Team Lead, Industrial Relations
Santina Lippa spends her days communicating and building trust-based relationships. She joined the MEA in Hamilton five years ago, first as a labour relations specialist before becoming team leader in 2021. Santina interacts with union executives and members of the MEA every day, as well as with employees, to ensure that work at the Toronto and Hamilton ports is carried out safely and in a respectful environment.
She is on the lookout for any changes that could require training and ensures that each employee receives the instruction they need. For Santina, communication is the key to trust—disagreements are inevitable, but solutions are reached through dialogue.
Before joining the MEA, Santina studied commerce at the University of Windsor, then psychology. Labour relations allow her to combine her interest in business with her passion for people. She loves the maritime industry, where she can put on her steel-toe boots and never fall into a boring office routine.