The stewards at Wellspring are:

Chris Doberstein

Nicolette Laminay

Allisha Smith

Sara Steward

Stewards are elected union leaders at the worksite and will help you and your coworkers solve problems at your workplace. They will receive ongoing training from the BCGEU to ensure they can advise and represent you when you are facing challenges with your employer.

If you are required to attend a meeting with your employer that may be disciplinary, make sure to ask a steward to attend with you. You have a right to choose which steward you would like to represent you and your employer is required to inform you if the meeting may be disciplinary.

One tool for solving conflicts at work is to file a grievance. The grievance process will come into place when the non-monetary provisions of your collective agreement are in effect. This is a way of acknowledging an existing conflict at the workplace, and committing to solving it through an impartial third-party process. If you need to file a grievance, a steward can advise you on whether you have grounds to file, and will help you fill out the paperwork.

If many of you are experiencing the same problem at the workplace, stewards can help come up with a plan to solve it together.

Congratulations to all your new stewards!

In solidarity,

Kate Banky, Local 301 Chair

Kathleen Mann, Staff Representative – Field Services

Jaela Villegas, Staff Representative – Organizing

P.S. Stay up to date on union news by signing into BCGEU's Member Portal. Access it with your login at https://my.bcgeu.ca/ or, if you haven't logged in before, you can sign up for an account here: https://my.bcgeu.ca/signup.