Last year in October I think it was I was walking to class and was stopped in The Quad at Uni by a couple of guys at a stand outside the library near Bennetts Bookstore (now UBS) and they had a petition to help raise the minimum wage in New Zealand from $12.50 to $15....being a low wage earner and I have sat on the minimum wage at every job I have held, though my rate goes up by about $1 each job I start this is only based on usually the fact the govt. has put the rate up each year or because of the fact I have expereince and i earn a few cents or maybe a dollar over the minimum wage.....however working in Hospitality is known as being one of the lowest paid industries....what I make in a year some of my friends can make in a week or a month...! Heck my doctor probably makes that in a day..! So I signed the petition and carried on my merry way and never really thought about it.
I did however look them up on facebook and connected to one of the people who was driving it - they went to all sorts of events and gigs and stuff to get signatures, but I never helped out, however finally on the 1st of March they were at Auckland University and I was going over to see my friend Justin Sane djing there in their quad and he was only a few feet away from where the people running this petition were set up. I went over and met them and within seconds I was signed up as the first student representative for AUT University, and was handed a couple of badges and some petition board and was sent on my merry way to get signatures...From here I started to help them out, I spent most of my first week at Uni doing that, helping Unite Union get signatures to help raise the minimum wage and I started to slowly learn about it all and became passionate about it - I was running off a massive buzz set by my mate Drewy from the weekend before Uni went back and I was on a mission to mate it into a week long thing and a month long buzz....so in between classes I would help out, I went to a protest at Auckland Uni when John Key came to visit....I hid my face behind signs because i was scared I would get caught on camera or something...I also got my first teeshirt and I was so warmly welcomed by the crew....
I have spent the past month infact being a volunteer worker at Unite Union helping get signatures, I have spent endless hours at their headquarters and at events just to get signatures....but it wasnt all just going out and getting them we had fun and had parties and the boys are a great bunch of guys to hang out with, never felt ashamed being one of the only girls...a Unite on Campus group was created and I was elected the President for AUT of it....and it became my second home Unite Union and my second family...I focused more on the campagin that my own Uni work..I struggled big time to settle down this semester I have...but its been great, with my work hours taken a sudden drop to nothing with the addition of being on sick leave I have been able to help out alot. Just a matter of time to see if we reach the 300,000 signatures needed...not long to go for the deadline..!
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