Elected Steelworkers Wood Council Chair in 2019, Jeff is responsible for servicing 11 USW locals across Canada covering over 14,000 forest workers in logging and manufacturing. BC’s 10,000 members in the forest industry are lead by Jeff in bargaining across three regions (Northern and Southern Interior and the Coast) as well as collaborating with BC’s six local unions on political action, government policy as well as the industry pension and benefit plans. Jeff was a rank and file IWA member beginning in 1994 when he was hired as an operator at the now Canfor Elko Sawmill at age 25.
Jeff was born in Richmond, B.C., and grew up in the mining town of Kimberley, B.C. with his mother and step-father, who was also an IWA member at the Canal Flats sawmill. Jeff earned his Associated Degree at East Kootenay Community College (now College of the Rockies) with a major in history and a minor in political science.
Rising through the ranks of Local 1-405 in the Kootenays, Jeff was elected Shop Steward and Plant Committee Secretary in 1999 and served as Trustee from 2001-2008. Jeff’s advocacy and political action activities have included the USW’s Stop the Killing, Enforce the Law campaign, the softwood lumber lobby effort in Ottawa and the Forest Renewal campaign in Victoria. Jeff has also been a local union instructor through District 3’s Back to the Locals instructor program.
Jeff was elected 3rd Vice-President of Local 1-405 in 2008 and in 2010 graduated from the USW’s Leadership Development Program. Elected Financial Secretary in 2012, Jeff has served the local union in a full-time staff role since 2012 before being elected to the Wood Council Chair position in 2019 and re-elected in 2022.