Library Board Endorsement

Candidate Name: Matthew Smith

Jurisdiction/Municipality Ex: Homewood Schaumburg Township

Office Seeking: Alderman, 3rd Ward Library Board Trustee

1. Briefly describe your background, including personal, educational and professional information. If you currently or previously have been elected to office, please list what office and when.

I was born in Schaumburg township but when I was young I moved to Indianapolis, Indiana where I grew up. I moved back to Schaumburg Township in August of 2021 to be closer to family. In my time there I was a member of Greenwood, Indiana's board of Zoning Appeals and Advisory Planning Commission for 3 years, and made an unsuccessful run for Greenwood, Indiana's city council. Since moving back I have been serving as a parent representative for School District 54's budget and legislative committee. I obtained my undergraduate degree in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University in 2012, my MBA from Western Governors University in 2017, and a graduate certificate in Occupational Safety and Health from Columbia Southern University in 2020. I am a Certified Safety Professional (https://tinyurl.com/bd37myct) with over a decade of experience in helping workplaces meet their responsibility to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that may cause serious harm to an employee.

2. Please list all your employers over the past five years and the nature of the work you performed for each employer, including lobbying, consulting, and contractual employment. If applicable, please list all clients you have lobbied for, including which government entities you have lobbied on behalf of each client.

EHS Manager, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions - August 2021-Present. In this role I manage all operations pertaining to environmental health and safety compliance at our Streamwood, Illinois facility, including interacting with federal OSHA, the Illinois EPA, the Cook County office of Environment and Sustainability, and the city of Streamwood. These interactions are for regulatory compliance only and is not a lobbying effort. Sr. EHS Resource - Pepsico - July 2019-August 2021. In this role I was responsible for managing all operations pertaining to environmental health and safety compliance at the Indianapolis, Indiana bottling facility. This included interacting with Indiana's state plan OSHA office and Indiana's EPA office. These interactions were for regulatory compliance purposes only and were not lobbying efforts. EHS Supervisor, US Ecology - June 2017-July 2019. In this role I was in charge of managing all operations pertaining to environmental health and safety for hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDF's) for the Midwest region, which included facilities in Indianapolis, IN, Detroit, MI, Canton, OH, Middletown, OH, Harvey, IL, and Frankfort, KY. This included interacting with federal OSHA officials in Ohio and Illinois, and State Plan OSHA officials in Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky, as well as the EPA offices of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky and the federal Department of Transportation. These interactions were for regulatory compliance purposes only and were not lobbying efforts.

       3. Have you ever been a member of a labor union or worked with a labor organization to achieve/accomplish its goals? If yes, please explain.

I have not been a member of a labor union because EHS roles are defined as management, but I work very closely with union stewards at every union facility I have been employed with. US Ecology, Pepsico, and Trelleborg Sealing Solutions are all union shops and I would not work for a company that did not allow me to side with labor on occupational safety and health issues. Due to the requirements of my certification I am bound to a code of ethics (https://tinyurl.com/mrbscheu) which requires me to "hold paramount the safety and health of people, the protection of the environment and protection of property in the performance of professional duties and exercise [my] obligation to advise employers, clients, employees, the public, and appropriate authorities of danger and unacceptable risks to people, the environment, or property." I have often found that my goals as the honor code articulates and the goals of labor align.

4. What have you done to improve the lives of working families?

I have seen first hand what a work related injury can do to a family. My number one career goal is to ensure all employees under my direction go home in the same condition they arrived. When employees are injured I work to help them navigate through the worker's compensation system and advocate for them with the company to ensure that their recovery and return to work is handled appropriately.

5. Describe your strategy to win this race including how you will establish an effective campaign committee to recruit volunteers and raise money for a successful campaign.

I have built a coalition of local groups that are supportive of the goals I want to accomplish as a member of the Schaumburg Township District Library board, which includes current and former members of the board, local politicians, and my religious congregation. I plan to interface with voters through targeted door knocking and literature drops, as well as participate in events that allow voters to speak with me directly on the issues.

6. What is your campaign budget and how much have you raised to date? Please note if your campaign has restrictions on PAC contributions.

My campaign budget is less than $5,000, and I have self-funded all endeavors so far. I have not taken any contributions as of yet, and would be hesitant to take any contributions from PAC's.

7. Please list any endorsements you have received.

Rodney Craig, Mayor of Hanover Park. Michael Cudzik, Schaumburg Township Democrats Committeeman Nick Scipione, Current member of SD54 school board and former trustee for Schaumburg Township District Library Bob Frankel, former trustee for Schaumburg Township District Library Still actively pursuing endorsements.

8. Do you support the right of workers to organize unions - entirely independent of the employer and free from management interference?

Yes

9. Do you support the right of workers to bargain collectively for wages, benefits, and working conditions?

Yes

10. Would you have an open-door policy and be willing to work with labor to find reasonable solutions to issues affecting working families, including seeking input from organized labor when making budgetary decisions about staffing levels, efficiencies, and privatization in government?

Yes