There are two candidates nominated for the one bargaining committee vacancy. The candidates are (in random order):

•       Thomas Chang
•       Takeshi Mori (biography below)
  

An election will be held by paper ballot at the following locations and times:

Candidate Biographies Submitted before deadline:

My name is Takeshi Mori (TAKE). I have been working at Harbour Light as a shelter worker for the last six years. Before that I volunteered at Anchor Drop-In Centre for almost eight months. I came back to return the kindness to Harbour Light after I spent a month as a homeless at Anchor of Hope and Beacon shelters in the Winter of 2014.

When I first got hired in 2016, the union was in the middle of long bargaining. At first, I did not know anything about bargaining at all but after asking many questions and opinions to senior staff I learned little by little. Over the years, I have seen many unfair treatments of my coworkers by HL management and I had a few encounters with them. The Salvation Army's mission statement claims very noble ideas of "Respect" or "Compassion" to everyone but when it comes to its own employees their action seems 180-degree opposite from what they claim. I have seen many employees quit after being used like a slave and got burnt out with such low pay compared to other social service providers in town. The same goes for many non-union ex-managers who have moved on to better paying jobs. HL management always tells us to treat its clients with respect and build rapport with them. There is no such thing between employees and the HL management but the only thing we have is deep mistrust between us. I have already experienced bargaining twice in the past and the current one is the third one for me. In all those three bargaining they always make excuses that they do not have enough money because The Salvation Army is a charitable organization and what they offer is fair to everyone. That is one of the most dubious claims I have ever heard of since The Salvation Army is the biggest non-profit charity organization in the entire world. If they truly value its employee as the most important asset of Harbour Light, they should show it by action. HL management is currently planning to build a multimillion-dollar new facility while their budget for its 180 employees on this bargaining is little less than a half million dollars for meager wage increase and other insignificant improvements.

Happy people make others happy as well, but no one can make others genuinely happy over someone else's tears and sorrow. Many of Harbour Light employees live pay check to pay check and they are one step away from becoming homeless themselves if they miss one pay check. It needs to be changed ASAP and we have a big chance this time around. We are not fighting just for ourselves but for each other as well and it is very possible to achieve what we all truly deserve if we are united.

60 employees at Booth Centre in Ottawa did it in 2012. If they can do it, so can we. I can promise one thing to everyone today. I will try to serve with everything in my power and represent you to the best of my ability with total transparency and accountability.

SI SE PUEDE!!!

Takeshi Mori

In solidarity,

Brent Camilleri, Coordinator, Negotiations

Download NOB - Bargaining Committee Election 22Feb18.pdf

UWU/MoveUP