On June 5 and 6, 24 local presidents, all elected in the past year, came to find out what they could learn from each other, and from OPSEU about how to build inclusive, functioning locals. 

The Orientation for Local Presidents features resource people from Negotiations, Contract Enforcement, Public and Government Relations, Health and Safety, Local Services, Accounting Services, the OPSEU Resource Centre, Campaigns, Equity, and OPSSU. It uses scenarios and tools to develop strategies to strengthen local infrastructure, develop stewards, face management and share local leadership.

Front row, left to right: John Marshall, David Fasciano, Connie Byrns, Wil Sorrell, Chris Patterson

Second row: Kay Singh (facilitator),  Jana MacMillan, Kathy Richard, Charlene Giilck,  Hilda Bean, Leslynne Miller,  Pauline Saunier, Melissa Jackson, Anne Makela, Diane Logsdail, Stacey Sholtack

Back rows: Barb Thomas (facilitator), Frank Couture, Eddy Almeida (OPSEU 1st Vice President/Treasurer), Danny Anderson, Morgen Veres, James McKay , Jennifer Van Zetten,Tom Wilcox, Lin McInnes, James McGregor.  Absent: Linda Matteau.

 

This lively group was not short of questions, and shared a range of strategies for building the infrastructure and systems of their local, involving members, and sharing the work with stewards and other LEC members.

Here are some of their ideas for having better conversations with members in distress:

Talking to a distressed member:

·      Pay attention – look at the person, ask permission to take notes, listen; turn off cell phone

·      Take control of the situation and ensure you have a quiet place to talk

·      Body language – move towards rather than away from the person

·      Ask questions; make sure you understand the real problem from the person’s point of view

·      Reiterate the problem so the person knows you get it

·      Recruit the person to help solve things

·      Maintain a calm tone

·      Praise the person’s efforts

·      Ask what approaches the person is considering and why they think these strategies will work

·      Promise confidentiality if this is necessary and possible

·      Address the person by name

·      Identify the next steps, the specific actions and when they will be taken; check with the person whether they support this course of action

·      Offer the possibility of coming back and checking in to see how things are progressing.

OPSEU First Vice President/Treasurer Eddy Almeida administered the oath of office and presented certificates.

These new presidents were excited about meeting other new presidents and learning from each other. Here are a few things they wrote to us and each other after the session:

“To the group: normally we are so caught up in our silos that we don't realise what we can learn from people in other parts of the union. I have learned a lot about CAAT-S from other CAAT-S conferences and networking there, but it was really amazing to meet and understand how things work for LBED, BPS and OPS and learn from their experiences. “

“The respect that was shown to everyone was amazing.  Did anyone notice that no one complained about anyone or anything? That Is what respect is all about – room for each person’s experiences.”

“I enjoyed meeting all of you and I believe I learned something from each of you which will help me in my role as President of my Local. Thanks for the information, the laughter and most importantly, as should always occur when people from various backgrounds come together, the human experience which helps us all grow a little.”

“Without being overly analytical about it, the most important thing was (at least for me) that it was FUN to learn and fun to share our past experiences with other new presidents with such a good sense of humour,  that face the same challenges and obstacles as I do.”