alison Thorne spoke about the project with two dynamo organisers from A Voice For Members, Sofia Gellar and Jiselle Hanna.
Sofia works in Emergency Management Victoria (EMV). She joined the CPSU last year, motivated by events in Palestine. “I was livid when my job was moved from shift work to a Monday to Friday role. Then I met liked-minded people through CPSU For Palestine.”
Jiselle, a lifelong unionist, works in policy and procedures at the Department of Justice. She has been a CPSU member for 10 years. She says, “When we started A Voice For Members, the time was right. But it didn’t come from nowhere. We actively built our rank-and-file group from nothing.”
Origins. A Voice For Members grew out of Enterprise Bargaining within the Victorian Public Service (VPS). Union members got to know each other through CPSU for Palestine. “Radical politics isn’t something you can easily talk about in a public service workplace. But when CPSU for Palestine exploded onto the scene, members found each other,” Jiselle explained.
Sofia added, “Union members were being pulled up for talking about Palestine at work. We had always thought the union would have our back but soon realised that wasn’t true. There was a CPSU for Palestine training day, and the idea to challenge the union leadership came up.” Jiselle describes it as “a very organic process.”
Jiselle said that with Enterprise Bargaining in full swing, “the union officials accepted the first offer that was put on the table.” It was woefully inadequate. The newly connected rank-and-file unionists began discussing it. The possibility of a coordinated Vote No campaign was discussed. They decided that they weren’t well organised enough — yet — and aspired to change that. Although they voted No, and encourage others to do so, 70 percent of the VPS voted, with 94 percent voting Yes. A key reason the deal got over the line was “a sweetener of a cash payment of $5,600,” reflects Jiselle. “But when the payment hit people’s account, it was more like $3,000, because it was taxed. Most people had already spent the full amount in their minds. People were viscerally angry.”
Issues for the VPS. The critical issues are job cuts, which then lead to increased workloads. Jiselle has “survived four Clause 11s” over her decade in the VPS. “Clause 11” refers to the provision under the VPS agreement that compels consultation on a restructure. “Clause 11 is code for the possibility of being made redundant,” Jiselle explained. The state Labor government “is currently implementing austerity measures. Its policy is to cut the public service by 10 percent every year until the state election. We have had two rounds already, with another two to come.” The VPS agreement also requires consultation on roster changes, which frequently result in loss of penalty rates. “Workers are telling A Voice For Members that when they walk into negotiations, the union officials are already defeated. There is no attempt to fight back,” says Jiselle.
Sofia added, “Currently my workplace — Emergency Management — has to cut its budget 30 percent by June. Shift work has been cut in the middle of a bushfire season. You need to have the union officials and the members on the same side. But in the CPSU, that’s not happening. Many other unions are stronger than the CPSU-SPSF. Look at the Firefighters Union — they have been able to achieve a lot through their solidarity.” Sofia added that “The union officials promote things like a 10 percent discount off tyres, but what we actually want is support in our workplace!”
Jiselle argues that “the union officials are not defeatist because they are battle-worn or they lack intelligence or insight — they are defeatist because they don’t want to fight. This is a leadership that has been there for more than 30 years! The secretary is on $258,000. She is not interested in organising members — we are just a cash cow to her. Members tell us that the leadership walks into meetings, chummy with the bosses.”
Jiselle characterises the incumbent union leadership as “hyper-paranoid and hyper-fearful.” As a delegate, she is frustrated that they keep members isolated, adding, “I didn’t even know who the members were in my own workplace!” The members are carefully controlled: “During the EBA online meetings, the officials told us we couldn’t take action. We couldn’t see who else was on the call. We couldn’t talk to each other. We couldn’t debate. We couldn’t ask questions, except in the chat. Then organisers were tasked with ringing members to answer our question. It all happened so privately.”
Time for a change. Sofia described A Voice for Members’ vision: “The first thing we will do is involve the members. People are excited to actually get involved in their union.”
Decisions need to be made democratically and collectively by well-informed union members. In Jiselle’s view, “When big decisions are required, all the information needs to be put on the table. Here’s the risks, the benefits, here’s what history tells us and what other unions are doing. The state government’s wages cap affects other unions, too. Imagine if we had cross-union meetings to discuss collective action to fight back against the wages cap,” she said. Other workers impacted by the Victorian wages cap include nurses, public transport workers, paramedics, firefighters, teachers and other health workers in public hospitals.
A Voice for Members announced that it will run a ticket in the 2025 elections. Sofia says that they “want a union that actually works for its members — a union that members actually want to join. She thinks that the caucus is already having an impact. “They are starting to organise. There was actually a meeting at EMV, where all the shift workers are being forced onto regular hours with a huge loss of pay.”
“We are running a ticket because we want to win back the union,” explains Jiselle. It might be a two-term proposition. We need to build a rank-and-file network of workers who can develop enough power, whoever is in office, to actually fight for the members. We need to re-establish delegate networks — they have all but disappeared. While our project involves an election ticket, our goal is to strengthen the rank-and-file. While we want to win office, we are under no illusion that winning office is a panacea for organising. The risk of whoever we elect becoming bureaucratised is very real. We need a rank and file structure to hold whoever gets elected to account,” she explains.
Sofia encourages every CPSU-SPSF member, “Join our group. People can also donate — it costs a lot to run an election. Members should also talk to their colleagues and encourage people to join the union.” Jiselle says, “Solidarity goes a long way. Public servants are like nurses — everyone knows one. So share, share, share. Other unionists can help with campaigning. We are also a resource for the union movement — unionists should start their own rank-and-file groups.”
In January, A Voice For Members held a successful launch event. Among the speakers was Ellen David Friedman from Labor Notes in the U.S., who is the author of What To Do When Your Union Breaks Your Heart. Friedman shared a wealth of advice. For Sofia, a take-away was: “It won’t be easy — there will be a lot of pushback. So, don’t be surprised by this.” Jiselle said that the key advice for her was: “Do not underestimate how hard the incumbents are going to fight to protect their jobs. We are now seeing them organising, because they are fighting for their jobs, not our jobs.”
A Voice for Members is an inspiring project, which we hope will motivate other unionists to get organised and take back their unions!
Alison Thorne is a member of the Democracy For CPSU Caucus, a rank-and-file caucus in the CPSU PSU Group which covers federal and territory public servants. You can find A Voice For Members – CPSU Vic on Facebook and Instagram, or email them at cpsuavoiceformembers@gmail.com. You can contact Democracy For CPSU at democracy4cpsu@protonmail.com.
