New Presidents Orientation produces great strategies for
conversing with members
March 3, 2010
Imagine you have 52 worksites in your local and you’re
trying to keep members informed and involved in everyday issues facing
the union. Sound complicated? That is just one of the many challenges
discussed at the New Presidents Orientation on February 23 and 24, 2010
at OPSEU’s head office.
From left to right across the back:
Cam Manson, Len Elliott, Sara LeClair, Randy Simpraga,
Michael Kirlew, Ryan Way, Lois Tulloch, Tanya Furlotte, Marty McFarlane
(Education Officer).
From left to right across the middle and front
Kay Singh (facilitator), Brenda Wilson Young, Laurie
Simmons, Renee Maden, Tracy-Ann Prokipczuk, Joan Ortlieb, Erin Rice,
Diane Dejong, Lorie St. Amand, Smokey Thomas (President), Mavis
Montgomery, Dianne Hoppe, Christopher Frampton, Barb Thomas
(facilitator), Mark Schnier. Missing: John Smallwood and Barb Hutchings.
New Presidents took the opportunity to share some
strategies they use in initiating conversation with their members in
complex locals:
-
introducing myself and trying to
get to know them as people
-
asking questions about workplace
issues
-
clarification of gossip;
interrupting rumours; identifying the facts
-
at educational sessions in my local
and in the region
-
our local newsletter always invites
feedback and contact, as do my e-mails from the president to everyone;
we have a very current e-mail address list
-
year-end party and member
appreciation night
-
clarifying collective agreement
language affecting different members
-
at general membership meetings –
greeting people; mixing up groups so people don’t just sit in cliques or
with the people they already know
-
membership surveys
-
local “wellness day and event”
-
information pickets at the
workplace
-
social gatherings organized by the
local
-
pizza lunches sponsored by the
local
-
stewards baseball face-off with
management
-
at caucuses of joint committees –
time paid by the employer
-
asking members for issues the
Labour Management Committee should be addressing, and that should be
taken up with the supervisor
-
when we have idle time at work
because we’re waiting with a patient (ambulance)
-
at employer-paid workshops, there’s
time at lunch to catch up with people on workplace issues
-
“Tim Hortons LEC meetings”
In their conversation about challenges faced by
activists in their workplaces, local presidents talked about making the
most of a respectful manager. They identified the following actions
which signal respect by a manager:
-
is courteous to you as a person and union
representative
-
respects the grievance process and timelines
-
gives you advance warning of something coming down
from on high
-
can discuss a workplace issue without getting
defensive, with an aim to problem-solve
-
invites you, as a union representative, to have
input into decisions affecting the members
-
helps you have decent communication with Human
Resources
-
works to resolve grievances in-house
President of OPSEU, Smokey Thomas was present for the
swearing in of the new presidents and spent some time talking about the
importance of their commitment to the new role they are undertaking and
also updating them with current projects OPSEU is undertaking.
Overall, the two-day course enhanced the skills and
knowledge of the participants relative to their role as president. They
gained an understanding of the ins and outs of OPSEU and had the
invaluable opportunity to listen to what others were trying out in their
Locals and Regions.
