New Treasurer ensures “membership dues spent with integrity”

At the 2023 Biennial Convention, delegates voted to amend the ONA Constitution to add the role of Treasurer to the Board. In the past, the portfolio of Local Finance was held by a Regional Vice-President. As a result, the other Board portfolios were realigned among the First Vice-President and regional Vice-Presidents. 

“It has become evident in recent years that the work involved in the Local Finance portfolio requires a dedicated Board member as opposed to being an additional responsibility for a Regional Vice-President,” our 2023 Constitutional Amendments and Resolutions document states. “A Treasurer (or Secretary-Treasurer) is a common Board of Directors’ position in most unions and did exist at ONA for the first 25 years prior to Organizational Transformation in the late 1990s.”

“The Treasurer is a governance role, working specifically with the Local Treasurers and the Manager of Local Finance to ensure the financial stability of Locals,” explains Bernie Robinson, who served as Region 2 Vice-President with the portfolio of Local Finance before being elected as Treasurer during last fall’s Board elections (all members with entitlements were able to vote for that position). 

Specifically, the duties of the Treasurer, which commenced in January 2025, include providing guidance and support to Local Treasurers; assisting Local Executives with their budgeting and policy development; reviewing summaries of Local audits; providing support to Supplementary Funded Locals with their unique challenges; approving Supplementary Funding requests; and guiding all Local Treasurers and Executives when they identify concerns.

“I have brought my years of ONA experiences at the Bargaining Unit, Local and provincial level to this role and am committed to upholding ONA’s Vision, Mission and Values in the inaugural term as Treasurer,” adds Robinson, who, prior to being elected to the Board several years ago, served as ONA49 Local Coordinator and Treasurer. She says those positions allowed her to gain an intimate working knowledge of Local Finance and its policies; fiduciary accountabilities and Supplementary Funding; and the ability to work with fellow Board members to provide assistance to Bargaining Units and Locals and to those impacted by the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, including members and specialists, in future campaigns, while also supporting those in our right-to-strike sector. 

The support Robinson provides is largely through meetings with individual members and executives, and by developing and providing education and the Treasurer connects with ONA’s Finance and Member Education Teams.  

“This mentorship helps ensure that membership dues are spent with integrity,” she notes. “Fostering these relationships as well as meeting regularly with the Manager of Local Finance, ONA’s Simply Help Team and our Chief Financial Officer to understand trends affecting Local Finance benefits all members.”