It's annual general meeting season at GSU and the staff are busy arranging membership meeting dates and times for each local and sub-local. Electing officers is an important element of each membership meeting.
The job of being a union officer isn't as big a commitment as it sounds.
The role of an elected officer is a willingness to be a contact between the union and the members in their workplace.
"Becoming an officer sounds like there will be yellow stripes and a big hat involved, and that tends to scare people away," said GSU staff rep Steve Torgerson. "It's an important role, but it doesn't actually involve a big time commitment. We count on union officers to share information about things like bargaining, upcoming meetings, or workplace issue updates with fellow union members and to refer any questions or concerns to the union."
If you would like to learn more about what is involved in becoming a union officer, contact GSU staff reps Steve Torgerson, Brian Lark or Mason Van Luven. Their contact information is available at gsu.ca.