Spurred to Action
By Amanda Sperr
If you witness something that you know in your heart to be deeply wrong; do you just stand by and complain to yourself and the people around you, or do you use all your power and resources to actually do something about it and make it right?
(for the full article and multimedia experience, click here: OM-Times July 2010 Edition)
Antonio Alves, president of the Ontario Framers Association had seen enough. After years of watching the union that was supposed to be working to protect it’s members do things that went against it’s constitution Antonio decided to do the unthinkable. Teaming up with 1st directors; Jono Ramos Santos, Anthony Lopes Seita, and Jose Alves in June of 2009, they launched an organization that’s sole purpose was not to fight the union but to work with the union to provide it’s members with the information they need to best utilize the union resources. The Ontario Framers Association’s mission statement is “to unite members of the framers profession and protect the character and status of the profession’s ethical practice, setting questions of professional usage and courtesy among members of the association.”
Antonio’s passion for his work shows through in the way his eyes shine when he speaks of it and his drive comes from a deep seeded belief that we are all connected and therefore belong to a large human family. Family protects family. “If we want to get a reward out of our society, then we have a responsibility to put something back into it.” Antonio Alves commented. He involves his family in his work and encourages them to stand up for what they believe in, even going so far as to share with his young children the truth about the challenges and risks involved with launching an organization that might not gain the approval or support of big corporations.
His plight has not been easy, in a world where many of the members either trust blindly due to language difficulties or are merely interested in going to work only to get the money they need to feed their families, finding people who understand why he is doing this can at times be difficult. Support has been minimal but he is far from ready to give up. He feels it is necessary to take a stand, that standing by and doing nothing would make him partially responsible for the unfair treatment of union members. When Antonio was asked what the reasoning for starting the association was, he replied “The purpose of the Ontario Framers Association is to create a network for those searching for information.” Having worked as a member of the framers union for over ten years, he had witnessed the confusing and sometimes contradictory inners workings of the union. He shared with me a number of stories where the union had done nothing to support the employees in which they are there to support. “Our organization is 100% pro-union but we are fully against all forms of corruption.” He explains.
