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International
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President's Perspective
By Ron Lind
A Day In The Life Of The President
Hopefully, most Local 5 members know that they have a
union president – someone elected by the members to
serve and protect their interests. It’s likely however
that most have very little idea as to the duties and
responsibilities of this position.
The tasks are many. Some are obvious, some are not. A
fair number of them are outlined by the UFCW
constitution and Local 5 bylaws which give the president
the authority to set policies, manage staff and direct
the day-to-day operations of the union subject to
approval by the executive board.
A
typical day for me starts around 7:30 AM as I arrive at
one of our six offices and log on to a computer to deal
with a never-ending mountain of emails. At around 8:00
the phone calls start – from staff, employers, vendors,
other unions, politicians, retirees and members – all
with a variety of issues, many of which require
follow-up. In between calls – more email.
Given the size of Local 5, a lot of attention and effort
is dedicated to administrative issues like staff
direction, budget, building maintenance, approving
checks, signing documents and so on. On any given day,
dozens of critical decisions must be made on these and
other issues. This is the least appealing part of the
job but absolutely necessary.
By
far, the bulk of the president’s time is spent in
meetings. We have staff meetings, membership meetings,
board meetings, labor federation meetings, negotiation
meetings, grievance meetings, organizing meetings,
policy meetings, meetings to plan meetings and many
others. Some last all day or for several days. Some days
may include five or six meetings on various issues
starting at 8 AM and ending after 10 PM. Many of these
meetings are out of town in far-flung places like Walnut
Creek, Delano, Modesto or Dallas. As the president, I am
generally expected to plan and/or chair these meetings.
A
growing portion of my time is allocated to pension and
health plan issues – and for good reason. I take nothing
more seriously than the responsibility of protecting the
retirement and medical benefits of Local 5 members. As
health costs have skyrocketed and as the investment
scene has become more difficult, duties around these
issues have become increasingly complicated. When I
began my career nearly thirty years ago who could have
known that I would need to become proficient in topics
like Health Reimbursement Accounts, Hedge Funds, and
real estate investments?
In
my spare time, which is rare, I try to pursue the most
enjoyable and satisfying aspect of my duties – visiting
members on the job to discuss their issues, concerns and
ideas. My inability to do this on a regular basis is an
ongoing source of frustration and I will be working with
our staff in the coming months to develop a strategy to
allow me additional time to visit Local 5 work sites
throughout the state.
When I return home, typically long past dinner time, I
do a final email check (they get forwarded to my
personal email address), review my calendar for the next
day and rest, content that I have done my best to
represent the members who pay my salary. Fortunately for
me, and for you, we have nearly eighty other staff
members who work just as hard and care just as much.
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