Winter 2024 Newsletter
New Divisional Executive elected at 30th Biennial BPS Conference
Every two years, OPSEU/SEFPO holds a Broader Public Service (BPS) Conference, where delegates from every BPS sector elect their Divisional Executives (Divex).At the BPS Conference this past November, Municipalities Sector 13 delegates elected the following members to the Divex for a two year term, from 2023-2025:
- Chair: Kerri Wells, Local 266
- Vice Chair: Tara Langford, Local 435
- Secretary: Nicole Wilson, Local 496
- Treasurer: Janet Wingeat, Local 496
- Communications Coordinator: Cheryl Silver, Local 496
- Alternate: Michael DeJonge, Local 324
Our OPSEU/SEFPO Staff Negotiator is Nick Mustari.To learn more about your elected Divex members, read “Meet the Divex” at the end of this newsletter.
Two-year plan for Municipalities Sector 13: Connecting with our members and labour movement allies
Over the next two years, your Divex will be reaching out and connecting with OPSEU/SEFPO members in our Sector 13 locals and beyond in order to build member engagement and solidarity across our sector.
Outreach to OPSEU/SEFPO Municipalities stewards
We’ve created a survey that will be sent to all stewards in every Sector 13 local. We want to know what’s happening in your locals so we can work together as a sector to address issues that are common in our workplaces, and to build worker power together.
Creating a Sector 13 Facebook page
We plan to create a Facebook page so members can keep up to date on what’s happening in our sector. We’ll share the link once the page is live.
Building solidarity with CUPE municipalities workers
We plan to maintain our close relationship with CUPE locals that represent municipal workers. By building solidarity across the labour movement, we build strength as municipal workers!
OPSEU/SEFPO Convention 2024
Convention 2024 is fast approaching, and Sector 13 will be there! Convention will be held April 25-27, 2024 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.Convention is our union’s highest-ranking authority, where elected delegates from every local have the opportunity to debate and vote on policy and constitutional motions. Some 2,000 plus delegates, alternates, observers and guests from across the province are expected to attend.
Join us for the Municipalities Sector 13 meeting at Convention!
If you’re coming to Convention as a delegate or alternate, we encourage all Sector 13 members to come to our Municipalities Sector meeting and find out what our sector has been working on. Please refer to the Convention app for location and time of the meeting.
Save the date: OPSEU/SEFPO Municipalities Sector 13 Bargaining Conference
- Date: September 19, 2024
- Location: OPSEU/SEFPO Head Office, 100 Lesmill Road, Toronto
The Sector 13 Municipalities Bargaining Conference will be held on September 19, 2024. This is an opportunity for delegates from each local to come together and collaborate on bargaining strategies and contract language so we can bargain better collective agreements.Details will be sent out as they become available. Save the date and we’ll see you in September!
Meet the Divex
We’d like to take the opportunity to tell you a bit about each of the members of our 2023-2025 Municipalities Sector 13 Divisional Executive. We look forward to working with you over the next two years!
Chair: Kerri Wells, Local 266
I have been a caseworker with Grey County Social Services since 2011. I was elected as union steward for my local in 2015, and since then I have been an advocate for our members. In 2015, I attended my first BPS Conference and was nominated to run for a position on the Divex. It was then that I became the Communications Coordinator for Sector 13, followed by Vice Chair. I am pleased to be part of the Municipalities sector executive and look forward to the next two years as Chair of Sector 13.
Vice Chair: Tara Langford, Local 435
I have worked for the County of Lanark for more than 30 years. During that time, I have held many different positions in the social services department, and I am currently an Ontario Works caseworker. I have been actively involved with OPSEU/SEFPO in my workplace for more than 25 years. I have participated on many committees and have been a steward and local president for many years. I became part of the Municipalities sector in the early 2000s, and over the last 20+ years I have been actively engaged in OPSEU/SEFPO and the labour movement in various roles.
Treasurer: Janet Wingeat, Local 496
My name is Janet Wingeat (previously Irwin). I was recently elected as treasurer to the Sector 13 executive at the BPS Conference in November 2023. I previously held the Communications Coordinator position with the Divex up until October 2021 for approximately 6 months. I have been a caseworker with Hastings County Ontario Works for 26 years, holding different caseworker roles. I have been an OPSEU/SEFPO member for approximately 22 years, taking on different advocate roles, the longest being local president for the past 7 years. I graduated from the Membership Development Trainee Program through OPSEU/SEFPO in 2022 as a Staff Representative working out of the Brockville office. I am confident that all my skills and abilities that I have acquired through my union journey will assist the Divex in attaining more engagement from all Sector 13 members.
Secretary: Nicole Wilson, Local 496
I have been an Ontario Works caseworker for 23 years in Hastings County and have been an OPSEU/SEFPO member for the past 22 years. I have been secretary for our local for 10 years and have sat on bargaining teams and employer/employee relations committees. I was elected in November 2023 at the BPS Conference to continue my role as secretary for the Sector 13 Divisional Executive. I look forward to trying to engage members within our sector to become stronger together.
Communications Coordinator: Cheryl Silver, Local 496
I have been employed as a caseworker with the County of Hastings for the past 24 years. During this time, I was elected steward, local president, and currently chief steward for my local. In 2021, I was elected as the Communications Coordinator for the Sector 13 Divex and was re-elected in November 2023 at the BPS Conference. I am looking forward to the next two years working with this great Divex group and members of Sector 13.In solidarity,
Your Divisional Executive
