SGEU Indigenous Committee member Jackie Watson was born in Shoal Lake, Manitoba, and now lives and works in Moose Jaw. She is proudly First Nations.

“It traces back through my great-grandmother,” said Jackie. “She was a Haida Indian in Queen Charlotte off the Coast of BC.”

Jackie works in mental health and addictions at the Thunder Creek Rehabilitation Association. According to Jackie, the best part of her role is being able to focus on her clients.

“My work partner and I are able to invest and spend more dedicated time with clients as opposed to in a bigger centre, where the clients greatly outnumber the staff. So I appreciate being able to have more one-on-one time, more interpersonal relationships and rapport-building, and the opportunity to offer more catered support for their needs.”

When it comes to SGEU, Jackie first got involved around 2015, when her bargaining unit’s contract was up for negotiation. She wanted to ensure she and her coworkers were getting a fair deal, so she took steps to join her bargaining committee.

“The next thing you know, you’re going to AGMs, Convention, and joining different committees.”

“I really didn’t like the idea of signing a contract just for the sake of it, and I felt like if I got involved and started to take some of the LD (Learning and Development) courses, that maybe I would get some confidence to be nominated to be on the bargaining committee,” said Jackie.

“And that’s really how it started.”

Spurred on by her belief that their contract was skewed in the employer’s favour, Jackie started taking LD courses, meeting new people, and making new friends and connections. That opened up further opportunities for her to participate in the union.

“The next thing you know, you’re going to AGMs, Convention, and joining different committees.”

Jackie has served as the chair of her bargaining committee for around eight years now, during which time she's helped negotiate two contracts. She says it’s important for members to get involved if they aren’t satisfied with their collective bargaining agreements.

“For example, before I became involved with my bargaining unit, overtime wasn’t being handed out according to seniority. We used to have several issues like this. Then, when you look back, you think, ‘How did we let this happen? That would never happen now.’ There are so many opportunities to create change.”

"The more educated you are, the more well-rounded you are, and the more you are able to teach and lead others.”

For members looking to get more involved, Jackie highly recommends SGEU’s Learning and Development program.

“Start by visiting the SGEU website to register for their Learning and Development courses. It’s really hard to have well-rounded and accurate information if you haven’t learned the basics. You could be giving people advice on certain topics without having the right information. The more educated you are, the more well-rounded you are, and the more you are able to teach and lead others.”

Jackie has been a member of the SGEU Indigenous Committee for two years, and she is very proud of the work they are doing to raise the profile of Indigenous issues in the union.

“A huge project for us has been the LD 70 course, which is being revitalized. It was in hibernation for a bit because we no longer had a facilitator and some of the information needed to be updated and digitized. That’s been a huge undertaking that we’ve been working on, and it is nearing completion,” said Jackie.

“I also think in the last couple years the committee has been a little more visible and making more of an effort to follow through on truth and reconciliation and the calls to action. We’re a bit more on the forefront than we used to be.

According to Jackie, it’s good to see SGEU members participate in reconciliation.

“It’s important for the general membership to participate in Indigenous-based activities or events. SGEU has already done things like name their meeting rooms after Saskatchewan trees, animals and lakes. That’s really supportive. Having the Métis flag flying is supportive,” she said.

“I think just having the membership participate alongside us is important.”