This year’s mass exodus of senior members from the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 6166 doesn’t just include president Les Ellsworth, since Gord Medwid is vacating his position as vice-president as well.
This is significant because not only is the vice-president required to serve a major supporting role within the union’s executive, but they are also expected to fill in for the president when he or she is out of town or otherwise occupied.
Following the group’s upcoming election on Monday, Medwid will be replaced by either Tony Colbourne or Luke Robinson, who have each worked in the mining industry for around two decades.
While Colbourne is relatively new to the world of politics, he told Nickel Belt News that he was encouraged to take on this new responsibility after realizing the serious spot the union will be in now that long-time members like Medwid and Ellsworth are retiring.
“Because we were losing a lot of experienced leaders in our union, I felt there was something I should do, step up to the plate and represent workers that sometimes don’t have a voice for themselves.”
On top of serving as an executive trustee for the past six years and worker safety representative for the past four, Colbourne has also been apart of the union’s grievance committee and Young Workers of Tomorrow program.
“If I didn’t do this, there’s no way I would be able to run for vice-president,” he said. “Because you can’t talk about it in a room if you don’t know what the discussion is.”
Meanwhile, Robinson also brings a lot of experience to the table. Outside of being a union steward and health and safety rep, he’s also sat on the trades committee and been apart of the comparative wage study since 2009.
Unlike Colbourne, Robinson has served on Thompson city council for four years and even ran for mayor in 2014.
“So being in a management role … it helps [you] see things in a different light,” he said, “Especially if you have a group of people who have never been on that kind of role, it helps clarify things. It makes things a lot more manageable and understandable.”
Robinson also makes no illusions about how difficult the next couple years will be for USW Local 6166, but maintains that the organization will prevail as long as they “stand united.”
“There will be a refinery, smelter closure, which will be a major workforce reduction, and also we’re coming up for a contract [negotiation] in 2019,” he said.
“So we’re looking at some hard times ahead, and I believe that I’m a good choice for [vice-president] because I care about the membership. I have no hidden agenda. My agenda has always been for the membership. My brothers and sisters always come first.”
Voting will take place April 9 at the USW Steel Centre on 19 Elizabeth Drive, from 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Advance polls are also open April 5 and April 6.
