On May 7, National President David Neufeld, RVP Valda Behrens and members of the USJE Communications Team took part in a southern Alberta site visit tour.
The team’s first stop was the new RCMP detachment in Cochrane that was built during the recent pandemic, officially opening to the public in 2023. Built for the future and with a focus on community, the space includes genderless locker rooms, ergonomic workstations for all staff, and bright communal spaces for RCMP and municipal employees to share. USJE would like to thank Inspector Dave Brunner and Detachment Services Supervisor Bethany Hoskin for an informative and engaging tour of the new detachment space. A highlight of the building tour for the team was the thoughtfully chosen artwork entirely from local photographers (including the local high school photography class) representing subjects from the land, reconciliation, and of course, a few cowboys and cattle drives, too.
Throughout the site visit, the team heard how valuable USJE members are to the work of the RCMP and the stabilizing force they provide for the regular members. The team interviewed eight members at the Cochrane detachment working in various roles such as Detachment Services Clerks, Exhibit Custodian, Court Liaison and Traffic Services dealing administrative functions.
For the second stop in the afternoon, the USJE team visited the Didsbury RCMP detachment. Staff Sargeant Stephen Browne graciously provided a tour of the detachment and shared recent renovations done to make the building more effective for all employees, including separate work areas and privacy screens for the DSAs. Following the tour, the National President and RVP Behrens were able to spend time talking with local members to answer questions and hear their stories and perspectives.
USJE would like to thank the USJE members in Cochrane and Didsbury who shared their personal experiences as employees of the RCMP both informally and those that will be part of USJE’s national RCMP campaign. Approved by the RCMP’s National Labour Relations team, the campaign aims to bring awareness about the unique roles and work done by our members. RCMP public servants and CMs can participate by reaching out to the USJE Communications team at USJEcommunicationSESJ@psac-afpc.com.