Contract academic workers at Brock University
Our November GENERAL MEMBERS MEETING is on TUESDAY NOV. 19 at 4 pm in the POND INLET
We will start with a guest speaker from CUPE Niagara District Council who will briefly speak on the CUPE Ontario campaign Communities, Not Cuts.
AGENDA
BARGAINING UPDATES – this is your time to ask questions and discuss bargaining issues!
elections for Steward positions in
elections for two delegates to the Disability and Work conference in Ottawa
We hold our General Members Meeting on the 17th at 5 pm in the Sankey C
hamber.
We will be discussing the following items on the agenda, and any item you wish to bring up!
At the July 18th meeting, a notification of proposed changes to our bylaws and policies was given. Here they are to be discussed and voted on.
Bargaining Updates
Elections
– for four open positions of Faculty Stewards (see our bylaws article 8)
– for five delegates to Health and Safety Conference Nov. 12-16
– for one Trustee for the duration ending April 30, 2022 (for duties see our bylaws, article 7.11)
– to represent the local at CUPE National convention – we elect four delegates and ONE alternate = five members to go as delegates to the convention.
Our annual general meeting is on
Monday, April 15, at 3:30 pm in STH 217 (STH = Academic South)
It is at the AGM that we elect members into all positions on the Executive Committee; faculty 
stewards; international steward; Unit 1 instructor steward; health and safety officers; one trustee with term ending April 30th 2022; and labour council delegates. See full list of positions open for elections below.
The amendment to bylaws that will be discusses and voted on concerns the addition of a new position to the Executive Committee – Health and Safety Officer. If this motion to create this H&S officer passes, the position will be a part of the general election at this AGM. This means that it will be open for nominations and members can run for it.
Any member in good standing can run for a position. A member in good standing is a member who has filled and signed CUPE Application for Membership card. We will have these cards available at the meeting for you to sign if you haven’t done so already.
The bylaw changes that are to be discussed and voted on. https://4207.cupe.ca/files/2019/02/BylawNoticeFebruary2019.pd
Ten delegates to CUPE Ontario Convention
Full agenda can be accessed here: https://4207.cupe.ca/files/2019/03/GMM-Agenda-26-3-2019.pdf
Any member in good standing can run for the position of a delegate to the CUPE Ontario annual convention. This year, the convention will be a site of many discussions, planning and organizing to push back the provincial government’s attack on public social programs, people who need them and the workers who work for them. https://cupe.on.ca/event/convention-2019/
Our February general meeting is after the reading week, on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 at 3 pm in Welsh Hall room 207.
ON AGENDA:
*These bylaw proposals are going to be voted on separately:
Notice 1 – Benefits Committee proposal
Notice 2 – Vice President Duties
Notice 3 – Two-Year Term for President and Treasurer
Notice 4 – Vacancy/Recall Language
A big item on the agenda is OUWCC Conference. We will be electing five members to go as delegates to the conference in February 21 to 24 (reading week)
The OUWCC stands for Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee, a sectoral committee of CUPE Ontario. CUPE-organized workers at any Ontario university campus choose their campus representative for two years duration to serve on the OUWCC board and act as a liaison between the committee and the CUPE workers organized on campus. Each university CUPE local can choose to affiliate with the OUWCC and send delegates to the conference of the university sector – the OUWCC conference.
The aim of the conference is to benefit form shared strength and experience under and one common employer — the university industry. The conference is held at the CUPE Ontario headquarters in Markham. Registration and accommodation is covered by our local.
80 Commerce Valley Drive East, Markham, ON L3T 0B2
This GMM is significant as we are goi
ng to elect five members to Unit 1 Bargaining Committee. This election is conducted nine months prior to our collective agreement expiry date (September 7, 2019).
Preparations for bargaining is a lengthy and labourious process that requires serious engagement of all members elected. After all, the language in our collective agreement (the contract negotiated between the union and the university for the next period) has serious bearing on the working conditions of the 1,000 members in Unit 1, and by extension also on members of Units 2 and 3. We know well that our working conditions both directly and indirectly affect students.
MUCH MORE TO BE INFORMED ABOUT, READ FURTHER! … Read more…
We are holding two special membership meetings with the objective to present, discuss and vote on our local bylaws* that include the changes CUPE National asked our local to make for a full endorsement of the bylaws required by CUPE constitution.
There are two steps to bylaw change. First, the local gives notice to members that change(s) to bylaws is being proposed. The second step of the process takes place at the next general meeting where a discussion about the bylaw amendment(s) takes place, followed by a motion to accept the amendment(s). To make change(s) to bylaws, two thirds of the votes are necessary to pass the changes.
It is understood that members will acquaint themselves with the changes as presented in the first step, and come prepared to discuss and vote in the subsequent meeting.
Here are the amendments to our bylaws as requested by CUPE National. Only the bylaw articles undergoing changes are being presented here. The bold text indicates addition of a new language; cross through text indicates replacement of the old text by the new/bold and/or proposed to be removed. The whole set of bylaws is on our website.
Our AGM is on Wednesday, April 11 at 4 pm in Thistle 325.
The main item on the agenda at our annual general meetings is ELECTIONS. See the agenda for this AGM with all the positions that are going to be elected. The positions’ duties are listed in our bylaws.
We will also be voting on two BYLAW AMENDMENTS.
One large amendment, particular to Unit 1, speaks to strengthening of our bargaining practices by a) adding a Bargaining Research Committee on the roster of standing committees (standing committee means a committee that is mandated to exist and be active by our bylaws), and b) by ensuring greater transparency and collaboration between the Bargaining Committee (the one that meets and negotiates with the employer) and the other committees and membership in reporting on the developments in negotiations.
The other amendment proposes to create another Vice President Position for Unit 1 that would be held by a graduate student member only.
Our GMM is on March 22 at 5 pm in Glenridge room 164.
On agenda is voting on proposed amendments to bylaws and policies.
For information on workshops offered at the Niagara CUPE School go here https://www.facebook.com/events/568937476789918/
The proposed changes to our bylaws are available here. You can also find them in a post below. Hard copies are posted on CUPE boards in your department. The strike-through text means the language is targeted for removal, and the bold text is the newly added language.