ELIZABETH MOBEEN

VP, Chief Steward

My name is Elizabeth Mobeen and I’m running for VP/Chief Steward at OPSEU Local 596. My goal is to better equip and engage all stewards so that they can become the most powerful group of representatives for our members. Every steward must receive the proper training, mentorship and support to successfully carry out their duties and create an effective chain of action in support of our members.  I currently work as a Service Ambassador for the Service Hub and I have been a Ryerson employee and OPSEU member for 27 years.

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My educational background is in Law Procedure, Business Communication, and HR Management. I also have volunteer experience as a support person for the elderly at Sick Kids Hospital. My involvement with the union goes back to the beginning of my time at Ryerson when I first volunteered as a Recording Secretary for three separate elections, and also works on at least six cases for the Contract Negotiations Team. I’ve been a Steward for 22 years and participated in multiple arbitration and grievance cases. In 2018 alone I represented 27 members at meetings and worked with outside investigators. My success rate in reaching a positive outcome for these members was very high and I’ve received great feedback from members who have been thankful for my support and my voice.

My vision for the Local is to spark change and create a people first attitude with an open-door policy and transparent communication. I want to build the effectiveness of the steward team by investing in training and organizing twelve meetings per year. I will also create a mentorship and shadowing system so that new stewards can begin working with members under the supervision of more senior stewards so that every member is well represented in a timely fashion.

With my many years of experience and deep knowledge of labour relations practices, I look forward to serving the members to create a more responsive system that benefits from the strengths of all of our members supporting one another.