I am aware of our current budget and deficit. I believe that if we as a union wish to provide our membership with the best service, such as our stellar education department, continued bargaining support, and enough MSO’s to handle increasing grievance and representation for our members on the worksite, we must have the ability to pay for these services. It is very important for me to continue to repeat that I believe while a dues increase may equate to an increased ability to pay for more services for our members, those services need to be worth what we pay! This is a message I continue to deliver and advocate for when engaging with members’ concerns about subjects like access to and strong representation by AUPE staff as well as access to our buildings and infrastructure.

Boots to the ground and fist in the air! 

I have always had a strong voice to lend to the labour mouvement. I have given multiple interviews and spoken on camera, held conferences, issued press release and stood on the lines. I am respected in my communities as a voice of reason, able to separate the facts from the politics, manipulative and divisive tactics. I believe in activism, engagement, inoculation, organization and unionizing. 

Over the years, I have often heard that members feel unheard and unrepresented. I have been, and remain committed to providing you, the member, with the best reprensenation that I can provide. I believe that every member has a voice, and every voice is important enough to be heard. I believe that every member has a place within AUPE and every conversation deserves to be a safe conversation. I am committed to always providing you with my support in an empathetic manner. Leaders aren't promoted, they are born, they are nurtured and allowed to grow. Granting a person the title of vice-president does not automatically make them a leader, it merely puts them in a position of leadership. Leaders need to have integrity, accountability and are the first ones in and the last ones out. I have been a leader in my communities, worksites and in this union for years. I am committed to always demonstrating the principle that leaders don't do it for themselves, they do it for everyone else. 

I have sat on Provincial Executive since 2021 as the Local 006 elected representative, and would describe myself as a voice of reason, unafraid to challenge the status quo when I feel that the service provided to our members is at risk. I have attended every single provincial executive meeting since being elected, including special last-minute meetings. I have become acutely aware of the governance of our union, and am extremely comfortable with the rules of order that we follow. One of the roles of a Vice-President of AUPE is to be a Vice-Chair of Provincial Executive meetings and Convention, and I feel I have developed the necessary experience to effectively chair meetings. I have also challenged the chair on many occasions when I felt that it was necessary to do so. I will always stand and speak for what is right for our members, and I will never sacrifice our democracy.

Some members have expressed that our union feels disconnected at times ; sometimes it can feel like the locals are in competition with each other. I have been and intend to continue focusing on the unification of AUPE through solidarity and transparency. I believe we can leverage the power of our membership to secure every member the best possible contract through the collective bargaining process, and that this collective strength is the true foundation of this union, that we have all built together. I envision a union in which all locals are supported by each other, regardless of who our employer is. If one of us needs help, we all help. I am committed to providing your local and every single member with the exceptional service and altruism that I have provided to my local and the local in my assigned region. 

AUPE members saw laundry services privatized by AHS, and members lost their jobs. AUPE saw a wildcat strike in 2021, and members felt they were let down. I can tell you without hesitation that every single member in our union matters to me. I am invested in the members we have. Each union job is important. One job lost is too many, and I do not believe in the term ''acceptable losses''. I believe that the membership puts their faith in their elected representatives in this union to stand up and fight for them, to speak with conviction and to be accountable to the membership.