We’re United For VIC

Our candidates are workplace delegates, union activists, and everyday members who share one thing in common: a commitment to building a stronger union for you.

Melbourne South East

These are the delegates, members and activists who are standing up for UWU members across Melbourne South West. They come from your workplaces and your industries. They know the challenges you face because they face them too.

They're ready to fight for a union that wins for you, picks up the phone when you need help, and puts more money in your pocket.

Meet Your Team

Endorse Our Candidates

Elizabeth La Forgue

Educator, ECEC | Melbourne South East

I've been a UWU member for 20 years. I work as a senior educator at an early learning centre with Good Start Early Learning, and I serve as a workplace delegate.
My main reason for joining the union was to improve working conditions, secure better pay, and obtain protection at work.
Joining was about being part of a collective and standing together for a better future. Being a union member means having a collective voice to secure safer working conditions.
It means solidarity, working together to uphold rights and achieve fairness, and ensuring workers are not alone in their workplace. It also provides a safety net of legal representation to protect workers against unfair treatment.
I remember in 2007 I had a problem with my pay and my director refused to solve it. I called the union and they fought for me. I'm supporting the United For You ticket because I believe in a team that stands for all members.

Surya Nagulapalli

UWU Organiser, Allied Industries | Melbourne South East

I've been a UWU member for 15 years. I currently work as an organiser with the United Workers Union, but my union journey started when I first moved to Australia as a migrant back in 2006.
I joined because I wanted to belong to a community called "union" at my workplace. I felt the union was the true community of Australia, and the United Workers Union in particular was a true reflection of Australian community, bringing together workers from different walks of life and cultures.
I was previously a union delegate at Wilson Security from 2009 to 2012. Being a union member means standing for the rights of workers and fighting for permanent changes that have a significant effect on work and personal life.
I'm a father of two beautiful kids and have a very supportive wife.
I love playing cricket and badminton, and I love spending time with family and friends, taking road trips across Australia, and helping out at the kids' cricket club and footy clubs.
It has been a privilege to be part of members' union journeys in achieving their goals for permanent change. I've been part of wins including casual conversion to full-time, winning part-time conversion to full-time at Crown, and winning the ability for members in detention to exercise industrial action for the first time.
I'm standing for election to keep moving forward and winning permanent changes in members' working lives. I want to make sure members can build and exercise power at the workplace, with the ability to use all available methods of campaigning. I want to develop opportunities for winning good wages and conditions and create an industry standard.
I'm supporting the United For You ticket because I believe in the delegates who are standing and in leadership that has achieved winning permanent changes in members' lives. They never give up when facing challenges.

Nateeka Evans

Educator, ECEC | Melbourne South East

I've been a UWU member for six years. I work as an assistant educator at Goodstart Early Learning Berwick, and I serve as a delegate. I joined because I strongly believe in speaking up for the rights of children, educators, and myself.
As an early childhood educator, I want to protect my career and help improve the conditions of our profession. We all know that ECEC is not an easy industry: the workloads are high, the pay has historically been low, and many educators experience burnout and lack of recognition.
I joined the union because I want to be part of pushing for positive change and creating a better future for educators and the children we support every day.
The United For You team has supported early childhood educators and teachers in ensuring fair allocation of programming and planning time and access to mandatory training. Some of the biggest wins have included improved pay and the recent changes that addressed the "under the roofline" issue. These changes have made a real difference to educators in the workplace and have helped us feel more supported, valued, and fairly treated.
I support the United For You ticket because it represents strong support for members and a genuine commitment to improving conditions for educators. Every member matters, and when we work together our voices are stronger. I believe this team reflects unity, fairness, and positive change for our industry.

Andrew Cseke

Security Officer | Melbourne South East

I've been a UWU member for 16 years. I work as a security officer at the Department of Treasury Reserve, where I serve as a workplace delegate. I stood up as a delegate because I saw security guards going backwards and I wanted that to end. At the Treasury Reserve, I worked with my colleague Sami Senyuva to build a strong union presence.
My proudest moment was convincing politicians to back our claim for Safeguard rates. That showed me what's possible when you organise and fight for what's right. I'm supporting the United For You team because I support the team that works hard and delivers the wins for our members.

Corey Matthews

UWU Organiser, Property Services | Melbourne South East

I've been a UWU member for seven years. I currently work as a lead organiser with the United Workers Union. I joined my first union in 2017 when I was a young worker living out of home at 19, employed as a casual at Legoland Chadstone, where I signed up 14 of my colleagues and started our Legoland union.
Union membership means a lot of things to me. It means getting your round at the pub, it means helping the person next to you, it means that you demand respect. But fundamentally, union membership is what allowed my grandfather to provide for his family working at Hazelwood Power Station, it meant my father was able to provide for me as a child and come home safely from working at the shipyards as a boilermaker.
Union membership is what allowed me to have the life I have had so far. I want members to know that I have their backs and that I will fight tooth and nail to ensure we have a union that reflects our values, fights smart, and puts members front and centre of everything we do.
I'm standing for United For You because I believe in the promise of this union. The United Workers Union is full of passionate, intelligent, and creative like-minded activists who care deeply about the people they stand alongside and represent.
We need leadership with a plan to win, leadership that is united, that reflects the values they claim openly, and that is driven by members making decisions in the best interests of our union. That is the union our members deserve.

Stand with us. Endorse United For You in Victoria.

Our candidates are ready to work for you. Now we need you standing with us.

By endorsing United For You, you're showing your support for a union that delivers real results. Higher wages. Better conditions. Support when you need it. No fee increases.

This is your union. Back the team that's backing you.

Add your name to endorse United For You in Victoria.