CUPE 3906 July 2024 General Membership Meeting (GMM) Materials
Our equity statement and land acknowledgement statement are here.
Minutes of our last GMM (June 2024) are available here.
The Agenda for today’s GMM is available here.
The July 2024 Executive Reports that have been submitted are available here.
IMPORTANT: Notice of Proposed Bylaws changes
**the information below appears in the July 2024 GMM agenda. Notice is being given under Art. 7(b) of the bylaws. Voting on the proposed amendments will occur at the next GMM, currently scheduled for August 2024**
Appendix A: Notice of Bylaws Changes
As per Article 7(b)(i) of the CUPE 3906 Bylaws, the Bylaws Committee is giving notice of proposed bylaws changes to be voted on at the next regular General Membership Meeting, as follows:
- Proposed Amended Article 5 (e) would read as follows: (bold is new, strike through is proposed deletion)
The CHIEF LEAD STEWARDS of Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 and Unit 4 shall
- Coordinate departmental stewards.
- Convene and chair at least one Stewards’ Council meeting each academic term for their respective Unit.
iii. Act as a liaison between the stewards and the Executive, ensuring that the views of departments and respective units are passed on to the Executive Committee and convey Executive Committee decisions to the stewards.
- Ensure that each department or area/building is represented by at least one steward from each unit, and where this is not possible shall act as steward for that department/unit.
- Oversee the Grievance Committee together with the other ChiefLead Stewards.
- Following the organization of the Stewards’ Network, compile and forward to the Recording Secretary a list indicating every steward’s name, department, faculty, orarea/buildingand contact number(s).
vii. Promote, along with the Health and Safety Officer, awareness of health and safety issues that pertain to members of the Local.
viii. Participate in any committee they deem relevant to these issues.
- Work closely with Local staff representatives to file grievances, represent members in grievances, discuss grievances with the employer and
- Make sure that all interests of their unit are represented at the Executive level
- TheChief Lead Steward of Unit 1 will be responsible for the organization and execution of the local’s presence at TA day (both in September and January).
xii. In the event of affiliation, the Chief Lead Steward of Unit 2 will represent the local at all conferences of the Canadian Association of University Teachers.
xiii. The Chief Lead Steward must also be a member of the Unit which they are elected to represent.
- Proposed Change 6 (e) so that it reads: (bold is new, strike through is proposed deletion, highlights illustrate new location for existing text)
The POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC) shall be a semiautonomous branch of the Local charged with extending and expanding the Local’s social justice and equity mandate within and beyond out workplace. The PAC shall be a participatory-democratic forum. Decisions shall be made by consensus 75% vote of Active Members of the PAC. Active Members are considered to be those whose attendance has been recorded at a minimum of two official PAC meetings.
- a) The POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC) shall be a semi-autonomous branch of the Local charged with extending and expanding the Local’s social justice and equity mandate within and beyond out workplace. The PAC shall be a participatory-democratic forum. Decisions shall be made by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, a 75% vote of Members of the PAC present will be required.of Active Members of the PAC. Active Members are considered to be those whose attendance has been recorded at a minimum of two official PAC meetings. ß MOVED BELOW
It is advisable that PAC include liaisons to the Executive Committee, Stewards Council and Equity Action Committee. The PAC shall oversee and distribute the Local’s annual donation budget in accordance with the bylaws. For donations exceeding $500, the PAC shall seek ratification of the General Membership. In emergencies related to donations, the Executive Committee may ask the PAC Chair to release $500 from the donations budget to the Executive.
This article does not prohibit the Executive from making donations out of budget lines other than the donations budget line, nor the General Membership from drawing on the donations budget line through resolutions at a GMM. The PAC may appeal to the General Membership for donations beyond or outside of its budget.
The PAC shall elect a chair from its active membership each October. The chair shall be selected by consensus of active members who are present at the meeting wherein the chair is elected. Active Members are considered to be those whose attendance has been recorded at a minimum of two official PAC meetings. ß MOVED FROM ABOVE Should there be no consensus after two meeting, an 80% 75% majority of active members shall elect a chair. The chair shall sit as a non-voting ex-officio officer on the Executive. The PAC shall also have a person or persons assigned to fulfill the functions of treasurer and secretary (the chair my fulfill these roles). The PAC may choose to provide some or all of these officers with an honorarium from their budget. The PAC shall:
- Be open to all members of the local
- Operate at arm’s length from the Executive and Stewards’ Council
iii. Be Secured by an annual operating budget
- Adjudicate appeals for donations
- Facilitate a “flying squad” to support causes and fellow workers
- Educate members of the Local
vii. Work in cooperation with the Equity Action Committee
viii. Make Reports on their spending and activities in person or in writing to the Executive Committee at least once a month and in person to the General Membership at each GMM. They shall file an end-of-year report for the Annual General Meeting
Process and Tips for an Efficient Meeting
Glossary of Parliamentary Procedure Handbook – click here. This booklet provides some definitions and examples of commonly used GMM terms, such as ‘point of order’ and ‘adjournment.’
You can find a CUPE 3906 Rules of Order booklet here, which helps to explain – in simple and practical terms – some of the more complex aspects of meetings.
Additional Reminders
Upcoming General Membership Meetings **all dates tentative**
Monday May 13, 2 pmMonday June 10, 2 pmMonday July 15, 2 pm- Monday August 19, 2 pm
Join the Health and Safety Committee
- Ideas for health and safety improvements in your workplace? Interested in joining your Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC)? Take a look on our webpage and contact healthandsafety@cupe3906.org.
Indigenous Solidarity Working Group
- ISWG works to educate folks on the historical and ongoing local struggles for Indigenous self-determination in these Haudenosaunee & Anishinaabe territories. ISWG is committed to supporting Indigenous sovereignty & traditional self-governance by and for Indigenous nations.
- For example, ISWG runs community impact funds that support Indigenous peoples & communities by offering up to $500 per applicant per year towards housing, groceries, bills, and community events & programming, food banks, & more.
- You can follow ISWG on Instagram to stay updated with the work and donate to our GoFundMe page to support our decolonial efforts.
So you want to get something done at a GMM (ie/ pass a motion)?
If there is something you want to happen at a GMM, in most cases you’ll need to introduce a motion to get that thing done.
Motions are used to direct action and generally take the form of “I move that…” or “Be it resolved that….” Any member may move a motion at a meeting, as long as it directly relates to the agenda item under discussion. Motions must be seconded by another member prior to discussion commencing. Motions must pass by majority vote (50%+1), with some exceptions (see chart below).
Any member may move a substantive or procedural motion as long as it is ‘in order’ (ie/ doesn’t violate the by-laws or the rules of order). A substantive motion, or one containing a number of considerations, should ideally be prepared in writing and given to the chair, preferably in advance of the meeting.
Some motions are made more frequently than others. While every ‘actionable item’ requires a motion (and a seconder), these are some commonly made motions that can serve as a guideline.
Donation – I move that we donate $ (Insert amount) to (name of organization) in support of (the cause ie/ their on-going strike, their annual fundraiser etc.)
More information can be found in the CUPE 3906 Rules of Order booklet.