| SSTUWA Executive: Mark Muir |
 I am nominating for SSTUWA Executive as part of the Members First team.I was educated at Beachlands Primary and Geraldton Senior High and value highly the education I was given and the opportunities it has given me. I am passionate about public education and regard the SSTUWA as the key in making teaching a viable profession and in fighting against the trend for all governments to downsize public education. I have taught in the public education system for 23 years in both country and metropolitan schools and have been a regular branch officer for most of those years. I am currently a level 3 administrator at Perth Modern School. I have a long record as a union activist and have been a State Council delegate for over a decade and member of various union committees during the same period. I am presently on SSTUWA Executive, the Appointments Committee, the International Committee and the Administrators Reference Group. During second semester 2008 I was seconded into the SSTUWA main office to help co-ordinate arbitration preparation and was the acting General-Secretary during the time of the Agreement in Principle vote in September 2008. I am on record as voting against the Agreement In Principle (17% increase with tradeoffs) and the earlier 13% offer. I joined the EBA negotiating team after members had decisively voted down the AIP and advocated strongly for the final negotiated agreement (21% increase), in my opinion the best deal achieved for administrators and teachers in the past decade. The Members First emphasis on improving communication to members and aiming to have as open and accountable leadership as possible is incredibly important. Members First was instrumental in establishing the new union website which is starting to realise the potential for online organising. The site will become even more important in our upcoming campaigns. The union needs to be in constant campaign mode and continually uphold the latest agreement and support members involved in current issues in schools. Administrators and teachers are being asked to do more tasks that in most cases have no education value and often are a distraction from student learning. A culture where administrators and teachers stand firm against nonsensical parent and DET requests needs to be nurtured. Our union has made some progress in attracting young graduates as members. New educator activism and opportunity is very important and if elected, I will ensure that Executive makes it a high priority. The 2008 EBA was a critical time for our union and I am very proud of the result that was negotiated via the strong and determined stand taken by Members First members of Executive. For strong, professional and determined leadership that truly believes in grassroots democratic unionism, vote Members First. |