Hello Local 541 fam!
My name is Sarah and I am the Chair of our newly established Women’s Committee for the Richmond Hill office!
The idea for establishing a Women’s Committee came to me sometime in 2023, when I attended a conference held by CEIU and connected with a wonderful group of women who shared their experiences collaborating on women’s committees at national, provincial and local levels. My initial thought was “our local could ABSOLUTELY benefit from a Women’s Committee, seeing as our office holds a large (possibly majority?) population of women.” And so, I quickly reached out to various seasoned executives and stewards of our local for feedback. The idea was met with a flurry of support, especially from our very own Local 541 President Sunil Deonaraine, and our incredible Steward Khary Hughes.
I then reached out to Jo Marie Ortega, our brilliant Communications Representative, to liaison and bounce ideas off one another. Jo, now Vice-Chair of Local 541’s Women’s Committee, met me with the same excitement and passion that I felt. I knew that I needed to have her involved in this project! We shared ideas and supported one another from the get go. Jo is always ready to jump on a call to discuss a project, to create written or visual material for events, or to just have a good chat, and I feel so lucky to be chairing this committee with her. Deneka Green, a seasoned union executive and our fabulous Equity Rep, plays a vital role in the building of this committee. She has assisted Jo and I to pair our ideas with tactic, helping us focus on the foundation of this committee, and has always been willing and able to help us with events.
Our executive members and stewards have never shied away from offering their support and help for events. It truly takes a village to accomplish something this magnificent, and I cannot thank them enough.
You may be thinking, “Why is it important to have a Women’s Committee at our office?” The answer is simple. Representation matters. Our voices, our experiences, and our challenges deserve to be heard. ESDC consists of 68% women and Local 541 as a result consists of a majority of women. Therefore, it’s important we acknowledge the day-to-day trials women experience and how it affects their life in and out of the office. Our goal is to work toward women’s advancement in the workplace, highlight women’s wellness, education, celebrate diversity, understand and work towards achieving authentic work-life balance, and to provide a safe space where our members are able to identify their concerns and feel empowered to work toward change.
Join us in our journey as we make strides toward a brighter future for all women! We cannot wait to see what we will achieve together! ✊🏽❤️