Union Elections

CARE officials serve 2 year terms with no term limits.

During years ending in an EVEN number the following positions are up for election:

• President
• 2nd Vice
• Secretary
• Director

During years ending in an ODD number the following positions are up for election:

• 1st vice
• Treasurer
• Sergeant at Arms

Nominations are held at the first membership meetings of the year with elections following at the March meetings. Only active members may participate. 

Elections will be held on March 15th and 16th 2023 during the March membership meetings with extended voting hours announced closer to those dates. If someone will be out-of-town and still wishes to cast a vote, please contact Tim Sommerfelt.

See below for candidate bios and statements:

Mike Land for C.A.R.E. 1st Vice President

First let me start by introducing myself for those of you who may not be familiar with me. I am Mike Land and I am running to be the 1st Vice President of YOUR union C.A.R.E. local 1975. I was hired in March of 2011 and have worked on all sides of the city during all shifts. I started in the night shift float pool, took a temp assignment to what is currently Medic 39 on night shift, following that I was back in the float pool on day shift until I was assigned to medic 16 which would later become medic 41. I currently am assigned to Medic 4 on B-days. I am married and have two daughters. I consider myself a person of honesty and integrity and try to hold myself to those values through my actions. I consider it a privilege to come to work for the citizens and visitors of the city of Cleveland, and I am asking now for the privilege to work for YOU as well.

Christina “Chrissy” Miller- First Vice Candidate 2023

Background: 

    Long time City Resident (since 1992)

    John Marshall High School, Cleveland, OH- June 2006

    Lake Erie College, Painesville, OH- May 2010, Bachelor of Science in Biology

    UH Parma- January 2015, EMT-P (Class Valedictorian)

    Hired on March 2, 2015- currently at Medic 30 on A-Days

    Field Training Officer since 2018

Statement: 

As I near the eight year mark of my hire date, I have had my share of disappointments

and a fair amount of exposure to the dysfunction that can occur here. I have no plans to leave

(I do not have my Fire card and have not taken any tests), and I hope to devote my energy to

help make this a better place to work for all of us. I am fully prepared to take on the role of First

Vice and all of the responsibilities that come with it.

Over the last couple of years, I have seen an increase in the transparency with the

Union Board. I think most of us appreciate the regular updates and the frankness of discussion

at union meetings. As First Vice, I will strive to continue with that transparency to the best of

my ability. In that same regard, I promise not to abuse my knowledge of circumstances and use

it as a means of gossip or to serve some other nefarious agenda.

Currently, there is only one board member on A-Days. I think having another person to

represent that shift would be beneficial.

Additionally, I have no interest in taking any promotional exams (I am many years away

from even considering that), and I will not be on the next Captain’s list. Should I change my

mind at any point, I will disclose my intentions with the membership and step down from my

post in order to prevent any conflict of interest (which, like I said, will not be likely for quite a

few years yet).

In closing, I look forward to representing you on the Union Board and I thank you for

your consideration.

Sharon Kozel for Sergeant at Arms

For those of you who do not know me, I am Sharon Kozel. Born and raised on the near West side of Cleveland; I have lived in Ohio City, Old Brooklyn and The Gordon Square Arts district. In 2005, at the age of 21, I was hired by Cleveland EMS. I started my career as an EMT and completed the city program to obtain my Paramedic certificate. I have spent the last 18 years committed to Cleveland EMS and the people they serve. I first became involved in C.A.R.E. 11 years ago when I became Treasurer. I really enjoyed being a part of the board and moved into the position of Director where I excelled. As Director, I spent time planning member events like the holiday parties, a cornhole tournament, and family events at community parks. 

David Jockers – 1^st Vice President nomination

Hello. Most, if not all of you know me. I was going back and forth on what, if anything I was going to share in this bio. At first, I was going to take the Tim Misny approach – and only say that “you know what I do”. However, in these times of uncertainty – with possible pending changes in EMS – it became clear that I needed to lay it all out there, as the thing we need the most right now is experience & leadership.

Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for the other candidates and everything they bring to the table. In fact, I would love to serve with them some day on the board, however we are at a crossroads as a division and thus as a union too. We really don’t have the time for on-the-job training for one of the most important positions on the Board. This position requires experience, especially in the grievance process and the negotiating that is involved. I have full confidence that they too have their heart in this and want only the best, however we need more than that at this time.

I’ve served on the Board for 6 years – the longest running board member. I’ve been involved in the settlement and negotiations of the last 3 contracts, working with 3 different Union Presidents. I’ve represented the membership through nearly 200 MVA hearings and fought for your money that is owed to you in payroll mistakes. I bring continuity to the Board at a time when we need it the most. A time where there is much uncertainty.

President Mark Barrett has worked with me over the past 3 years in evolving the writing of my grievances from a couple of paragraphs to multi-page legal briefs. Briefs that the Law Department of the City even commented that it complicated things for them. Grievances that Mark started to win regularly when he was the previous 1^st Vice, and now I too now am using to our advantage.

I digress… I began attending union meetings in January 2015 when I got off probation, back when Orlando was the President. After he became a Captain, Dan Nemeth moved up and learned about my previous board experience, as well as being a “numbers person”. Dan recruited me and appointed me to be the treasurer in 2017 to take over for Sharon, who was stepping down to be with her family. I took those early years to learn more of what was involved in being a board member and to focus on turning around the union’s finances. I dedicated my time as Treasurer to do just that, turning around our finances.

I sit back and realize how proud I am of the six years that I’ve served and all that we’ve done with the significant lowering of the operating expenses of the union, as well as being a part of very important contract negotiations for the last 3 contracts. Most importantly, I’m proud of all that I’ve accomplished in making our payroll department accountable and Public Safety (who oversees payroll) recognize the significant mistakes that they’ve made over the years in our paychecks. This is something that is personal to me – and I WILL continue to do. I will continue to work to correct their mistakes and hold them accountable as your 1^st Vice President. My payroll grievances are a TOP priority for me, especially as a numbers person.

As for my work history, I won’t spend too much time on it. We all know I worked in the media for 21 years before coming here (go ahead and make fun). However, that history laid the groundwork for me. History of a kid who started out as an unpaid intern at 20 years old and worked his way up to the 2^nd highest position in the programming department at WNCX as the Assistant Program Director. A position that is much like the 1^st Vice President position. It’s a position that I am very familiar with going back over 25 years. I’ve been the right-hand to the leader for literally decades. It’s a position that I know well, one that I respect and one that I believe experience is needed at this time.

On a side note, even after leaving radio and before coming to EMS, I spent the time doing the FULL training to be an EMD in Parma where I quickly realized how difficult that job was. I admit it… I quit that job because I didn’t want to do the work and instead elected to do the work in the field as a Paramedic for the City of Cleveland instead. I fully understand and respect the work that dispatch does on a day-to-day basis and pledge to continue to fight for those in dispatch. It’s not an easy job and I respect what you do.

As for my experience representing the membership? Below is a breakdown of 13 years of such experience which I bring to the table. Experience which I believe we need at this time. (And no, I did not take the Captains test.)

Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees, Cleveland, OH

1^st Vice President, Board Member, May 2022 - Current

• Appointed by President Mark Barrett to finish out term
• Primary duties are to process all grievances

• Served on the negotiating team for the current 2022-2025 CBA
• Assisted hundreds of members complaints in the processing of their paychecks, to find numerous errors on the part of our payroll department and to be made whole in their pay

2^nd Vice President, Board Member, September 2018 – June 2019

• Appointed by President Paul Melhuish to finish out term
• Primary duties were to oversee all committees
• Assisted in negotiating the settlement of the 2016-2019 & 2019-2022 CBA’s
• Same payroll issues as listed before

Treasurer, Board Member, April 2017 – August 2018; July 2019 – June 2022

• Appointed by President Dan Nemeth in 2017; and re-elected in 2019 and 2021
• Oversaw financial business operations of the Membership with an annual operating budget of over $170,000
• Drastically reduced monthly operating costs through the reduction in rent and other expenses
• Same payroll issues as listed before

Brooklyn Hockey Association, Brooklyn, OH

Vice President, Board Member, August 2014 – June 2015

• Appointed Vice President and Board Member to control the day-to-day business operations of the Association

Parma Hockey Association, Parma, OH

Corporate Governance Committee Chairman, August 2010 – April 2012

• Nominated and elected Chairman of seven-member Committee, charged with re-writing the business guidelines of the Association

Board Member, May 2010 – August 2010; April 2012 – April 2014

• An elected Board member for the Non-Profit Association with approximately 200 member families
• One of twelve Board members who control the day-to-day business operations of the Association, including nine competitive youth hockey teams and an operating budget of over $175,000 annually

Tournament Director, June 2010 – April 2012

• Appointed to coordinate nine competitive Parma Youth Hockey teams and their efforts to compete in local and regional tournaments
• Oversaw the Parma Mite March Madness Tournament each year; featuring over twenty-five teams from around the Midwest

Webmaster, August 2008 – August 2014

• Redesigned and modernized website, October 2008
• Maintain all aspects of the website and social media for the Association