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CAW Local 229 is an amalgamated local consisting of over
35 bargaining units in the Districts of Thunder Bay and Rainy River/Kenora. An
executive board and delegates to CAW councils are elected from the total
membership every three years. General membership meetings are the highest
authority of the union, and are held monthly in the City of Thunder Bay. Between
general membership meetings the highest authority is the Executive Board who
will meet monthly. Between meetings of the Executive Board the administrative
authority of the Local shall be vested in the President of the Local.
The President and Vice-President are currently
full-time positions in the Local Office. They assist individual bargaining
units with grievances, arbitrations and bargaining, along with National Staff
Representative Tom Murphy.
In addition to general meetings, this local union has an
annual Executive Council meeting established to provide broad representation to
all units of the Local. Each unit is entitled to at least one delegate, normally
the Unit Chairperson. The purpose of the Council meetings is to review the
business of the Local, make recommendations to the Executive Board, and attend
any educational sessions.
Our current Executive is made up of a cross-section of
members from across our Local. They are as follows:
Barb Maki, President:
Barb is an RPN with 15 years experience at the locals largest Unit, St.
Joseph's Care Group. Barb has proven her commitment as a trade unionist to the
members through hard work and determination. She is acting co-chair of the
Thunder Bay Health Care Coalition, and Active on numerous committees within the
local union and community.
Suzanne Pulice,
Vice President:
Suzanne an RPN and former Unit Chair-Person from Pioneer Ridge. Suzanne has been active
in the Local for many years and chairs the active Women's Committee.
Jason Cummings, Financial Secretary:
Jason on his 3rd term on the executive board and comes from the Roseview
workplace. A strong labour activist Jason is the local executive liaison for the
Local Health and Safety Committee. Jason is very knowledgeable in a variety of
health care and labour-related issues. Jason also works to assist members with
their WSIB/LTD claims.
Jody Powers Recording Secretary:
Jody is an RPN who has worked for the past 21 years at Dawson Court on the
special care unit, he has been the Unit Chair there since 2004. Jody has been on
the Executive Board since the spring of 2006 and has sat as a Trustee on
the Nursing Homes and related Industries Pension Plan for the past year.
Jody is also a graduate of the 4 week PEL program and has been working in the
local office as a Community Based Organizer since September of 2006.
Marg Arnone, Chair of
Retirees: Marg has a rich
history of activism within the local and the community. An RPN from the Thunder
Bay City Homes, she has held several positions within her workplace and local,
including 8 years experience as Recording Secretary.
Kathleen Swerhun, Director of Women’s Issues:
Kathleen is the current Unit Chair at Dawson Court. She is very active on the
local's Women's Committee and also sits on the local's Health and Safety
Committee.
Connie Thompson,
Director Outlying Areas: Connie is a RPN from the Nipigon District
Hospital and serves as Unit Chair for her workplace. She is also taking an
active role on the RPN Utilization Task Force as a result of the Northern
Hospital Bargaining.
Peter Sabourin, Trustee: Peter works for the Thunder Bay
Catholic School board and has been active in the union for many years. A long
time
executive board member, Peter has worked actively to promote the CAW. He will be
the executive board liaison for the Local 229 Recreation Committee.
Lilly Aiello Trustee:
Lilly is the Unit Chair at St Joseph's Hospital the largest hospital in Local
229, she is active as a Discussion Leader for the National Union. Lilly sits on
the education committee, and is the chair of the Health Care committee.
Jeremy Hayden, Trustee:
Jeramy is the newly elected Unit Chair at Roseview Manor he is also active on
local's Health Care Committee.
Kari Jefford, Sergeant at
Arms: Kari works as and Employment Councillor at YES employment
services. Kari was key in helping to organize her workplace into the CAW in
2004, since then she has become an experienced trade unionist and social
activist, Kari is in her fist term on the Local 229 Executive Board. Her
community involvement includes serving on the Education Committee as a
discussion leader and working hard to promote the profile of the Local Union.
Bargaining Units within the local hold their own
elections (with assistance from the Local Election Committee) for Unit
Chairperson, Stewards, and their Bargaining Committee. Units meetings are to be
held at least once every two months and ran by the Unit Chairperson.
The Local Union has several standing committees
including Election, Communications/Newsletter, Women’s, Health Care, Organizing,
and Health & Safety & Environment & WSIB (see Committees for more
information). The Executive Board will appoint one
of it’s members to each committee as a liaison, with the exception of the
Election Committee and the Bargaining Committee’s. Each Committee will elect a
Chairperson and a Recording Secretary, and will hold regular monthly meetings.
The CAW National Office is in Toronto, but they have
several Regional Offices across the country, including Thunder Bay. National
President Buzz Hargrove is probably the most recognized labour leader in the
country, and is well-known for his strong stance in negotiations and social
justice issues. Of particular importance to members is the CAW National “No
Concessions” policy originally adopted in the early 1980’s and reconfirmed at
the December 2001 CAW Council Meeting. To quote brother Hargrove, “We should
never get caught in the trap that somehow, by giving up past gains of our union,
we can save our jobs.” (CAW Council is a meeting of elected delegates from
locals across the country who meet three times a year to debate and discuss
issues)
CAW Local 229 is also bound by the Constitution of the
CAW National Union. This is available at the CAW National web site in addition
to other valuable information;
www.caw.ca
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