I have been a CWA union member for 27 years and 25 of those years I held a union representative role.

 

 

• The experience I have earned over the past 27 years has allowed me to see and understand first-hand how all of the things we are involved in are extremely important to maintain a thriving union.

• My experience has allowed me to represent members in both our inside and outside work environments and to understand the unique challenges associated with both.

• I have witnessed legislation that has passed,  that has both helped and hurt our work force and how important it is that we participate in the legislative process for our working families.

• Education is the key to our future.  It is necessary to train our union members to become activist and to also educate our friends, family and community about who we are and what we do.

• The attacks that are being made against unions it is necessary to maintain our financial responsibility, in order to continue to fight for our working families.

• My position of President, CWA Local 4703 taught me how to build, maintain and manage a budget.  

• I know that as Secretary/Treasurer there will be difficult decisions that will need to be made and I believe my experience allows me to recommend the best use of our money.

• Over the years I have helped many of our members resolve FMLA, disability and benefit issues.

 

My experience includes:

 

     --Steward and Chief Steward- I was elected and served as Steward and Chief Steward in many different offices.  My career has afforded me the opportunity to work in many different positions within the company.  The offices in which I have been an elected steward/chief steward are:  Service Representative in Consumer, Small Business, Industry Markets, BCS, and as a Design Specialist in New Albany, College Av and Washington St.  My roles as a representative in the work group included, writing and filing grievances, meeting at the first step, organizing a strong union presence in each location and mobilizing the work force when necessary to improve our working conditions.

 

     --Area Representative-I am now serving my 3rd term as Area Representative in our local.  I served one term in Division 3 representing Consumer and Industry Markets.  I am currently serving my 2nd term in Division 1.  I currently represent over 750 people working in the following work groups:  DEG, SD&A, NIBS, U-Verse, Construction, Tranship, Specials, CMC, Central Offices, Design Specialists, Johnson Controls, Datacom, Avaya, H&H Catering, and Inventory Clerks. 

 

    --President- My career moved me to Southern Indiana for a period of time.  I served as a steward for a brief period of time and was elected President of CWA Local 4703.  My time as a the President I had to manage all aspects of the local business including maintaining the locals' budget.  I was responsible for negotiating a contract for some of our members with the city of New Albany, maintaining the fiscal responsibility of the local, while also managing the needs of running the local and maintaining obligations to maintain the charter. I was able to bring the local the importance of training our members to be local leaders and active union members.

 

     --Committees-  I have served on or participated in several of the committees within our local:  Election, Legislative, Community Service, Mobilizing, Safety and Organizing.

 

     --Training-  Over the past few years I have had the pleasure to train several hundred of our members to be active in:

           *Stewards Training - This training was designed to be a starter course for a member that wanted to get involved. 

           *Mobilization Training - I was able to train both the core contract and mobility contract members about mobilization prior to the expiration of each contract.

           *Unity at Mobility - I am currently training our mobility members about what it means to be a union member and how important it is for them to get involved.

           *FMLA Training - I was able to go to many of our Indianapolis work locations and educate our members about FMLA laws.

           *Training I have received:  1st and 2nd year Leadership School, Officers Training, Legislative, and Mobilizing training all conducted at the district level, plus countless hours of organized training provided by our local.

 

     --Organizing -  This is by far the most rewarding experience, to date, as a union official.  I was able to organize a call center of almost 300 people from Ft. Wayne into our local.  I was able to completely understand the importance of having a voice on the job and what it really means to have a bargained contract.

 

My experience will afford me the ability to make responsible decisions with our money that will allow us to continue to move forward as a local.  I will be able to use my years of personal experience to understand the needs of our members, committees, officers, and executive board to make the right decisions for our local. 

 

I believe I am the best candidate for this position and will again ask you to vote Beth A Dubree as Secretary-Treasurer CWA Local 4900.