John Dimas For SPEEA President 2026

Qualifications: (25 Words)

  • SPEEA Professional Member (21 years)
  • President (Current)
  • Northwest Vice-President (2021-2024)
  • Council Representative (2015-2021)
  • IFPTE Vice-President (Current)
  • Various Northwest and SPEEA Committees
  • Joint Workforce Committee (Current)

 

Candidate Platform Statement (249 Words)

 

My vision for SPEEA is a union that is smart, passionate, and acts strategically.

SPEEA has not reached its full potential, and I want to realize that vision.

21 years as a SPEEA member in Everett, I’ve worked assignments from an Electrical Design Engineer on the 747 to currently a member of Airplane Level Integration on 777. 

My experience has included working with engineering, manufacturing, leadership, suppliers, and the FAA.

When I became a Council Representative in 2015, I learned to take member concerns and translate them into action.

This has continued through various committees, the SPEEA Executive Board and serving as an IFPTE Vice-President.

Leaders need to be active, physically present in the workplace, yet still available virtually.

There should be no hesitation in challenging employers when they can do better for SPEEA members.

It is best to be present to learn at events with members and at lunchtime meetings. I help answer questions, especially the more difficult ones.

 

SPEEA members must be active and well-informed.

The solution to our greatest challenges rests in our own hands.

Being President is to use my experiences in being your advocate.

I am always ready for the fight and want to include you.

I want to know what is important to you?

E-mail: jadimas2001@gmail.com

Email me for Discord links (Dimas SPEEA Q&A) or (SPEEA (Rank & File))

Signal Username: JohnDimas.01

Signal Group:  Dimas 4 SPEEA President 2026

Website: votedimas.com

 

 

2026 President Candidate Questions (1200 words)

 

  1. How has your experience as a SPEEA activist prepared you for this position? (138)

As a SPEEA activist, I have:

  • Spoken with members across all SPEEA.
  • Have represented various members at work.
  • Participated in the joint committees with the employer.
  • Communicating member concerns to others in SPEEA Leadership.
  • Talking SPEEA concerns to other unions, through Labor Councils.
  • Lobbying both state and federal politicians with members’ concerns.
  • Sharing the SPEEA story at our International, IFPTE.
  • Worked on committees for Council Rep training, Governing Documents, and organizing among other topics.
  • Acted as an observer for two SPEEA Contract Negotiations.
  • Created Signal groups for Council Representatives and Area Representatives.
  • Help to advocate a Discord channel run by members for members.

As a SPEEA activist, you go where you need to go to represent the members.  You must have insight into what members’ concerns are and be ready to act on those at a moment's notice.

 

 2. How have you used previous leadership positions in SPEEA to benefit our members? (264)

Serving on the SPEEA Executive Board is about talking to members and bringing those concerns to the table.  It is also about working with other Executive Board members and helping them to understand all sides of an issue.

In addition, meeting with the various councils means working with the Council Representatives to work member issues through those channels.

It is also about communicating directly with the employer.  others that message is going to be friendly and others it will have to be bold.

We are part of an “International”, IFPTE, International Federation of Professional and Technical Employees.  This includes many unions across North America, SPEEA is the largest union in the federation.  I have served as one of SPEEA’s IFPTE Vice-Presidents since 2023.

Our representation happens in various ways, with the employer, with politicians, and with other unions.

I will always be an advocate for SPEEA members, anywhere, any time.

It is vital to be resolute with the will of the SPEEA membership.

My experiences serving on the Executive Board include:

  • Representing members in various districts in Everett.
  • Elected as an officer on various committees.
  • Talking directly with the employer as a current member of the Joint Workforce Committee.
  • Participation in hiring of a SPEEA staff member.
  • Kicked off a successful amendment to the SPEEA Constitution
  • Representing SPEEA members
    • at Snohomish-Island County Labor Council.
    • at Washington State Labor Council.
    • in Olympia and Washington D.C. to lobby elected officials.
    • as an IFPTE Delegate in 2018
    • IFPTE Vice-President starting in 2023.
    • testified for SPEEA members in Olympia on Tax Accountability.
  1. How would you use the executive officer position for the benefit of SPEEA members and to increase activism among our members? (208)

With Northwest Professional and Technical contracts being renegotiated this year there will be plenty of opportunities to benefit members and increase activism.

Power is not at the bargaining table; it is in the workplace.  I want to make sure EVERY SPEEA member has a red shirt to show solidarity.

Also ensuring that member engagement events such as hot dog feeds or coffee and donuts are funded and staffed with volunteers.

 

There is a lot of SPEEA misinformation in the workplace.

The solution is to make sure leaders engage with SPEEA members in the workplace, no matter where that is.

Increasing SPEEA activism is engaging with members in the workplace, but still being available virtually.

As President, I have and will continue to come visit any district in person.

  • Lunch time meetings.
  • Area Rep (AR) recruitment.
  • Involvement in SPEEA committees.
  • More offsite happy hours.

All members need to feel connected, no matter their location.

SPEEA needs members with experience to become more active advocates and at the same time find more active roles for our new hires.  Because of retirements, around 50% of our members are new/recent hires. 

I have a lot more to say on this.  Send in your questions or let us find a time to chat.

 

  1. What do you believe the Executive Board needs to focus on for the next two years, and what steps would you take to achieve this? (173)

There is a great deal to focus on:

  • Prepare for the remaining SPEEA contracts to be renegotiated.
    • Puget Sound Professional / Technical Units 10/6/2026

With all our units SPEEA needs to ensure that we have a great communication link with the members.

 

We must:

  • Ensure members are familiar with the negotiation process.
  • Know where they can contribute their input.
  • Know how they can actively participate in the process.
  • Ensure that they vote and advocate for their fellow SPEEA members to vote also.
  • Engage with ongoing developments with 737 and 777 and working with the employers, the FAA, and SPEEA members to ensure safety across aerospace on our products.
  • Organize new SPEEA units inside and outside current employers.
    • If aerospace workers want to join the SPEEA ranks, we will welcome them with open arms.
  • SPEEA Facilities
    • The work at the various halls is supporting all SPEEA members. It is time to look at our halls to ensure they are in functional condition for now and the future.
  1. Is there anything you would do differently compared to the officers in the last two terms
  • Running Executive Board meetings with better efficiency and keeping them to no more than 2 hours.
    • Some Executive Board meetings this last term have gotten very lengthy. They can be more efficient. No need to keep members and staff longer than we need to accomplish tasks.
  • Spend more time with SPEEA staff to better understand their roles and responsibilities.
    • SPEEA staff in many cases deal with the most urgent and impactful members’ concerns. SPEEA staff are also the keepers of past practices and SPEEA history.  I learned this term that not everyone in SPEEA Leadership fully understands these responsibilities.  My goal is to help bridge this gap
  • Recruit and train the next crop of SPEEA leaders.
    • This past term we have had several new activists step up and during the upcoming Northwest negotiations more will step up. SPEEA survival in the future will depend on these folks participating in committees, becoming Council Representatives and serving on the SPEEA Executive Board
  1. How would you handle out of sequence interim contract negotiations? (197)

I do not support out of sequence interim negotiations without greater SPEEA member input.

According to the SPEEA Constitution, Section 11.6, Executive Board handles out of sequence interim negotiations.

I would push to have the Bargaining Unit Councils (BUCs) formed where members can have input.  On the last interim contract, I voted no on the contract extension because members did not have a chance to participate in negotiations, as they normally would have when a contract expires.  In hindsight, had we voted the extension down; we would have ended up with a contract that was much worse.

It is important for members to understand how they fit in the process and how to make changes.

According to Article 14 of both the Professional and Technical Contracts, we cannot strike during the term of the contract.

The real solution to this is to revise our governing documents to support member input into interim negotiations. 

This may require an amendment to the SPEEA Constitution, Section 11.6, SPEEA Northwest Bylaws Section 11.6, and Northwest Policy and Procedure Manual Addendum A and Addendum B.

If you would like to discuss it more, contact me and I can go into further details.