CARRIER
VIEWPOINTCARRIER
VIEWPOINT
by Ted Kinsella
Well, time does fly, and again it's bargaining time, as our contract expires October 31, 2001.
At our August 29th carrier union meeting, your new bargaining committee was elected. Al Sansom and myself were returned. New to the committee are Dennis Gelinas, Val Radford, Vic Hanisch and Jim Jones, the latter being the alternates. Make no mistake about the alternate positions. Alternates attend the meetings of the committee and sit in on bargaining for any member that cannot attend a session.
Most of our names are probably familiar to most of you. But who is Val Radford? I'll tell you what I know. She is obviously the youngest member of the bargaining committee. She is not a long time carrier. She more typifies (at least in my mind) the type of person who should be elected to this committee than most of us. One thing the carriers seem short of is people who will make the effort.
Last year's bargaining almost looked like the mens committee of a seniors club! This is not meant to put us old guys down, nor to suggest we haven't made a good effort on your behalf. Rather, it's a bit of a blast to you who are twenty, thirty or even forty years younger than myself.
You are the future of the union. I'm sure that Val didn't say "I shouldn't be on this committee because I'm younger than these guys," or "I haven't been a carrier for a long time," or that "the committee is all men." No, my brothers and sisters, I'm sure she said to herself that she could contribute something and is willing to make the effort.
I seem to be making a big deal out of this. Electing a new member to a committee is in itself not a big deal. The big deal is the fact that so few of you come forward. Hopefully, this newsletter will be out soon enough that you will all have a chance to read it before our carrier meeting on October 11th.
If you have any questions regarding the bargaining committee's proposals, all will be revealed at that time. If you want to present anything for consideration, this is the last chance. Remember, 7:00pm, October 11th, Viscount Gort Hotel.