Jess Walsh

Jessica Cecille Walsh[1] (born 16 May 1971) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a Senator for Victoria since 2019. Prior to her election to parliament she was the state secretary of United Voice.

For the American graphic designer, see Jessica Walsh.

Senator

Jess Walsh
Senator for Victoria
Assumed office
1 July 2019
Personal details
Born (1971-05-16) 16 May 1971
Melbourne, Victoria
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLabor
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne (PhD, 2002)
University of Southern California (MA, 1997)
OccupationResearcher, trade unionist
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Walsh was born in Melbourne.[2] She grew up in the suburb of North Balwyn.[3] She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from the University of Melbourne, Master of Arts from the University of Southern California, and Doctor of Philosophy in labour studies from the University of Melbourne.[2] Her doctoral thesis was titled "Organising the low-wage service sector: labour, community and urban politics in the United States".[4]

Career

From 1998 to 2000 Walsh was a research fellow at two progressive think tanks in the United States, the Institute for Policy Studies and the Economic Policy Institute.[2] There she researched "the loss of decent, stable manufacturing jobs and the growth in their place of low-paid and insecure work in service industries".[3] After returning to Australia, Walsh worked as a researcher and organiser for the Victorian branch of United Voice from 2002 to 2006. She then served as assistant state secretary from 2006 to 2007 and as state secretary from 2007 to 2019.[2]

Politics

Walsh joined the ALP in 2005. In 2018 she won ALP preselection for the Senate in second position on the party's ticket in Victoria. The party's left faction demoted incumbent senator Gavin Marshall to the third spot after Raff Ciccone and Walsh.[5] She was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election, with Marshall losing his seat.[2]

References
  1. "Qualification checklist" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  2. "Senator Jess Walsh". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  4. "Organising the low-wage service sector : labour, community and urban politics in the United States". University of Melbourne Library. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  5. Remeikis, Amy (23 July 2018). "Victorian Labor senator's dumping could have ramifications in Queensland". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2019.


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