Morning session
This morning started with the Bylaw Committee up first with their resolutions. The most contentious resolution dealt with today was resolution 4a which combined resolutions 4 and 5.
Resolution 4A read as follows:
Bylaw 6, Section 3, amalgamate (5) Saskatchewan CSC RVP and (6) Manitoba CSC RVP for Saskatchewan and Manitoba;
The Committee recommended concurrence with the following rationale:
This particular resolution was quite contentious for the committee and created a great debate. Committee members acknowledged an inequity in the number of members per RVP; many felt that the inequity could be corrected by re-distributing the workload.
In other words the resolution was asking that the position of Manitoba CSC RVP be abolished. The majority of delegates who spoke on the resolution were asking for non-concurrence. Comments ranged from “We can’t follow Treasury Board’s example and just cut away”, “We are union, we don’t DRAP our members” and “This is a slippery slope. Where do our cuts stop?”
To date this resolution caused the most and the lengthiest debate on the floor. The Convention floor voted non-concurrence and the motion was lost.
Afternoon session
The Finance Committee was up next this afternoon. They started with a vote to accept the Audited Financial Statements which were presented by incoming Operations Manager Liam Merrigan. The statements were accepted. Resolution 24 was their first presented resolution which was the proposed budget for the years 2015-2017. The committee explained that they had spent much time debating the merits of the proposed budget. The debate was heated at times, but did remain cordial. There were a number of attempts to refer the resolution back to committee, but these were defeated on the floor. Resolution 24 was finally accepted by a strong majority of the voting members.
Other resolutions presented by the Finance Committee and accepted by the Convention floor included:
-That USGE establish a line item in the budget in the amount of $20,000 a year for scholarships; and
-That the RVP program needs to continue as a fulltime program for support of the members.
The Bylaw Committee took to the floor again to present a few more resolutions to round out the day. Presented and accepted were:
-That Bylaw 8 section 3(i) be amended to include Occupational Health and Safety activities and recommendations;
-That the word “audited” in Bylaw 11, Section 6 be deleted and replaced by the word “financial”.
-That onsite childcare be provided by USGE for delegates attending conferences and conventions.
-That USGE Regulation no. 8, Section 16 (b) be deleted.
The following resolutions were defeated :
-That Regional Vice-Presidents shall prepare a monthly report of activities and submit to the locals within their regions and jurisdiction. The primary concern here was over member privacy.
-That the delegates attending the USGE 16th Triennial Convention be presented with the following submissions and select a name change that will be representative of our membership. The main obstacle to this resolution was the projected costs, $77,000 one-time flat fee. The delegates felt that these funds could be better utilized serving our members.