ELECTION OF WORKPLACE REPRESENTATIVES

Unifor Local 531 is seeking 7 (seven) Workplace Representatives in Calgary and 5 (five) in Vancouver. The Workplace Representatives will be elected by their peers at their respective Bases and will report to the District Chairperson at their Base (Sherwin Antonio in YYC and Breanne Laihow in YVR). Workplace Representatives are commonly known as Union Stewards.

Workplace Representatives are responsible for:

· Representing the members in investigative and outcome meetings, grievances and other meetings brought to their attention in consultation with the Base District Chair, the President, and the Unifor National Representative.

· Supporting the Union’s goals and Collective Agreement

· Attending all General, and Special Membership Meetings of the Union unless circumstances prevent attendance.

· Soliciting attendance of members at General, and Special Membership Meetings.

· Be actively involved in the issue-based campaigns, educational programs, and community initiatives of the union

NOMINATION PERIOD: Wednesday, January 11th 0001 PST to Sunday, January 15th, 1159, PST. All nominated candidates will be contacted via email to accept or decline their nominations by Monday January 16th at 0000 PST. Nominees will have until Wednesday, January 18th at 2359 to notify the union of their acceptance of the nominations. At this time, nominees may include a brief 200 bio describing why they would be a good candidate. Nominations must be sent to [email protected] and must include the employees full name and Base location.

ELECTION PERIOD: Saturday, January 21st, 0001 PST to Wednesday, January 25th, 2359 PST

PROCESS: A list of the nominees and their bios will be posted in the workplaces on the union bulletin boards and will be sent out via email. Nominees may not use Company email systems to solicit votes.

TERM: Two (2) Years

* A Local Union Executive Officer may also serve as a workplace representative as long as they don’t hold a full-time position within the Union. *

After the nomination and election period, the Workplace Representatives will receive paid Grievance Handling Training by Unifor as well as on going support from the Local Union. Training will be planned during the March 6th to April 30th schedule period. Workplace Representatives will continue to bid and work their regular schedules in the operation while supporting Members on the floor.

Workplace Representatives play an important role in the functioning of the union and act as the first contact within the Union for the membership. As a Workplace Representative, you must be able to demonstrate strong leadership, communication, independence, empathy, and critical thinking skills. Reps will need to establish trust, credibility, and a comfort level with the members to ensure they feel confident coming to you regardless of their background, the Union is there to represent them. Further questions? Email us at [email protected]

In Solidarity,

Unifor Local 531 Executive Board
Karen, Sherwin, Breanne, Mark, Kara, Jagreet and Elaine.