Meet Rey, our candidate for Treasurer

Meet Rey, a seasoned Senior Commissioned Examiner in the SE Region and Union Strong candidate for Treasurer

I am Rey Cerezo, and I have more than 32 years of federal service. I work as a Senior Commissioned Examiner in the Southeast Region where I transferred to in 2016. Before, I worked at the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) for almost 20 years as a Principal Examiner. There I was the chapter’s Chief Steward, the Regional Representative and also was on the 2015 bargaining team.

I want to bring more modern systems and standards into practice with how our Chapter keeps our books and spends our dues-payers contributions.

I want to bring more modern systems and standards into practice with how our Chapter keeps our books and spends our dues-payers contributions.

My experience prepares me to serve

My experience with the NCUA union was extensive. I served as Co-Chairman on the Diversity Advisory Council to represent the Union’s interest to improve diversity and inclusion at the agency. I also represented the union’s interests in their:

    • Numerous committees and working groups to discuss/resolve potential issues between management and the Union, such as NCUA’s Partnership Council
    • Technology Development Team which provided updates/revisions to their Automated Integrated Regulatory Examination System
    • National Exam Committee updating/revising the agency’s Examiner Guide
    • National Supervision Policy Manual Working Group to develop guidance that would provide consistency throughout all Regions

My professional associations include membership with the Association of Government Accountants, an organization for government financial management professionals. I admire their commitment to increase government accountability and transparency, with standards for audits and accounting.

I think this background and experience prepares me well to slide into the Treasury role at the CFPB Chapter and hit the ground running.

Moving forward

Our chapter is a fiscal steward for our dues-payers contributions. But how is that money being managed today? I understand we still use paper records for our bookkeeping. Aside from some best practices from National NTEU, we still need to write down our rules for how we operate, leaving things like reimbursements, reports to the membership, timely filing of reports and financial record keeping to chance.

This has resulted in new members waiting months on end for the bonus payment they were promised when they signed up. Spending without constraints on food and beverage events without clear goals for what this spending is all about. And – embarrassingly – the record shows we were late to comply with the 2019 required filings to the IRS and Department of Labor. Unacceptable!

What I am fighting for

As Treasurer, I pledge to do the work to make our union strong when it comes to our financial record keeping. It is time for us to adopt an online accounting software as our repository. We need to set more transparent rules – and follow them! – for when and how our membership gets to see financial reports of how we spend their money.

When new members are signed with the promise of a bonus, these payments will go out promptly. And under my leadership, you will have confidence that our required financial reports will never be late.

I am proud to be part of the #UnionStrong slate of candidates to bring accountability, democracy and strong transparency to our union operations.

Help our fight for a stronger union. Elect the #UnionStrong slate for Chapter 335! Join our caucus at UnionStrong.us and add your name to our supporters’ list.