It’s Moore

Article by ERIC SMITH

GET ACCUSTOMED TO IT. The name Toni Moore.

She was last night elected as the new general secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) at the end of the first day of its annual conference.

The 38-year-old Moore was affirmed in the position for which she had been groomed and will become the first woman to lead this country’s most powerful trade union in its 73-year history.

“I don’t feel that much right now … still a little in shock,” Moore told reporters at Solidarity House where the conference is being held.

The new general secretary was chosen by the delegates 99 to 70 over Veronica Griffith, the other contestant in the all-female race.

While it is the beginning of a new era with Moore at the helm, it is the end of another as she succeeds Sir Roy Trotman, who has been chief executive officer for 22 of the 43 years he has served the union.

The union’s leadership has been a pillar of stability and longevity over the years, with Moore set to become only the fourth leader since its establishment in 1941.