Chris Thompson is at the helm of a three decade-strong campus ship. And he couldn’t be more excited.
An e-learning specialist with Continuing Studies, Thompson took up the post of president with Western’s Professional & Managerial Association (PMA) this summer, following Leslie Gloor Duncan of the Student Success Centre.
The new role and title didn’t exactly sneak up on him; Thompson has, in some capacity, eyed the PMA since he first arrived on campus in Housing in 2005.
“In that time, I noticed a lot of my favourite people would all of a sudden leave together, and I couldn’t figure out what that was. At the time, I was part of UWOSA (University of Western Ontario Staff Association) and I discovered it was PMA events they were going to. I thought, ‘These are the people I want to be at some point in my career,’” Thompson said.
When his position eventually fell under PMA’s purview, Thompson joined and has been involved ever since – serving on committees, and, for two years, as vice-president.
The PMA has a great collegial relationship with Western administration, Thompson said. Its dedicated representation of members, alongside the well-established relationship with the university is something he looks forward to fostering as president.
“We are in a negotiations year – and I co-chair the negotiations committee (with Debbie Acton from Western Libraries). We have a really good relationship with administration. So, while negotiations are certainly tough and it’s not something people look forward to, they’ve generally been amicable,” Thompson said, noting WeSpeak, a recent campuswide survey, revealed some issues that need to be addressed.
“Key issues include fairness; we often look to other employee groups to make sure we’re on par with what they’re receiving. Work-life balance is a big issue, too. The university administration appreciates the work our PMA members do, but we need to be mindful that work-life balance is always there for our members. We need to make sure our members are taking time for themselves, and being mindful of their home life as much as their work life and making sure the university recognizes that,” he continued.
Regardless of what issues come up at the table, Thompson understands the PMA is representing an ever-changing group of professionals on campus.
“It’s important everyone’s voices are heard, because for some people, retirement benefits is a huge piece of what they’re looking for, and for some, it’s parental benefits, so we need to make sure we balance those.”
With nearly 1,200 eligible members, Thompson said PMA represents roughly 640 in negotiations. That means there’s work to be done in recruiting new members, to make sure everyone’s voice is represented in negotiations.
“We’re calling this the year of ‘engagement’ and our communications group, they have a very fun strategy to send out ring pops to all of the non-members with a little note that says, ‘Please say ‘Yes,’” he said.
Other items on his to-do list include giving members a shot at exchange, job-shadow and international-volunteer opportunities.
“We’ve been working with the staff-working group on international engagement. Just at our past annual general meeting, the membership approved a $25,000 spend which will allow PMA members to go on these work exchanges,” Thompson noted.
“Two years ago, we approved $25,000 to go toward students. What we heard from our members was maybe this could be something for staff as well.”
Another project potentially in the works is a staff-specific version of Alternative Spring Break, he added.
“We’re hoping we can find other ways to collaborate with not just senior administration and human resources, but other groups on campus. We have a lot to offer to these groups, and as much as we can collaborate, it can only be good for the university and us.”