null Episode 8 - Open Minds - Stronger Unions. A conversation with Cody Quan.

Episode Cody Quan

July 28, 2025

Episode 8 - Open Minds - Stronger Unions. A conversation with Cody Quan.

In this episode of ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—จ๐—ฆ๐—ช ๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜, Dan Plexman has an interesting conversation with ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐˜† ๐—ค๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ป, CUSWโ€™s Training and Education Representative, to reflect on his journey, experiences, and the importance of building an inclusive, skilled, and forward-thinking workforce.

๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐˜† shares how he got started as a 309A electrical apprentice at the Saunders Dam, his work with Hydro One, and how those early experiences shaped his commitment to the union. Together, Dan and Cody explore the training opportunities, the value of creative problem-solving, and the importance of keeping an open mind when facing challenges in todayโ€™s evolving workplaces.

They highlight the meaningful partnerships that are helping to break down barriers and create safer, more inclusive job sites, such as collaborations with ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜๐—ผ๐—ป https://intervalhousehamilton.org/ and ๐—œ๐—ฆ๐—˜๐—”๐—— https://aabo.ca/ (formerly the Aboriginal Apprenticeship Board of Ontario). Cody also opens up about the importance of getting involved early, lessons learned along the way, and his hope to inspire others to step up and row alongside the union.

Whether you're new to the union or a longtime member, Codyโ€™s insight and passion will leave you feeling proud to be part of the CUSW community.

Want to connect with Cody or learn more? Feel free to reach out to him directly at ๐—ฐ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ป@๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜„.๐—ฐ๐—ฎ

๐——๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฑ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐—ต, ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ & ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜! Itโ€™s a great opportunity to connect, learn, and celebrate with fellow members. If you have any questions about the conference, reach out to [email protected] โ€” weโ€™re here to support you.

Make sure you visit https://www.cusw.ca/ to explore more opportunities and resources. If you have a story to share, a guest to suggest, or a topic youโ€™d like to hear on the podcast, email us at ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜@๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜„.๐—ฐ๐—ฎ. And if you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends and colleagues to help shine the spotlight on the incredible work happening at CUSW!

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—–๐—จ๐—ฆ๐—ช https://www.cusw.ca/who-we-are

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ https://www.cusw.ca/news

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ต https://www.cusw.ca/contact

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ https://www.cusw.ca/participation-model

๐Ÿ”ป ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—˜๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ https://thecuswspotlightpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2460173/follow ๐ŸŽง Listen Anytime, Anywhere! Find our podcast on all major directories, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and more.

๐Ÿ“บ Watch the Podcast on YouTube! ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ and ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ as you watch the full episodes on our official YouTube channel.

๐ŸŽต Music Credits: Original music by Glen MacNeil (lyrics, vocals, guitar) with production by Brad MacNeil.

๐—ง๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป, ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—–๐—จ๐—ฆ๐—ช ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜!