December 15, 2011
Dear Chapter 20 Members:
Hello. My name is Gene Taylor. Recently, I was elected as the President of our Chapter. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and talk about our chapter.
First, I’d like to thank Brenda Thomas for her years of service to this union. Brenda was our chapter President and unfortunately, for personal reasons, she was unable to continue in this position.
Melissa Laferriere from the Judicial Branch was elected as our treasurer in the recent election and Mary Kate Ryan from Cultural Resources is our Vice President. Together, the three of us are looking at how this chapter can best serve your needs. One of our
objectives is to make sure that everyone has access to a steward when they need one. We know that not all of our bargaining units have the proper levels of representation and we are planning a campaign to try to fill those positions. Also, our next chapter election is in April so we will be working on how to best run an effective election. Finally, we will be having discussions on how to best organize our quarterly chapter meetings. We want to have meetings that our members find value in.
We have challenges to face and that is why labor organizes. But I think a union is about more than just these battles. We call each other union brothers and sisters because we are in this together and because this union belongs to all of us. There is a spirit of services that permeates this organization; the motivating force of which is a deep level of caring for the well-being and prosperity of working people. Some of the ways people serve are through their membership dues, committee involvement, serving as counselors, giving workers a voice by working as Stewards, serving on a collective bargaining team, phone banking, stuffing envelopes, serving on the board of directors or being a part of chapter leadership. Many people also contribute to the benevolence fund, which gives financial support to fellow members in times of need. I have seen a lot of generosity, compassion and sacrifice in our union and I am proud to be a part of it.
I look forward to working with the members towards building a more effective chapter and would welcome any feedback, suggestions you may have. Please let us know; our chapter is only as strong as our members.
In 2012, you will be hearing from me again about open positions for Stewards and Counselors. We will provide more information on those positions at that time. My hope is that some of you will be interested in one of these volunteer positions. I look forward to getting to meet more of my fellow chapter members.
Sincerely,
Gene Taylor
President, Chapter 20