January 11, 2013 at 5:04 PM
On January 9, 2013, the newly elected GTAA bargaining committee, consisting of Scott Bowers, Lana Delic-Bridger, Tim Haxhiaj, Antonios Kourteridis, Pauline Leloudas and Chairperson Ata Ugursoy met at the CAW Local 2002 offices in Toronto to take the oath of office and initiate their roles.
The six elected members stood as Local 2002 President Jamie Ross described the duties and responsibilities that they will undertake for their three year term of office.
"I would like to acknowledge the incredible wealth of experience in this room and congratulate you all for stepping up to the plate to represent your membership in the next round of bargaining,” said Ross.
Following this, the group, joined by Executive Assistant Ashley Watkins and Vice President Rita Reid took part in a team building seminar discussing group dynamics and behaviours and the importance of cohesiveness and communication within a team.
There are many components in bargaining; mobilization and communication co-ordinators were on hand to offer the committee their expertise in empowering and engaging the membership. In the afternoon the committee discussed initial and specific strategies and a tentative timeline in which to execute them.
"This is the first real negotiations for [the amalgamated membership of] District 333 and membership expectations are high,” commented committee member Antonios Kourteridis. "Judging by how productive this first meeting was, I think the right people are at the table.”
The GTAA bargaining committee will meet again on January 23, 2013.