I am so grateful I was able to intern at the United Services Union for the 2 weeks I spent as an intern earlier this year. The whole experience has taught me so much more than I could have imagined.

 After the first day of training at Trades Hall centre, we got to know the crew at USU.

We watched some videos on the impact and history of unions and the importance of everyone that helps it come together. Over the next couple days I had the great opportunity to bond with my fellow intern Mia by shadowing the resident industrial officer and organisers.

Both aspects were very exciting, as one focused on the technical language unions use to strengthen workplace rights (which I knew nothing about beforehand), and the other was very practical, social recording of real workers experiences.

Visiting the IRC gave me firsthand insight into the respect, protections, and entitlements that union members deserve, and it showed me the real impact unions can have in advocating for fairness. What inspired me even more, though, was the social organising work happening in depots, childcare centers, and airports. By shadowing organisers across all three workplaces, I was able to support the movement on the ground and help address real issues—such as disability support, excessive workloads, and unfair dismissal—by encouraging workers to collectivise under the USU.

And it was so fun to get to know everyone in the process!!! I was able to realise the true reliability of a good delegate in the workplace as a result (also thanks to my 2-day delegate training), and the need for the union’s membership to lead the union, not the other way around

 During our time we also spent some time in the info Centre, which, much to the info Centre’s surprise, Mia and I found quite enjoyable! We made calls to new members, bonded with Alex, Emma, Katie, and Shane (which is the true gift) and otherwise attended an insightful meeting on USU member retention, which revealed insight into the dynamic and importance of valuable administrative work for unions.

Towards the end we visited parliament house with Peter Munford, which was a blast given my familiarity with politics and the staff there. We spoke with many important state members on the history of unions and the Labor Party and potentially recruited a few more workers!

Finally, I followed James out to the Randwick depot at 5:30am, which brought me courage to push through positive change by having a go on my own recruiting by myself. After lunch we had then gone to unionise the Maroubra lifeguards, where I built trust with the team for hours, and they even let me keep a lifeguard hat because of it! Overall, the experience brought me not only confidence in our unions, but appreciation in living out this work authentically and with earnest dedication. I want to thank Sandie and Unions NSW for granting me the opportunity to do this, and I hope I get to work with the USU again!