Transparency
The dictionary describes transparency as follows: as used in science, engineering, business the humanities and other social contexts, is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. It has been defined simply as “the perceived quality of intentionally shared information from a sender. Transparency implies openness, communication and accountability.
For this president’s entire tenure, she has pegged her reign as being open, transparent and member driven. Accountability is NEVER mentioned. As reported in the previous blog there is nothing about the MGEU that is “member driven.” Our president is so self- absorbed that she forgets who puts her where she is, every two years. As for open and transparent have you ever been able to get in touch with our president if you call? (Friends excluded.) Want your picture taken with our president, sure no problem. Looks good in print. She talks about her open- door policy, and it may be open but she is never there. Roaming around the country on our dime and is NOT accessible. She is always talking in the President’s Five minute Update about what she alone has done for us. Be clear Madame president you do nothing in a vacuum, you ARE accountable to us.
And now for the rest of the story:
Let’s look back to the beginning of our current president’s first two years in office. We will not beleaguer the firing of the two Senior Directors five years ago except to say there was nothing open or transparent about what happened in this case. For at least four years that we know of, prior to the firings, it was the wish of our president to be rid of all the MGEU Senior Staff. Luckily or not for the remaining Director he was on vacation at the time as he was one of her main targets. What the president never said at the time was, that she accused the two Senior Directors of hiring back a fired staff person. This was totally inaccurate, as he was never rehired by the two Senior Directors however, we will say that the president chose to pay this ex staff for the information provided, to prevent an unfair labour practice from occurring, so in retrospect she rehired him. This individual has sworn out an affidavit that states that at no time was he hired by the MGEU, or offered compensation except for a meal. He volunteered to come back to close some files that were pending after he was fired.
Our president, has since replaced two of the Directors with friends of hers. Both have worked on her behalf to secure votes she needs to maintain her position as president. The final director, a new hire, came to us with little or no experience in the labour movement. These are the three “yes people” of the Senior Staff of the MGEU. Did our president allow this new hire to be in charge of staff? No, she kept this as her own purview so she would be ultimately be in charge of everything and in doing so, has made many mistakes.
Let’s look at her choice over the past few years on who attends the NUPGE Leadership School. We know that there have been a number of applicants over the last few years. Some of these members come from the Board of Directors and have been around for some time. Our president, time and time again hand picks her friends and supporters to attend these kinds of schools, and let’s be frank, some of them are not rocket scientists. This year she has decided to send our current third vice-president. Let’s hope there are no aboriginal members from elsewhere in Canada attending this school, as this is the person that travels miles around aboriginal communities in Manitoba since she does not feel safe traveling through a reservation.
When a previous fourth vice-president became fed up with some of our president’s tactics, he announced he would be running against her in the next election for the president position. What happened? She hired him! Problem solved.
When some Board members were asking too many questions what did she do? She Section 9’d them, in short she disciplined them for standing up to her. Problem solved, as it was all her friends and supporters that sat on the Disciplinary Committee. She appointed them! Thank heavens the individuals disciplined were reinstated by an appeal to NUPGE, the national union.
When our president has issues she wants to insure are passed by the Board, she calls her friends and supporters and tells them what she wants and they do her bidding. To be sure the issues she wants passed have everything to do with what she needs, or something that will benefit her supporters.
Any one of the previous blog examples also indicate she is NOT transparent! What’s more, it has been revealed that when the Local that had taken a strike vote were advised by the president that the votes would not be counted as she stated that she had “made a deal” she further stated that only she, as the president, could decide if someone went on strike! Transparent! Open! Member driven???????
This is what we keep electing as our president and vice-presidents, Convention after Convention. We have decided, as a group, not to tell people what Union we belong to as we are ashamed of the lack of values this president and her friend and supporters display day after day. There is no accountability to the membership of the MGEU by this president and her friends. Saying this we have done yet another straw poll amoungst our group to determine where we would chose to go if we were part of the intermingling votes. Some of us are, and you may be surprised what they said and why. NEXT BLOG
We know that this blog upsets the powers that be in the MGEU, but did you know, our president asked the Area Three Director running for Fourth Vice-president and former RCMP officer to call in some favors and find the bloggers. Illegal! We are only printing the truth. We know of course that our president would give you her rendition of the truth and not remember what the truth really is. Check the facts and decide for yourselves.