August 13, 2015

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Hello again!

Last week I talked about responsibility – specifically, I talked about your responsibility to get involved in the Federal election, whether you do that by taking up Brother Mike Rezansoff’s challenge, by visiting the Let’s Build Canada website and participating in their initiatives or simply by getting informed and voting on October 19.

Today, I want to talk about responsibilities closer to home. The responsibility that we all have to protect our Brothers and Sisters and to help our Locals and our industry to grow and thrive.

We know about our responsibility to each other on the jobsite – to ensure that each of us is working in a safe environment, to be sure that each of us is able to go home to our families, in one piece at the end of our shift or at the end of our rotation. Knowing about it is just the beginning, though. Are you following through? Do you keep an eye out for your fellow tradesmen and let them know that you have their back? Are you open to accepting input from others trying to keep you safe? It’s all about mutual responsibility and care.

Growing our industry, strengthening our Locals and increasing the Union share of the market is another way that we can protect ourselves and our fellow union members. Union came about because the founders knew that a collective voice is stronger and harder to ignore than an individual voice. The larger and stronger that collective voice is, the more impact it can have on an industry or a community.

As Union members, it is up to us to work to ensure that our Unions are as strong as possible. That means convincing people that the work we do is critical to the growth of our economy, that our jobs and the satisfaction we get from doing them are worth the effort and that anyone would be lucky to have the opportunity to do the work that we do. So get out there, be proud of what you do, encourage others to join you, tell people to contact your Local and find out about joining a skilled trade. Ultimately, that is how we protect our livelihood and ensure success for generations to come.

What do you think? Is this something you can commit to doing? Can you think of other ways to support and protect our Brothers and Sisters? Let me know in the comments below.

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