Roxann Gonzalez
I am Roxann Gonzalez, the Director of Safety and Injury Compensation for Branch 1100. In 1998, I became a Shop Steward at the Long Beach Bixby Station. The climate in my office had gotten really bad, management was out of control. Even though I wasn’t a target I couldn’t stand back and watch other carriers get mistreated. There wasn’t a steward in the station at the time and management was taking advantage of that. Initially, my intentions were just to make my station a better place to work at. Eventually I became an Area Steward and was able to represent Letter Carriers in other offices throughout Branch 1100.
My Story
As a Steward along with filing numerous grievances, I was the food drive coordinator, safety captain and Custom Connect coordinator for my station. I was on the MDA committee and planned and helped with fundraisers to raise money for our charity. In January of 2015 I was certified as a Step B representative with the Dispute Resolution Team.
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I was named Shop Steward of the Quarter in 2008, 2011 and 2015. In 2013 I was honored to receive Shop Steward of the Year. In 2016 I was awarded with the John Jackson Advocacy and Training Scholarship which allowed me to attend the Internal Organizing class at the School for Workers at the University of Wisconsin.
In 2016 I was elected as a Board Member at Large and continued to serve Branch 1100 wherever needed until I was elected as a Trustee in 2018. On August 7, 2018, I became a full time officer when I was appointed as the Director of Safety and Injury Compensation. In October of 2018, I successfully completed the NALC
Advanced OWCP Training at the Maritime Institute in Maryland.
I have continued to the serve the membership as the Director of Safety and Compensation since first appointed. I have advocated for injured workers for the past 7 years. I have assisted with every aspect of their injury claims, such as filing claims, contacting claims examiners, assisting with forms, filing reconsideration appeals and Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board hearings. I have also had training classes to Shop Stewards on safety and OWCP issues. I believe my empathy, passion and patience has allowed me to be the best advocate I can be for injured workers and the stewards who represent them.
I have served this Branch with passion, integrity and reliability, and hope I am re-elected so I continue to do so. We are the Clear Choice!