Now that nominations have come and gone, I would like to thank the membership for the opportunity to serve as your Executive Vice-President for the next three years. I would also like to congratulate our new Vice-President Twasky Smith, and of course, Madame President Kim Lewis for another term.

We anticipate changes in the upcoming days ahead. We have sent applications to the stewards, requesting those interested, to attend the new Formal A training starting in November 2024. The goal of this training is to educate and train more warriors to join the fight at the Formal A level. Formal Step A is a demanding and hard job, but I know we have qualified members who are ready for the task.

We will have extensive organizational skills training and will work together to fight for our members. One of the focuses will be escalated remedies if management fails to comply with past grievance settlements. Though we do have some good decisions in our branch, we will focus on escalating those remedies if management refuses to comply.

Stewards from both the Dallas Installation and the associated offices have expressed an interest in participating in the Formal A training course. We will focus on ensuring that all members are represented by the best, and we will accomplish that through training and education.

You may hear some say the escalated remedies are not fair, but I am afraid I must disagree. When management states they will cease and desist something, that means stop and not do it again. If management does not want the remedies to escalate, all management must do is stop violating the contract. The time for excuses must come to an end.

Many individuals have done a great job in our union, I believe if we organize and work together, we can accomplish much more.

Steward elections are upon us. For those who want to put the work in, we encourage you to sign up and join the fight. If your current steward is doing a good job, let them know. It doesn’t hurt to let a steward know you appreciate what they do, this job is not easy and is not for everyone.

Again, thanks for the opportunity. I am looking forward to what is to come.