Five reasons to join Union Aid Abroad- APHEDA

Executive Officer, Kate Lee takes a look at five reasons people should join Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA.

We have set some ambitious membership goals – because we have to. Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA needs a reliable, independent funding source and as we increasingly focus all our international work in social and union movement building and struggles we need a member base ready to take action in solidarity with our partners.   

APHEDA members make a tax-deductible monthly contribution to the work and join with a movement of Australian unionists who support movement building across all our work and projects around the world.

If you are not yet a member of Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA join today!

If you are already a member please forward this article to your colleagues and friends and invite them to join too.

Five reasons to join Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA

1. Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is the Australian union movement’s global justice organisation and everything we do is set in our union values. Unionists are generous and understand the need for us all to chip-in to win what we set out to achieve. If we all chip-in with a monthly contribution we can, collectively, support important work internationally.

2. Our work is centred in union and allied social movement building. Unions reduce inequality. Our Prime Minister might not think so, but even the world’s conservative banks and think-tanks all agree on this. In countries the world over, unions lift wages at the workplace and also impact government policy on social policy – like funding for school education and health care, regulation of the cost of energy and influence tax policy. According to all the research, less inequality brings more happiness.

3. APHEDA helps build powerful movements of organised people. World history is on the side of organised people’s movements – from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa to the movement in support of independence for East Timor to the organised movement that fought Workchoices. Social movements achieve significant change and make large-scale impacts in the global fight against inequality and injustice.

4. We are all connected to the world whether we like it or not. While we fight to save our jobs here from workers on visas being paid $2 an hour, we have to also fight to lift the wage levels in their countries of origin, or we will never stem the flow. We may be well organised to demand the right to government regulation in multi-country trade deals, but if workers and communities are not well organised in counterpart countries in Asia, we won’t win.

5. We’re on a winning thing! For thirty years Australian unionists have backed APHEDA with amazing tales to tell (you can read some of them in our book – get your copy at the APHEDA Shop). We are excited about the things we can do over the next thirty, all of us, together, as internationalist unionists and supporters of global justice.

6. And lastly, with a sneaky sixth reason in the five reasons list, the work we, APHEDA members do, is vitally important and connects with the work of the Australian movement. Check out our work to support partners across South East Asia to stop the use of asbestos— Asbestos. Not here. Not anywhere.