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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
PSAC's new boss has union roots in Winnipeg
Chris Mikula / Postmedia News Robyn Benson first got involved with the union in 1980. (POSTMEDIA THE OTTAWA CITIZEN)
OTTAWA -- Robyn Benson, a longtime union activist who began her public service career in Winnipeg, is the new president of the giant Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Benson, PSAC's regional vice-president for the Prairie region, won in a decisive vote over her closest rival, Patty Ducharme, national executive vice-president and second in command in the 186,000-strong union.
She replaces John Gordon, who is stepping down as president after six years.
The vote was held at PSAC's triennial convention in Ottawa, where more than 800 delegates and observers have been planning the course of the union's future, including a road map to build political power and coalitions to fight the Conservative government's spending cuts that have already resulted in more than 12,000 of the union's members getting notices they may lose their jobs.
Benson promised strong leadership and would negotiate, mediate and -- if all else fails -- make the "hard decisions."
"You can't negotiate with the devil" she said, and you can't negotiate with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Treasury Board President Tony Clement and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
Benson worked for more than 20 years at the Winnipeg Taxation Centre for the Canada Revenue Agency before she was first elected as a regional vice-president in 2000.
She first got involved with the union as a term employee in the clerical strike in 1980.
The week-long convention wraps up today.
-- Postmedia News
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 4, 2012 A8
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