Union’s OH&S staffer marks two special occasions
EDMONTON – AUPE staff and management took time yesterday to honour the first full-time union occupational health and safety representative employed in Canada – the union’s own Dennis Malayko.
Malayko celebrated two important milestones that passed this week: 30 years of service to AUPE and his 60th birthday.
He was praised by co-workers for his role building AUPE’s reputation as an effective advocate for workplace health and safety measures.
“Dennis has worked tirelessly to ensure AUPE workplaces are safe and healthy, and by doing this he has made a real difference in the lives of thousands of working people,” said AUPE Executive Director Ron Hodgins.
Before joining AUPE in 1977, Malayko was employed in the health-care sector and in private industry, where he completed occupational health and safety courses at the University of Alberta.
Over the years, he has co-ordinated worker participation programs and developed and delivered introductory and advanced health and safety courses to AUPE members.
Malayko also served as labour’s occupational health and safety representative on numerous local, provincial and national committees. He was part of a two-person labour delegation from Canada that helped create the UN International Labour Organization’s Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured on the Job, which is held each year on April 28.