by P.D. Lesko

Just like the lyric from the "West Side Story" song, it's "alarming how charming" Smokey Thomas is. He has a strong Canadian accent, speaks rapidly and with a folksy warmth. Thomas laughs easily, and doesn't hesitate when he calls the democratic process in his own union a "pain in the ass"— or backtrack and ask that the comment be striken from the interview. In fact, his demeanor makes it difficult to believe that Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) members sometimes refer the Toronto-based organization as the "Lebanon of the labour movement" thanks to vicious political infighting during conventions and elections. Thomas, a member of the union for decades, is not outsider to the warfare. He is, however, not the least bit pretentious. Warren (Smokey) Thomas was elected president of Canada's Ontario Public Service Employees Union on April 20, 2007, after serving three terms (six years) as First vice president and Treasurer. The 55-year old registered practical nurse has been an OPSEU activist for 25 years beginning as president of Local 431 at the Ontario Psychiatric Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, where he represented more than 1,000 members. He was elected to OPSEU’s Executive Board in 1993.

Thomas was elected OPSEU president on a simple pledge to put the interests of the union’s 130,000 members first:
“I am a members-first president. That means my priorities rest with delivering strong services to our members. It means strong staff development so that they have the skills to provide good services to the membership. It means being nimble enough that when circumstances and issues suddenly change, as they inevitably do, we have staff that are skilled and well equipped to meet the challenges on behalf of the membership.”

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