Service Technician and Local Union Representative, Local 1944, District 3.
Castlegar, B.C.
What do you do?
I come out of Local 1944, where I was a service technician working for Telus. I became a local union rep for the local in 2022, representing technicians, construction, cable repair and inside plant workers over most of B.C. and the clerical (call centre) workers in Prince George, B.C.
How did you get involved?
My parents had worked for the phone company, so I knew all about the union, the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU), before the 2015 merger with the USW. When I was hired in 2013, I just got involved, went to meetings, anything I could. I served on the Health and Safety Committee – eventually becoming Secretary of that committee – Women of Steel and Unit Chair for Unit 4. I also served on the federal Pay Equity Committee and I’m a graduate of the Leadership Development School.
We hold four meetings a year for each unit: usually three are virtual and once a year, it’s in-person. We try to make it inclusive and cross-pollinate by pairing up units from different regions, so more people can meet each other.
How would you encourage others?
Be curious! There are so many different committees to get involved with. Try something out. You’ll find something that works for you. There are so many ways to be involved: NextGen, Women of Steel, health and safety. It’s shaped my life. I can’t imagine life without the union.
This article appears in the Summer 2026 issue of USW@Work magazine.
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VANCOUVER – Some 3,000 unionized workers at TELUS operations in four provinces have ratified a new collective agreement with the company. The new agreement addresses employees’ top priorities, including workplace “stability and security,” said Michael Phillips, President of Local 1944 of the United Steelworkers union (USW). Ratification of the new collective agreement comes five months […]
Steelworkers from across Western Canada gathered in Langley, B.C., for the first USW Racial Justice Summit, organized by the USW National Anti-Racism Committee.
First published on globeandmail.com on October 22, 2026 By Marty Warren, Special to the Globe and Mail Marty Warren, the Canadian national director of the United Steelworkers union. As I write, more workers at Hamilton’s Stelco steel mill are being laid off. In all, the plant’s U.S. owner, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., will cut up to 500 jobs. This, […]