Wednesday, June 29, 2022
The Board of Directors has chosen to recognize late, long-time President Gary Gannage and his many years of service and leadership by dedicating both an award and an endowment in his name.
Starting this year, the union’s lifetime achievement award will now be called “The Gary Gannage Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement,” and each year going forward, a deserving student in a labour relations program at Gannage’s alma mater, Queen’s University, will be the recipient of tuition support funded by an endowment.
Gannage was AMAPCEO’s second President, serving the union in the role for nineteen years (1995-2014). During his tenure in office, the union grew from 6,000 to almost 11,000 members, and from one bargaining unit, in the Ontario Public Service, to a total of seven units, including six from the Broader Public Sector.
He was a member of the union’s original founders’ group in 1992 and its leader in 1995 when it achieved formal bargaining unit status. He went on to lead the union through six additional rounds of OPS bargaining, building a collective agreement that was the envy of many.
“Gary was a charismatic advocate with a talent for innovative solutions,” said President Dave Bulmer. “He embodied the AMAPCEO member in his professional approach to labour relations. This award very aptly carries his name.”