Sophie Cotton

“We won’t win in the courts what we can’t hold at the gates.”

I’m Sophie, a casual academic in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and I am running to represent old union principles like this one on the branch committee.

Our branch needs to empower members and delegates to take more independent actions—petitions, letters, and engaging local representatives. Central union bodies and local representatives often centralize control, but relying solely on courts, lawyers, union reps, media, or politicians won’t build union power.

For a stronger 2026 bargaining round, we need to increase union membership and activity now.

I’ve empowered local casuals to recruit their entire Business School unit to the union and end their wage theft, supported maths casuals to recover thousands of dollars, helped organize an NTEU delegation to support the Gomeroi struggle against gas expansion, led the fight for transgender rights, and supported the union struggle for Palestine.

I’ve also challenged central union decisions on wage claim limits, Palestine, opposition to AUKUS, and trans rights.

Please do more than vote for Rank And File Action—start building your own rank and file activity. We urgently need a bigger and more active union.