Getting back on track

As all of you will recognize, the proposed sale of NB Power has meant that Local 37 has had to mobilize a tremendous level of effort and resources in order to ensure our member's interests are protected, no matter what happens. I'd particularly like to recognize the special effort put forth by many of our members and also by my staff at the union office -in difficult times there are always those who rise to the occasion, and I am humbled by the work we are doing together, as a union.

There are a number of things about the proposed sale that I find upsetting, but one thing that may not be apparent, but which is really bothering me, is that it has forced me to slow down on some of the progressive things that I have planned for Local 37, things that will help us continue to progress and move our union forward.

It's time to get moving again.

A Local 37 newsletter was one of things our members told us they wanted, and I'm really proud to let you know it's now at the printers. That means that within the next few weeks, all of our members will receive the very first edition of our new Local 37 newsletter, mailed directly to their homes.

This first quarterly edition has a lot of content focused on the current happenings, but I want you to know that we already have improvements in store for the second edition, including french language content and also some stories about our non-NB Power members and their workplaces. We also want your feedback and I'm looking forward to your suggestions and ideas.

Another item that was delayed, but which I'm now going to get back on track is the Senior Steward's program. I announced the program back in the fall, and we have received a number of applications from some very deserving Stewards.

It is important to me to launch this new program properly, and with the extreme level of extra work that came about because of the proposed sale, I put it on hold so I could make sure it would be done right. Although things remain very hectic, we've got things in hand and it's time to get this going again.

I've got a number of other exciting things planned, but I'll save them for a future blog entry.