Local 417 Annual General Meeting & Elections

When? Wednesday, May 11th, 7:00 pm

Where? Via Zoom

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Zoom link to be shared in Friday email digest or contact christina.decarie@slcfaculty.ca 

Are you interested in running for a position or nominating someone?

Elections – May 2022  

Stewards and Local Executive Committee Members 

Local 417 members must first be a Steward if they wish to be elected to the Local Executive Committee

(LEC). According to Local 417 by-laws, there are three Steward positions on Brockville campus, four Steward positions on Cornwall campus, and seven Steward positions on Kingston campus. Stewards should be prepared to be members of their campus Joint Health and Safety Committee.

Nominations will open on April 11 for Voting Steward positions and for three worker member positions on the three campus Joint Health and Safety Committees. Nominations will close on May 11, 2022. (Location to be determined) Stewards must be nominated by two members. (See form at bottom of message.)

If elections for Voting Steward positions are required, elections will be the first order of business at the AGM. If no elections are required, then the final order of business of the AGM will be elections for the executive positions of the LEC for 2022-2024 term.

Local Executive Committee Positions:

  • President
  • Vice President
  • Chief Steward
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary
  • Communications Steward

From the OPSEU Constitution:  

29.1 Steward System

29.1.1 Members of each Local shall be organized into working areas. Locals shall have the right to define the working areas within the Local, subject to the governing principle that all Members in a working area must normally work in, or be based in, the same building or part thereof. The Members in each working area shall elect one or more Shop Stewards from among themselves.

29.1.2 The government of Locals shall be based on the Shop Steward system and election of Officers of Local Executive Committees shall be from among the Shop Stewards.

29.1.3 The Single-Unit Local

Each Local shall decide how many Shop Stewards it will have. Each Shop Steward is automatically a Member of the Local Executive Committee. At a general membership meeting of the Local, the members shall elect the Officers of the LEC from among the Shop Stewards. All Stewards not elected as Officers of the Local shall be known as LEC Members-at-large.

29.4 Elections

29.4.1 Elections shall be conducted at general meetings of the Members concerned. Reasonable notice of the meeting and of the elections to take place must be given. In special circumstances the Local may request that voting be conducted by setting up one or more polling stations rather than at a general meeting and the President of the Union shall have the authority to grant such a request and establish rules to govern such votes.

29.4.2 Mid-term vacancies occurring among Stewards or Members of LEC’s shall be filled promptly, by election in accordance with Article 29.4.1, except where the vacancy occurs within three months of the expiry of the term of office. In every case of filling a vacancy, the new incumbent shall serve only the unexpired portion of the term of office in question.

29.4.3 All elections within the Union shall be conducted by secret ballot.

29.2 Local Executive Committee

29.2.1 The Officers of the Local, together with the remaining Shop Stewards (in a Single-Unit Local) or Unit Stewards (in a Multi-Unit or Composite Local) shall constitute the Local Executive

Committee. Every Local shall have a President and at least two of the following Officers: Vice President; Secretary; Treasurer or Secretary-Treasurer; such other Officer(s) as it may, by bylaw, decide to have. In addition, a Single-Unit Local shall have a Chief Steward as an Officer of the Local Executive Committee. On the invitation of a Local, the immediate past President of the Local may serve on the LEC as an ex-officio Member with voice but no vote. Each Local may designate one of its Local Executive Committee members as responsible for equity issues.

29.2.2 The Local Executive Committee shall administer the affairs of the Local in accordance with this Constitution, the Bylaws of the Local and the wishes of the members of the Local. The Committee shall meet at least once every three months. The Local President may call a Committee meeting at any time to deal with business of an urgent nature.

29.6 Trustees

29.6.1 Every Local shall elect an audit committee composed of at least two members to be known as Trustees. The Trustees shall be elected at a general membership meeting from among the members and may not hold any other office in any Local. They shall hold office for a twoyear term, but at the first election in a Local the terms may be varied to provide subsequently for overlapping terms.

29.6.2 The Trustees shall examine all books, records, and properties of their Local, including any Unit thereof, at least twice each year. All Officers of the Local are required to make available all necessary documents to the Trustees on reasonable notice. The Trustees shall file an audit report, in a form specified by Headquarters, to Headquarters at least once in every six months and shall also make a full report to the first general membership meeting following each audit.

From Local 417 By-Laws – Approved at General Membership Meeting (GMM) February 11, 2015:    

By-Law Number 1 – OPSEU 417 will abide by Article 29 of the OPSEU Constitution for all intent and purposes with the exception of any additional purposed by-laws as adopted by a majority of the membership of the Local.

By-Law Number 2 – Terms of Office for all elected stewards and officers of OPSEU Local 417 will be for a term of two years from July 1 to June 30.

By-Law Number 3 – The membership of OPSEU Local 417 will meet a minimum of twice per academic year. A general membership meeting will be held in February of every year and a meeting in October which will be a combined membership meeting and Annual General Meeting. The Local Executive Committee of OPSEU Local 417 will meet monthly on the second Wednesday of the month with the exception of July and August. Local Executive Committee meetings will include all stewards and a representative from one of the campus Health and Safety Committees.

By-Law Number 4 – Stewards will be elected from each campus. The minimum number of stewards should be 7 from the Kingston Campus, 4 from the Cornwall Campus and 3 from the Brockville campus with the intention that at no time should Kingston or any of the campuses form a majority.

Nomination for Steward  

I ____________________________________ (print name) a member in good standing of OPSEU Local 417 hereby nominate ____________________________________ a member in good standing to be a steward on the ________________________________ campus.

I ____________________________________ (a member in good standing) hereby second the nomination of ______________________________________ for the position of steward on the

__________________________________ campus.