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The Unity Council has been a mainstay for years within the PACE organization and its’ overall success has brought about a revitalization of their efforts. On October 29-30, 2007 the Council held its’ annual meeting in Charleston, WV. There were 17 locals in attendance from all four states in District 8. The once PACE organization has now been opened up for all locals and there were several USW locals in attendance. “The success of this council in the past has sparked enough interest that I feel it deserves a chance to survive within the district. I support their efforts and encourage other locals to participate,” stated District 8 Director, Ernest R. “Billy” Thompson.
The Council meeting was opened by Chairman Larry Wise. Director Thompson and Chairman Wise made opening remarks. “We can no longer sit on the sidelines when it comes to political matters—our members must understand the issues and vote accordingly. It is our job to ensure they understand,” stated Thompson. The Directors remarks were backed up by District 8 Rapid Response Coordinator Ronnie Watson.
The Council meeting quickly moved into education mode. Dave Cormier of the Institute for Labor Studies & Research began training on Mobilizing the Membership. This program very much like our Rapid Response program gives locals some of the tools necessary to create an environment where members can participate in a communication network that will allow various initiatives to be implemented. Cormier laid the ground work on how a local can build the network into an organization can “Mobilize the Membership” in order to get results. Those in attendance participated in building a network based upon a fictitious situation presented by Cormier.
Another function of this Council besides education is the “Site Reports.” During a site report, a local will give a brief description of his/her local, employment status, problems they are having as well as successes they’ve had. Additionally, other locals will offer help in the form of discussion of like issues. All 17 locals participated in this discussion. One issue that received a lot of discussion was the USW dues structure. Several PACE locals had questions about the differences between their dues structure and the USW and how to switch as outlined in the USW/PACE merger agreement. Director Thompson stated that a class would be set up for the 2008 Summer Institute to help the locals understand the merger agreement.
The newly elected Unity Council Officers are as follows:
| Chairman |
Larry Wise |
Local 2-0505 |
| Treasurer |
Mike Green |
Local 1488 |
| Recording Secretary |
Sue Pace |
Local 01038 |
| 1st Co-Chairman |
Alton Glass |
Local 8888 |
| 2nd Co-Chairman |
Bob Pierce |
Local 0002 |
| Maryland Trustee |
Dave Stone |
Local 388 |
| Virginia Trustee |
Allan Blanton |
Local 1488 |
| Kentucky Trustee |
George Heufel
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Local 214 |
| West Virginia Trustee |
Lou Ann Thomas |
Local 8151 |
| Chaplain |
Greg Gammon |
Local 831L |
| Human Rights |
Denise Dorsey |
Local 00111 |
| Human Rights Alt. |
Nona Pfeiffer |
Local 01038 |
Director Thompson administering oath to new officers
Director Thompson addressing Unity Council |
Dave Cormier teaches mobilizing the membership |
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Attendees
working
on
mobilizing |
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EDUCATION
