Fellow Brothers & Sisters and Friends,
I would like to take this time to thank my nominators for nominating me for Education Assistant Shop Steward.
I have had the privilege of serving on the Executive for three years now. I have been an EA in the district since 2003. I had wanted to be involved with the Union for a long time. When the position of Sergeant at Arms became available I thought it was a good way to get involved and to see how the Executive worked. Although it might not be obvious, the Sergeant at Arms position is an important one. They are responsible for: Guarding inner doors at meetings, tiling the doors during elections, overseeing and compiling attendance records at regular meetings, notifying the Chair of new members awaiting initiations or if we have fallen below quorum. It also involves attending all regular membership meetings and Executive meetings and having a voice at the table.
Following Sergeant At Arms, I served as Para Educator Shop Steward and later as Education Assistant Shop Steward. In the year that I was Education Shop Steward I met with several members during and after school to listen to their concerns. I have dealt with conflict resolution both with members facing Human Resources as well as with their School Administration. I have worked with groups concerning their refusal of unsafe work, represented members during disciplinary meetings as well as advocated for members’ health and safety. Outside of this role I have, during my own time, also helped the Chief Shop Steward (2nd Vice President) research past files to gather information to assist with a member’s health and safety claim. While doing this I also amalgamated and reviewed past WVRAs into a cohesive and up-to-date database.
Committees and courses that have helped me to serve the membership better are listed below.
Committees:
- Bargaining 2019
- Communications
- Site Health & Safety
Courses
- Intro to Stewarding
- Creating an Accommodating and Friendly Workplace
- Representing Members in Front of Management
- Creating Gender Equality
- Growing and Mobilizing Power
- Mental Health in the Workplace
- Duty to Accommodate
- Psychosocial Factors at Work
- Human Rights
- Handling Discipline and Discharge
- What Stewards Need to Know About Bargaining
- Conflict resolution
In closing I feel that I am approachable, compassionate, a team player, a good listener, empathetic, and always endeavour to get answers for our members in a timely manner. I have the experience and look forward to another term as your Education Shop Steward.
Thank you,
Colleen Martins
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