The Victorian division is the jewel in the National Tertiary Education Union’s crown – it’s up for grabs

Uni Melbourne branch president, Annette Herrera is running for state secretary, on a ticket with branch secretary David Gonzalez.

The pair are prominent at what is perhaps the most activist NTEU branch in the country and have strong support among Uni Melbourne casuals, which may not shared by management, Herrera and Gonzalez are enthusiastic campaigners for staff.

They are campaigning on bringing their grassroot campaigning approach to other branches.

Ms Herrera has personally endorsed Anastasia Kanjere (La Trobe U) who is running for national secretary on a similar issues.

Present deputy state secretary Sarah Roberts is also standing for state secretary, on the “Renew NTEU” ticket with Joo-Cheong Tham (Uni Melbourne) standing for a/s (academic staff) and Ruth Jelley (Swinburne U) for a/s professional staff. Their platform includes, empowering branches, which, “for too long have been sidelined in decision making, left scrabbling for resources.

Incumbent state secretary Melissa Slee, says “I am yet to decide if I am contesting the upcoming election.”