And, yes, you heard correctly first vice president Dean Flowers hopes to be president after Saturday. Reports are that the current president, Gerald Henry Jr, is considering stepping down for good and the membership is encouraging Flowers to take the reins.
And Flowers is more than happy to take up that mantle. He told us today that he hears the cries of the PSU and is ready for the position.
Dean Flowers - VP, PSU "The general membership has urged me, they have made the call and so my slogan for this campaign is by the members for the members, member inspired and so it is a call I am answering, it is not a call that I felt that I was chosen for but it is a call and a resounding call from branch chairs, PSU executive members and general membership and I trust the result will speak for themselves come Saturday."
Reporter "Do you think that the urging from the members to run for president comes from just your attitude throughout this entire - the strike, the protest, being on the forefront, doing these interviews, giving information to the media and all the findings you have brought to light over the past few months of all these industrial actions. Do you think that was more out of you just being there or being the person who was leading the charge so to say?"
Dean Flowers "It could be, I want to say that even if I wasn't the first vice president, as a member, I'm a stakeholder in this union and so I would have been there supporting any other vice president or president. As I said the fact that I have been the face of the union perhaps helped to convince members to propel me and urge me, encourage me to take up the leadership. I believe that throughout my years and experience within sports, in my professional career and in union business, I have the qualities, I have the experience and as with every other individual I learn everyday, there's a lot of room for improvement in terms of my management skills, in terms of growth but that comes, we're not perfect individuals and what we need to do is never lose the lessons that we learned along the way. So, I'm looking forward to the challenge if I'm given the opportunity."
After tomorrow, Flowers will know if anyone else will be contesting the position.
