New Presidents Orientation, Sept. 9, 2009

New Local Presidents share ideas for building locals

September 30, 2009

On September 23 and 24, 2009, 23 new local presidents came together to find out more about how OPSEU works, and to share ideas and strategies for building inclusive, effective locals. 

From left to right: back row: Wilma Swan, Courtney Evers, Wesley Killman, Paul Russell, Glen Archer, Wim Smits, Barb Thomas (facilitator),  (barely visible) Dale Love,  Harjinder Sangha, Sal Santos, Michael Donaldson, Rob Boulet, Tina Les.

Front row: Lana-Lee Hardacre, Glenn Harrison, Gary Van Nest, Maureen Gaunt, Maryvonne Tonge, Ed Aveline, Smokey Thomas (OPSEU President), Pat O’Connor, Elizabeth Murphy, Rhonda Ramsay, Jane Lott,  Kay Singh (facilitator)

 

Prior to arrival at head office for this two-day orientation, we asked Local Presidents to identify major areas of concern. The key challenge they identified was communicating with and involving their members. Presidents also wanted to know how to get access to OPSEU resources, how to deal with a variety of employer tactics, and how to be effective leaders in their locals.

The New Presidents’ Orientation tries to address all these issues with a mixture of practical tools and discussion, and visits from a variety of OPSEU resource people who can help explain how our union works.

During the orientation, the following ideas emerged for encouraging member connection to the union and recruiting new stewards:

• resigning steward identifies potential new steward and talks it up

• work with a complaining member and get them to help someone else

• break down the tasks for people who are willing to do something but don’t want to be stewards

• more local education – 30 minutes to 2 hours – in the worksite if possible, or close by

• vary union meetings – times, locations, agenda – so that they are accessible to more people and sound more interesting

• arrange for union drop-in times at a regular time each week – in the workplace if possible, or the cafeteria. Have coffee available, and something going on that’s attractive for people to come. Schedule several people from the LEC to be on duty at different times available to them

• provide food

• provide childcare and public transit allowances, particularly for temp and part-time workers

• develop useful, short tools on workplace issues that local volunteers can give out to members and use as talking points

• use these occasions to sign up bargaining unit members as union members and to update mailing lists

• develop an interesting local website, but don’t rely on it to reach everyone.

We tried out the New President’s First Week Checklist. We’ve developed a checklist as part of a new package for new presidents: The New Presidents’ First Week Toolkit. We’ll be sending this out to the regions this fall to ensure that a newly elected president gets a Toolkit and orientation within the first month after election.

Presidents can’t do it all themselves. The orientation stresses the importance of shared leadership so that local presidents don’t burn out, and so there are always new people to do the work and build the local. “I’m going away to organize my leadership so more can be delegated, but must do much ground work first,” commented one president. “I’m going away with a sense of how to delegate to the local executive and how to set up committees,” said another. 

The Presidents also got a chance to tour head office, meet the President of OPSEU, Smokey Thomas and take their Oath of Office.