News

A big part of my responsibility as president is to meet members, and to learn about their work and their workplaces. It's incredible the variety of jobs our members have and the importance of what we all do. We have members who run a radio station, CKUA in Edmonton, and do everything from organise volunteers to on-air announcing. The Local has members who work on ships and who ensure Canada's respective fleets are best able to serve. Members also work at Coast Guard stations, Army bases, offices, television stations, Air Force bases, countless remote sites and virtually every airport in the country. Our members do some really, really cool stuff and the vast majority of them are proud of what they do and know how integral their work is to Canadian society and the Canadian economy.

What always warms my heart is meeting sisters and brothers who are active union members. Not just the volunteer leaders, stewards or unit officers, but regular members with real concerns and a desire to work collaboratively to find solutions. Having the right collaborative mindset and communicating with one another is key to our continued success.

In the union and labour movement we often hear the term ORGANIZING. It’s used a lot at conferences, conventions, larger events and gatherings within the labour movement and the IBEW. We also tend to “tune out” as soon as the topic is brought up. We're not in construction, we're not electricians, so that must not apply to us. But organizing is more than just finding new members from non-union workplaces. We need to first think about organizing inwards, within the local.
That’s easier said than done however; after all we cover a vast area spread from sea to sea to sea. Despite today's technological world of seemingly limitless connectedness, the greatest challenge we still face is communicating amongst ourselves. It all starts with the effort of volunteer leaders within each workplace to reach our members and stress the importance of membership and activism. This is what organizing can look like and we need to keep organizing by finding innovative ways of engaging more of our members.

After fifty years of history behind us we have many past accomplishments to celebrate. It's important though to keep our focus in the future to stay relevant and effective and I'm confident that we can do just that.

In Solidarity

Dave Cupples

President,
IBEW Local 2228