Becoming the Voice

Trade Unions is a thing of the past. That is what they want us to believe. I started working at the port when I was 20 years old. During our training one of the union representatives, they spoke to us they explained to us the importance of being a part of a trade union and at the time even though I didn’t see the relevance, we all signed up to join the trade union. No deductions came out as time goes by and therefore we were not in the union. Honestly, I didn’t see the necessity to be a part of it so I never really followed up on why the dues were not coming out or what was the status of the enrolment.

Six years later after I had my daughter, we had an election for the first time in a very long time and this was my first experience. All I remembered was a financial listing being posted on the notice boards and workers were checking the listing to see if their name was on the list. It would mean that they are financial and eligible to vote for their branch chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and assistant secretary.

I remember that night, I went home and I took out my laptop and started researching trying to understand what trade unions are, what are their sole purpose. After doing the research and seeing what trade unions was about and what our ancestors went through; pain, suffering and death.

Not only the Afro but the Indo Trinidadians, that all it took was uniting as one, to really make a big change, to know that everything that we benefit from such as NIS, sick and maternity leave were championed by trade unionist and so much more to talk about that I literally cried of passion. I was so emotional that tears just flowed. I couldn’t believe that all these years I never knew or understood that, that was what trade unions did.

Next day I went to work and checked to see how many people were in the trade union. How many people were paying dues in my section. There were about 80 of us and approximately only 5 people were paying dues. The other 75 were my generation, people who don’t really see the importance of trade unions because they were never educated about it. Not in schools, homes or the public. I decided to make that my personal mission, that the only way we can see a transformation, results and proper representation is being united as one, being part of the trade union.

So, I asked my comrade Jefferson if I can have some forms and the 75 non-unionized persons including myself, I went up to each and every person, one by one and explain to them about trade unions. How it came about, the struggles that our fore fathers went through. We spoke about Butler, Panday, Adrian Rienzi, so many pioneers and things that they have accomplished that they can relate to, to help them to understand who really paved the way for the working class. After the explanation and history they just asked where do they sign. I filled out the forms and all they had to do was sign. After speaking to 75 persons, 72 out of 75 persons joined the union. The other 3 persons wasn’t interested and to be honest that is their right. I took those 72 forms which included mine and travelled from Marabella to Port of Spain which is approximately an hour drive. I came to work that evening and I had the receipts and I gave it to them. I had a book, everybody that I joined I put their names. Word spread and other employees from other departments came and said they been trying to join long time and if I can sign them up. It climbed to almost 200 persons that I enrolled in our trade union.

From there I said what could we do, we don’t get proper representation. I posted flyers on the notice board asking our section to meet collectively so we can discuss what we want out of negotiations and we all met once a week talking about what we don’t have, what we need, what we should have enshrined in our collective agreement and we were able to collectively put a proposal together.

That following year in 2017 there was in internal election for shop stewards and for the shop stewards; they initially said they wanted to shop stewards for our department. However, on that day they said they only wanted one. And guess what? Even though I signed everyone of them up in the union they did not vote for me. They chose another person from our section to represent them and I hold not malice towards it because if you don’t want me to represent you then I don’t want to represent you either because to be a good shop steward you must have the support of the rank and file. If you don’t have the support of your rank and file, if you don’t have that support you’re a shell. They are your support. When you say stand ground and you turn around, everybody suppose to be there backing you and if I didn’t have that I didn’t want it. So I didn’t have an issue with not being chosen as the people’s choice.

However, I was nominated and elected to represent another section and I decided that I don’t want someone to tell me what I suppose to do. I want to know what the law says, I want to know what the facts are. I took a decision to enroll myself at the Cipriani College of Labour and Corporative Studies and there I did a diploma in Industrial Relations. It’s comprise of not only history, not only the grievance process but how to carry a matter form the first step to the Ministry of Labour and to the Industrial Court.

I enjoy the process in carrying out and making a difference in people’s lives. People on work started calling me Queen Council, Jennifer Baptiste-Primus (Ex Union Leader who was the Minister of Labour in government at the time) because everytime they saw me I either of an Industrial Relations, Maternity, Minimum or OSHA Act in my hand. I always have some act or reading something relating to Industrial Relations so everybody had some type of nickname for me when it came to that.

But what I am most proud of as a trade unionist within the 15 years that I have worked at the port or within the last 8 years that I have been a representative, when I came to work at the port there was no structure in our section. There was no formal process outlined in our collective agreement on how someone should be made a permanent worker. All they had were random permanent appointments and I am so proud that I was able to sit with the Terminal Clerks and bring a proposal to the negotiation table. Even though I wasn’t elected to represent my section I still sat at the negotiation table and pioneered for the difference that was necessary in our department and I am proud to say that together with my branch Chairman, Vice-chairman and my Secretary I am proud to say that for the first time ever we were able to put a permanent establishment.

My President General has supported me throughout my journey. I have been exposed to seminars, workshops, so many different things, not only locally, regionally but also internationally and today I am so proud to know that I was elected in Morocco in October 2024 as the Regional Youth Representative for the Caribbean with the International Transport Federation.

I don’t just represent young workers, I don’t just have a seat at the table with a voice but I also have the responsibility to demonstrate to young workers the importance of a trade union and making sure the trade union movement stays alive for this generation and the next generation. This generation has the courage to challenge what’s broken. If my story proves anything, it proves that you don’t have to know everything to make a difference but you have to care enough to act on it.

If you are a young worker waiting to be invited into a union, don’t wait. STEP IN, STAND OUT and SPEAK OUT, because every young worker deserves justice and our future depends on it.)