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Virden paramedic wants top job at MB’s biggest union

Virden paramedic Wayne Chacun says he intends to run for the leadership of the biggest union in the province.
Chacun

Virden paramedic Wayne Chacun says he intends to run for the leadership of the biggest union in the province.

Last week, Chacun announced that he’s standing for election as the next president of the 40,000-member Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU), challenging current president Michelle Gawronsky at the Union’s fall convention. No other candidates have so far entered the race.

17 years service

Chacun has been involved in the MGEU since 2001 when he helped unionize paramedics in Westman, creating Local 416.

In 2009, he rose to president of that local, a position he still holds. For the last four years, he’s also been serving as the MGEU’s 1st vice president.

Now he says it’s time to bring “greater unity” to the organization by winning the top job, which has belonged to Gawronsky for six years.

Chacun says, “I would do things differently…. Right now, there’s a focus on some (union) groups more than others, and there needs to be a focus on all sectors equally.”

He says health care services, which make up a third of MGEU membership, are the union’s main focus while other sectors within the vast organization (it also represents education, corrections, social services, and more) don’t get the attention they need.

In response, Gawronsky said, “Well, he hasn’t sat in the chair yet.” She said she welcomes a healthy debate at election time and wishes Chacun well.

Tory gov’t fails at labour

Chacun enters the race at a time when the Conservative provincial government is seen to be chipping away at labour. “Their relationship with unions? I’d give them a three (out of 10). Lots of room for improvement,” says Chacun.

“They’re restructuring unions to reduce their numbers. They’re also changing pension plans.… They’re talking about transforming the civil service, making changes to home care, funding for Child and Family Service agencies.

“They don’t even have a Minister of Labour. That was the first thing they did away with in the cabinet shuffle.”

In spite of all that, Chacun stresses the MGEU is a non-partisan body that doesn’t favour one political party over another. Rather, it balances its advocacy for workers with its support for business, something he applauds.

“I loved how (former NDP Premier) Gary Doer described the province as an airplane: one wing is private enterprise, the other is public service. Both need to be equally strong or the plane - the province - will crash.”

Plans for MGEU

Chacun wants to see some specific changes come to his union. If elected president, he plans to push for a more democratic institution that espouses “one member, one vote”.

Currently, the MGEU rank and file can’t vote directly for provincial officers; they can only elect delegates who then get to vote for the president and four vice presidents at bi-annual conventions.

Giving a greater voice to members and local reps is on his to-do list. “I think our union needs to refocus on its duty, looking after our members equally. And I think I’m the person best suited to do that.”

If he doesn’t get elected in October, Chacun says he will step down as President of Local 416 to give someone else a shot and keep being a paramedic – one with a little more time for the community work he enjoys but has been too busy for.  

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