When Marlene Leamon learned that a women’s centre needed help with electrical repairs, she was certain that it would be a great volunteer opportunity for the recently formed Women’s Committee at St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Local 2330.

“No big renovations or anything, just some heaters or lights, little bits of maintenance that need to be done,” said Leamon, co-chair of the committee.

The St. John’s Women’s Centre is a space for those fleeing domestic violence that also offers free counselling programs and other services for the region’s women and nonbinary people.

Leamon said committee volunteers wear IBEW-branded pink T-shirts and hats at work to help clients feel comfortable with their presence.

“There’s a lot of women in the centre who are looking to have new beginnings,” said Leamon, who embarked on a new beginning of her own a decade ago when she left a secure yet unsatisfying government job to apply for a Local 2330 apprenticeship.

“I chose electrical work because I love solving problems, and I like the physical work,” she said.

She discovered a knack for handling industrial and construction work.

“I can bend pipe, and I like doing panels because I like to have everything neat,” she said. “I like that I understand it enough to say, ‘I can move this pair and this pair and it should work perfectly.’”

Discussions about beginning a Women’s Committee at Local 2330 grew out of shift-crossing conversations between Leamon, who worked nights, and dayshift co-worker Stephanie Kelloway, the committee’s co-chair.

The pair decided to get more active after hearing from IBEW women during an All Canada Progress Meeting in St. John’s in August 2024.

“We got to meet other women in the trade. It was very inspirational,” Kelloway said. “After that, Marlene and I started talking more about something we can do” at Local 2330.

By the end of 2024, the local’s members had approved their request to form a Women’s Committee.

“They’re doing a fabulous job, and they’re going to all these different functions,” said Business Manager James Martin. “They’re doing fundraising, and they’re asking for more stuff to do.”

Leamon, who recently was elected to the local’s executive board, wore her committee T-shirt walking with the women’s centre’s contingent in the St. John’s Pride Parade in July. The committee is recruiting walkers for Cancer Care Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador’s 5-km “Polka Dot Trot” fundraiser in September.

Leamon, meanwhile, has recently represented the IBEW at events — sponsored by WinSETT and the Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology — geared toward bringing more underrepresented people into the trades. She’s also mentored some women she met at this year’s All-Canada Progress Meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Since 2023, a women’s caucus has been included in the progress meetings to allow for greater and more consistent networking among women in the district along with business managers and local union leaders.

“I like that these young ladies are talking to me about things,” she said. “I think we’re doing great, considering that a lot of our people travel.”

That now includes Leamon, who was recently hired by Nova Scotia’s Halifax Shipyard. Her commitment to the women’s centre, however, remains unchanged.

“They asked if I’d still be able to speak to some of the women there about the electrical trade,” she said. “I might have to do it over Zoom now.”

First District International Vice President Russ Shewchuk said Local 2330’s Women’s Committee stands as a fine example for locals throughout the IBEW.

“Start small, work hard, and amazing things can result,” Shewchuk said. “It’s true for organizing new members into the IBEW, and it’s true for women’s committees and the other affinity groups that help make this union stronger and more inclusive.” 

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