Who we are – Spark Union

Research

Jelger Kalmijn helped create and develop a 16,000 member-run public and private sector local union in California. He came out of the research bargaining unit at UC San Diego where he researched HIV and alcoholism. He currently works at UC Irvine as a Clinical Trials Administrator. Jelger’s unwavering focus on continuous training and leadership development led to highly successful contract and unionization campaigns.

Lisa Kermish spent more than 30 years as an administrator at UC Berkeley’s Survey Research Center and as a rank -and-file union member. She founded and has been an elected leader of UPTE-CWA Local 9119. Lisa has extensive experience in internal and external organizing, curriculum development, and training methods. She believes member involvement is the key to union democracy.