OPSEU President
Warren (Smokey) Thomas was elected president of the
Ontario Public Service Employees Union on April 20, 2007, after serving three
terms (six years) as First Vice President and Treasurer.
The 59-year old registered practical nurse has been an OPSEU
activist for 25 years, first beginning his leadership career as president of
Local 431 at the Ontario Psychiatric Hospital in Kingston, Ontario. Here he
represented more than 1,000 members before being elected to OPSEU’s Executive
Board in 1993.
It was on a simple pledge that Thomas became OPSEU president in
2007: to put the interests of the union’s 117,000 members first.
“I am a members-first president. That means my priorities rest
with delivering strong services to our members. It means strong staff
development so that they have the skills to provide good services to the
membership. It means being nimble enough that when circumstances and issues
suddenly change, as they inevitably do, we have staff that are skilled and well
equipped to meet the challenges on behalf of the membership.”
Thomas was born in Kingston and worked as an auto mechanic and
driver for Canadian Oxygen Ltd., before joining the staff at the psychiatric
hospital where he received his formal training as an RPN. His early activism
with OPSEU was triggered by his interest in developing an Employee Assistance
Program at the hospital.
Since then, he has participated in countless campaigns on behalf
of OPSEU members. He was an outspoken leader in Region 4 against the “social
contract” imposed by Queen’s Park in 1993, and later during the Ontario Public
Service strikes of 1996 and 2002.
Thomas lists his mother, Marie Thomas, and former Saskatchewan
Premier Tommy C. Douglas, as the two greatest inspirations in his life.
“From my mother I have learned that nothing in life is
achievable without hard work, perseverance and a dedicated spirit. From Tommy
Douglas I learned that anything is achievable if you remain true to your core
and abiding principles.”
To this day Thomas remains active in his hometown of Kingston,
where he sits on the board of directors of several community and sporting
organizations. He is also a periodic lecturer at the School of Industrial
Relations at Queen’s University where he shares his knowledge and expertise in
collective bargaining. Thomas chooses to donate all fees he receives from the
university to the Partners in Mission Food Bank
Thomas is married to wife Val and is a father of five sons.
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