Ep.277: Organising for Early Childhood Educators with Senator Jess Walsh

“We love what we do, but love is not paying the rent for us right now.”

Senator Jess Walsh joins Stephen Donnelly to chat about the Big Steps Campaign, which recently resulted in a historic 15% pay rise for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers across Australia. 

Senator Walsh covers the strengths and challenges of organising across multiple employers in a typically undervalued and feminised industry.

They also discuss how Walsh overcame her fears and got her first taste of organising with cleaners in the United States. Finally, they cover the federal election, the ongoing debate between wind and nuclear, and the perils of a coalition government coming into power.

If you are an ECEC worker looking to unionise and negotiate better pay and conditions, then check out the Big Steps website: https://bigsteps.org.au/home/

The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au 

New Episodes Out Every Friday. 

Chapters

• 1:27 Early Career
• 13:38 Return to Australia
• 21:39 The Big Steps Campaign
• 39:42 The 2025 Federal Election
• 49:08 Transition to Parliament
• 51:09 The Energy Debate