Monday’s general membership meeting saw the re-election of most of the current stewards and officers for another two years.
One notable change was our newly acclaimed Treasurer Kathleen Stewart, who will be attempting to replace the irreplaceable Bill Chilton, who served the local in that same role for nine years.
During Bill’s tenure, the local’s finances went from in the red to a very healthy surplus. The local owes Bill a huge debt of gratitude for his careful stewardship of the members’ dues and we are enormously thankful that he is staying on a local steward in START so we can still benefit from his years of experience.
Kathleen Stewart joins us from JES to take on the challenging treasurer role and has a wealth of her own experience that will ensure a smooth transition. Welcome Kathleen!
Along with Kathleen, the rest of the current officers were also acclaimed to their current positions:
President – Kevin Griffin
VP – Kathleen Flynn (currently on leave with the Bargaining Team)
Chief Steward – Charlene Di Danieli
Treasurer – Kathleen Stewart
Secretary – Phil Raby
As well, the majority of our local stewards are remaining in their positions to assist members. A fully updated list of the officers, stewards and Health and Safety reps will be posted to our website shortly.
In other news from the GMM, Equity Steward Crystal Garvey addressed the membership and reported on her new role as the Region 3 representative AND co-chair of OPSEU’s Provincial Women’s Committee. Crystal was honoured to accept the new role and our local couldn’t be prouder. Crystal will be working on critical issues of mental health, equity, diversity and inclusion at both the local level and provincially.
In other news, a brief bargaining update was given just stating that the arbitration process is continuing under a media blackout and that meetings are expected to take place in the fall.
Other ongoing issues of workload (SWFs), Hyflex delivery and COVID safety were also discussed.
In solidarity,Your Local 354 Executive