Advancement Committee Meets with Gilman, Lewis and Nix

In May, Chapter President Greg Gilman, Vice President Veronica Lewis and Chief Steward Katie Nix met with Chapter 293's Advancement Committee. The committee, which is chaired by Lisa Ivory (Enforcement), is comprised of a number of employees who work in various support positions at the agency. They meet regularly to discuss issues that affect SEC support staff, including relations with management, training and education opportunities, issues of racial discrimination at the agency, and support staff rights and benefits. In attendance at this meeting were Robert Bishop (Corporation Finance), Andie Cork (Corporation Finance), Danny Gay (OFM), Shirlie Maultsby (Enforcement), Betty Perry (OAS) and Kay Reid (Corporation Finance).

The luncheon meeting covered a broad range of issues, including the importance of increasing training opportunities for support staff at the SEC, and issues related to participating in the telework program.

Soon after the meeting, Gilman appointed three new stewards from the group – Danny Gay, Lisa Ivory and Betty Perry. “I am always glad to see leaders step forward at the SEC,” he said.

Gilman believes that a Career Enhancement Program should be a major priority for SEC management. “It’s an issue that we have been pushing hard for in the Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations for over a year,” he said. “But we have had difficulty reaching agreement. I have a great deal of difficulty understanding why senior management at the SEC has yet to fully support the concept of supporting the dreams of hard-working employees who want nothing more than the opportunity to show what they can do for the agency.”

Veronica Lewis, who meets regularly with the Advancement Committee, noted that it is important for employees to get involved with the union to take charge of their own destinies at the agency. “If we don’t do it for ourselves, nobody else will do it for us,” she said. “These folks are willing to speak up.”