Greetings

This month the Union of Health and Environment workers will celebrate International Women’s Day. It’s a chance for all of us to celebrate the talents and accomplishments of women within our union and within society. As the first woman elected to lead our Component, I am particularly proud of the work that women do within our departments and agencies and with our union as leaders and activists. We will be profiling some of those leaders as part of our IWD celebrations.

It is still not easy being a women leader today, in our society and even within our union. There are attitudes and barriers that seek to slow women down or even keep them down. We succeed when we have encouragement and support. I have always tried to mentor and support union women at the local and national levels and I hope that all of you will join me in those efforts.

“People who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together.”

Michelle Obama

In my last National President’s Message I spoke about the need to improve communications to and from the UHEW membership. To that end, myself and the National Vice-President Benoit Thibault will soon be holding calls with all UHEW Locals across the country to get the Locals Executive’s views on how the union is doing and where we need to improve. This will be followed up with a full membership survey from UHEW later this spring so that all members can provide input on the future direction of their union.

As we start to look ahead we can see the UHEW National Convention on the horizon. This is usually a three-year event where elected delegates from across the country gather to discuss union policies and set our direction for the future. This year’s event has been delayed because of the pandemic and it will also be a virtual event for the very first time. That won’t stop us from having great debates and discussions about the future of our union. Visit our website and social media channels for Convention updates throughout the year.

Drop me a line or email any time.

Help us build UHEW together!!

In solidarity,

Shimen Fayad