Chris Day statement of candidacy

Today Monday, May 11^th, 2015 I have officially became a candidate for ATU757 Vice President. These next 42 days will be a very interest time for me. I will be happy when June 23, 2015 is finally here and the vote count is done. It is my goal during this election campaigning time to not put focus on negative aspects of other candidates. My campaign is to present to our members what makes me a good candidate as Vice President. 

ATU757 members have three Vice President Candidates (Christopher Day, Jonathan Hunt and Dan Martin) to choose from. Candidates including myself will be seeking members support and votes during this time and there will be many things that members will view to determine who they will support and vote for.

I am currently 47 years old, I have never been arrested, jailed or convicted of any crimes (other than a couple of minor traffic offenses) and I plan to continue to maintain a clean criminal record. For the past eight years I have worked for TriMet and have been an active member in good standing with ATU757. As an ATU757 member I have participated as a Shop Steward and Liaison helping to protect our members. In 2010 some members had an issue with TriMet discriminating against domestic partners. Even ATU757 Officers and in house attorney failed to see the discrimination that was taking place. With the assistance of the ACLU I was able to help members address this discrimination. TriMet management, ATU757 officers and union staff adjusted their policies and corrected our contract so that this type of discrimination would not happen again to any member. There is a Class Action Law Suit that I helped start and I am one of the lead plaintiffs against TriMet. At the start of this class action our union was not supportive yet they have been cooperative with the attorneys as it continues to move forward. A Class Action is a slow process and until a ruling is received it is not clear what direction it will take or when it will be fully judged.

My past eight years as an ATU757 member I have taken an active role with helping members with getting accurate information and taking action to help protect our membership. The skills I have learned and demonstrate such as researching, communication, problem solving, listening and implementation makes me a good candidate for ATU757 Vice President. It is the actions not the words of a candidate that will get the attention of our membership. Members will view what candidates have done in the past to help determine what candidate will gain their support. By maintaining a clean criminal record with no arrests, jail time or convictions along with being able to find support for our members when our union would not is a strong foundation that I can start with as ATU757’s next Vice President.