October 18, 2007

CEIU Convention Call

Outaouais Region, September 12-16, 2008

Notice is hereby given, in accordance with CEIU By-law 11.8, that the eleventh National Convention of the CEIU will be held at the Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Quebec, from September 12 to 16, 2008. CEIU National Office is now starting to gear up for the massive undertaking which is a National Convention.

With regard to elections, the CEIU National Vice-Presidents and Alternates are to be elected by secret ballot by all of the members of the particular region(s) / constituency each represents. All of these elections will take place some time before the Convention so that the newly-elected National Vice-Presidents and Alternates can take office at the end of the Convention. The National President, the National Executive Vice-President, as well as the Alternate to the National Executive Vice-President, are to be elected at Convention.

Calls for Nominations, names of the Nominations and Elections Chairpersons, procedures and deadlines for Convention are listed below in this Convention Call. Nomination Forms are included in this mailing; additional nomination forms, if required, are available from all CEIU offices. Each member has the right and, indeed, the obligation to participate in the process of elections and policy formulation which form the basis of our Convention, so please take note of the information which is included. All nominators and nominees must be members in good standing.

Resolutions:

Resolutions must be sent to CEIU National Office in Ottawa and must be received by March 28, 2008 in order to be eligible. Resolution forms will be sent to all Local Presidents in order to facilitate the handling of the resolutions. It should be noted that Locals under trusteeship are not eligible to submit Convention resolutions.

Convention Resolutions Committees will meet in Ottawa in April/May 2008, in order to consider the resolutions and make recommendations to the Convention regarding them. The reports of the committees will be sent to delegates prior to the Convention.

Resolutions regarding specific contract demands — that is, those demands which should be properly made at the time when contract demands are solicited by the CEIU — will not be referred to Convention. Instead, if any such resolutions are received, they will be referred to the specific collective bargaining demands committee at the time when demands are solicited. It should be noted that other policy-oriented items related to the collective bargaining process will be accepted as resolutions.

A copy of CEIU’s Resolutions of Record will be sent, in due course, to all Local Presidents (along with all necessary forms and further details). Locals are urged to consult this document so as not to submit resolutions when they are already a matter of record.

Call for Nominations – Delegates to Convention:

CEIU is hereby calling for nominations for delegates to attend Convention. Please note the procedure outlined below.

Nominations:
In accordance with By-law 11.9.4, Locals in good standing are reminded that they are entitled to nominate members to attend the National Convention as accredited delegates. Locals under trusteeship are not considered in good standing and as such do not have the right to send delegates to the Convention. Locals are requested to ensure that all members are made aware of their rights with regard to nominations and are also asked to make certain that the selection of nominees is made in a fair and democratic manner.

Local Presidents are responsible for ensuring that the names, addresses, and resumes of candidates are forwarded to the CEIU National Office in Ottawa so as to arrive by the deadline date of January 11, 2008.

Elections:
In accordance with CEIU By-law 11.10, every region is divided into electoral districts–a Local, or group of Locals. Each electoral district is allocated a portion of the delegate strength assigned to the region. The latest membership figures available will be those used to tabulate delegate entitlement. A listing of electoral districts is included in this mailing; these were adopted by the CEIU National Executive at their September 2007 meeting.

Following receipt of the nominations of delegates from the Locals, the National Office will ensure that ballots are prepared and sent to the Locals where an election is required. A secret mail ballot will be utilized for the election and should be sent to Locals by February 18, 2008. The deadline for the completed ballots to be received at CEIU National Office in Ottawa is March 28, 2008.

Those nominees in each electoral district receiving the highest number of votes and who are within the limits of the assigned quota of delegates for each district will become the accredited delegates to the Convention (see By-law 11.11). Alternates will be selected from the remaining nominees in order. A call for nominations of alternates may be issued and an election held if there are no alternates (or an insufficient number thereof) in a given district. Locals may nevertheless submit at this time their nominations for Alternate Delegates.

Human Rights Delegates – In addition to the above delegates, each of CEIU’s four Human Rights groups — Aboriginals, Members with Disabilities, Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgendered Persons, and Visible Minorities — will have 2 delegates representing them. These 8 delegates are the members of the current CEIU National Human Rights/Race Relations Committee who were elected at the CEIU National Human Rights / Race Relations Conference held in Edmonton September 17-19, 2004.

Call for Nominations – National President and National Executive Vice-President:

CEIU is hereby calling for nominations for the positions of National President and of National Executive Vice-President. Please note the procedure outlined below.

Nominations:
Any member in good standing is entitled to nominate another member in good standing for the positions of full-time National President and National Executive Vice-President of the CEIU (By-law 12.3.1). In accordance with By-law 12.1.1, Sister Barbara Kerekes, has been named National Nominations and Elections Chairperson. Nominations for the positions of National President and National Executive Vice-President must be forwarded to the Chairperson c/o the National Office in Ottawa and must be received by August 12, 2008. (By-law 12.1.3).

Elections:
The election of the National President and of the National Executive Vice-President will take place during the fourth day of the Convention with all accredited delegates being entitled to vote; this will be preceded by an all-candidates’ night the evening prior to the elections.

Call for Nominations – Alternate to the National Executive Vice-President:

CEIU is hereby calling for nominations for the position of Alternate to the National Executive Vice-President. Please note the procedure outlined below.

Nominations:
Any member in good standing is entitled to nominate another member in good standing for the position of Alternate National Executive Vice-President (By-law 12.3.1). Nominations may be made until the time of the elections; however, it is recommended that nominations be made ahead of time if possible and be sent on the appropriate form so as to reach the Nominations and Elections Chairperson prior to the opening of the Convention.

Elections:
The election of the Alternate National Executive Vice-President will take place immediately following the election of the National President and of the National Executive Vice-President, during the fourth day of the Convention, with all accredited delegates being entitled to vote.

Call for Nominations – National Vice-Presidents – Regions:

On behalf of the Regional Nominations and Elections Chairpersons, CEIU is hereby calling for nominations for the positions of National Vice-Presidents representing the eleven regions (NFLD/Lab., PEI, NS, NB, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta/NWT/Nunavut, BC/Yukon, and Headquarters). Please note the procedure outlined below.

Nominations:
In accordance with By-law 12.3.2, any member in good standing may nominate another member in good standing for the position of National Vice-President for the region. Completed nomination forms must be returned to the CEIU National Office in Ottawa, and must be received by January 11, 2008, in order to be valid. The CEIU National Office will then forward the nominations to the appropriate Regional Nominations and Elections Chairpersons.

Elections:
The election of National Vice-Presidents will then be conducted by the Regional Nominations and Elections Chairperson in accordance with By-law 12.3.2 and CEIU Regulation No. 18A. Ballots will be sent to all Locals and a Local Balloting Committee will supervise the voting process for each Local. All voting must be completed and the National Vice-Presidents and Alternates declared elected prior to the National Convention. Their election must be confirmed by the Convention before the new term of office begins.

Call for Nominations – National Vice-Presidents, Women’s Issues:

On behalf of the Nominations and Elections Chairpersons for Women’s Issues, CEIU is hereby calling for nominations for the positions of National Vice-Presidents for Women’s Issues. Please note the procedure outlined below.

Nominations:
In accordance with By-law 12.3.3, any member in good standing may nominate another member in good standing, who is a woman, for the position of National Vice-President for Women’s Issues for Western Canada, Ontario/HQ, Quebec, or Eastern Canada. Completed nomination forms must be returned to the CEIU National Office in Ottawa and must be received by January 11, 2008, in order to be valid. The CEIU National Office will then forward the nominations to the appropriate Regional Nominations and Elections Chairpersons.

Elections:
The election of National Vice-Presidents for Women’s Issues will then be conducted by the respective Nominations and Elections Chairperson in accordance with By-law 12.3.3 and CEIU Regulation No. 18A. Ballots will be sent to all Locals and a Local Balloting Committee will supervise the voting process for each Local. The nomination and election process for Alternates begins after the NVP election has been finalized. All voting must be completed and the National Vice-Presidents and Alternates declared elected prior to the National Convention. Their election must be confirmed by the Convention before the new term of office begins.

Call for Nominations – National Vice-President, IRB:

On behalf of the IRB Nominations and Elections Chairperson, CEIU is hereby calling for nominations for the positions of National Vice-President for the Immigration and Refugee Board. Please note the procedure outlined below.

Nominations:
Any member in good standing from the Immigration Refugee Board (IRB) is entitled to nominate another IRB member in good standing for the position of National Vice-President for the IRB (By-law 12.3.4). Nomination forms, once completed, must be returned to the CEIU National Office in Ottawa, and must be received by January 11, 2008, in order to be valid. The CEIU National Office will then forward the nominations to the IRB Nominations and Elections Chairperson.

Election:
The election of the IRB National Vice-President will then be conducted by the IRB Nominations and Elections Chairperson in accordance with By-law 12.3.4 and CEIU Regulation No. 18A. Ballots will be sent to all IRB Locals and a Local Balloting Committee will supervise the voting process for each IRB Local. The nomination and election process for the Alternate begins after the National Vice-President election has been finalized. All voting must be completed and the IRB National Vice-President and Alternate declared elected prior to the National Convention. Their election must be confirmed by the Convention before the new term of office begins.

Call for Nominations – National Vice-President, CIC:

On behalf of the CIC Nominations and Elections Chairperson, CEIU is hereby calling for nominations for the positions of National Vice-President for Citizenship & Immigration. Please note the procedure outlined below.

Nominations:
Any member in good standing from Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) is entitled to nominate another CIC member in good standing for the position of National Vice-President for CIC (By-law 12.3.5). Nomination forms, once completed, must be returned to the CEIU National Office in Ottawa, and must be received by January 11, 2008, in order to be valid. The CEIU National Office will then forward the nominations to the CIC Nominations and Elections Chairperson.

Election:
The election of the CIC National Vice-President will then be conducted by the CIC Nominations and Elections Chairperson in accordance with By-law 12.3.5 and CEIU Regulation No. 18A. Ballots will be sent to all CIC Locals and a Local Balloting Committee will supervise the voting process for each CIC Local. The nomination and election process for the Alternate begins after the National Vice-President election has been finalized. All voting must be completed and the CIC National Vice-President and Alternate declared elected prior to the National Convention. Their election must be confirmed by the Convention before the new term of office begins.

National Vice-President, Human Rights:

As this process involves only the CEIU members who have self-identified, a separate call for nominations is being sent directly to the self-identified members. The deadline date for nominations is also January 11, 2008.

Call for Nominations – Delegates to the PSAC Convention:

CEIU is hereby calling for nominations for delegates to attend the PSAC Convention. Please note the procedure outlined below.

CEIU Regulation No. 2 requires regions to place before the convention delegates the names of all nominees for PSAC delegates and alternates. Any member in good standing may be nominated by another member in good standing to be a PSAC delegate. Nominations must be made on the nomination form which is being sent to all Local Presidents and must be received by August 12, 2008 by the National Nominations and Elections Chairperson in order to be valid. They must then be confirmed by the Convention.

Local Balloting Committees

As you will see by the above, there are going to be a lot of elections in the coming year. Local Balloting Committees must be established to organize and administer the election of delegates, of National Vice-Presidents and Alternates (excluding the election of the Human Rights National Vice-President and Alternate which is a direct-mail vote). A committee should be in place when the elections begin (January 2008). The Local Balloting Committee is to be appointed by the Local Executive and is to be composed of three members (candidates excluded of course), one of which shall be the Chairperson. For more information regarding the role of the Local Balloting Committee, the Local Balloting Committee Chairperson, Polling Officers, etc., you can refer to Regulation No. 18A or consult the CEIU Office in your region. Locals should also advise their respective CEIU Office of the name and mailing address of their Local Balloting Committee Chairperson as it will be the responsibility of that Chairperson to ensure the ballots are received by all work locations.

Regulation 18A

You will note that reference to CEIU Regulation 18A has been made throughout this Convention Call. This is the Regulation which governs administrative procedures for the election of National Vice-Presidents and Alternates for the Regions, Women’s Issues, IRB and CIC.

As most of you are aware, the By-laws and this Regulation were amended at the last Convention whereby National Vice-Presidents are now elected by plurality rather than majority. This will eliminate the need to hold various rounds of voting and will make the process much speedier.

Another change in the procedure this time is in voting dates. There will now be one election date for all Locals in the country – National Vice-Presidents AND delegates. This date will be set by the CEIU National Office. In other words, all Locals will be voting for National Vice-Presidents and delegates on the same day. Along with the national election date, Locals must set an advance polling date. This must be set within 10 working days prior the National Election Date; the two (2) dates (the Advance Polling Date and the National Election Date) will not be held on the same day of the week, thereby accommodating members who work alternate work arrangements, etc. Actual “Election Notices” will be sent to Locals for them to post. This will facilitate the posting at the local level.

Of course, the above is only a brief highlight of the new procedures. For more complete information, Regulation 18A as well as any guidelines, instruction sheets, forms etc., that are sent out with the election kits should be carefully read.

Regulation 18B

This Regulation governs the election of the National Vice-President and Alternate for Human Rights. Here are the highlights:

Who votes?
Only CEIU members in good standing who have self-identified participate in these elections. The list of self-identified members on file in the CEIU National Office at the time of the deadline date for nominations–January 11th in this case–will be the master list used for the election.

How is the vote conducted?
The vote is by a direct mail vote among the self-identified members rather than through Local Balloting Committees. There is still a Nominations and Elections Chairperson to oversee the election process, and other than the fact that it is a direct mail vote, the general principles which govern the elections of the other National Vice-Presidents apply for these elections as well.

National Elections Committee

Of course, overseeing all of these elections is the National Elections Committee. The members of this committee are: Barbara Kerekes (Ontario), Chairperson, Barry Reilly (PEI), and Vincent McAlear (Ontario). This national committee deals with appeals or complaints regarding any of the above elections. Information on this committee and the appeals procedures are contained in CEIU Regulation 18. Sister Kerekes is also the National Nominations and Elections Chairperson who will conduct the elections at Convention.

Other Members at Convention

Aside from accredited delegates, any member in good standing of the CEIU may attend the Convention. Of course, only the accredited delegates will have the right to debate issues and to vote. Those members wishing to attend the Convention are requested to complete a Notification of Attendance form which will be available from all CEIU Offices. The forms, when completed, must be countersigned by the appropriate sponsoring body, and then mailed to CEIU National Office in Ottawa. Members are required to pay a registration fee of $150.00 in addition to all of their own expenses.

Guests

Guests may attend the Convention; however, the CEIU assumes no responsibility for any costs incurred by or on behalf of guests.

Accommodation

Once the election of Convention delegates has been completed, the CEIU National Office will mail an accommodation form to each delegate. The form will contain full information regarding hotel rates, dependent care, etc., and must be completed and returned to CEIU National Office in Ottawa in order to ensure guaranteed reservations.

Transportation

The CEIU pays the cost of transportation for all accredited delegates at the most economical rate available. CEIU will follow similar travel guidelines as those applied by the PSAC in the case of their Convention.

Per Diem

The CEIU will pay to each accredited delegate a per diem of $60.00 for weekdays (or member’s regular work days) and $100.00 for weekends (or member’s regular days of rest) for each day of travel and attendance at the Convention. If there is loss of wages, then the lost wages will be reimbursed.

Nominations & Elections Chairpersons – Election of NVPs and Alternates

Listed below are the names of the various Nominations and Elections Chairpersons. Complete contact information will be indicated on the election materials.

BC/YT : Colleen Malinosky (Vernon, BC)
Prince Edward Island : Ellen MacDonald (Antigonish, NS)
Alta/NWT/Nunavut : Lamont Neilson (Fort MacLeod, AB)
Nfld/Lab : Glenn Marche (Stephenville, NL)
Saskatchewan : Louise Schisler (Saskatoon, SK)
Women’s Issues – Western Canada : Colleen Malinosky (Vernon, BC)
Manitoba : Sherry Evans (Clandeboye, MB)
Women’s Issues – Ont/HQ : Dot Lafontaine (Ottawa, ON)
Ontario : Anthony Ciardullo (Toronto, ON)
Women’s Issues – Quebec : Denis Maziade (Ste-Foy, QC)
Headquarters : Gilles Robinson (Ottawa, ON)
Women’s Issues – Eastern Canada : Ellen MacDonald (Antigonish, NS)
Quebec : Denis Maziade (Ste-Foy, QC)
IRB : Susan Finn (Vernon, BC)
New Brunswick : André Couturier (Edmundston, NB)
CIC : Jacqueline Lemoine (Ottawa, ON)
Nova Scotia : Ellen MacDonald (Antigonish, NS)
Human Rights : Susan Finn (Vernon, BC)

Your Guide to Convention Deadlines

January 11,2008 :
Deadline for Nomination of Candidates for National Vice-Presidents

January 11,2008 :
Deadline for Nomination of CEIU Convention Delegates

March 28, 2008 :
Deadline for Return of Ballots for Election of Delegates

March 28, 2008 :
Deadline for Convention Resolutions

April 28, 2008 :
Election Results and List of Delegates to be sent to Locals

April / May, 2008 :
Convention Committees Meet in Ottawa

August 12, 2008 :
Deadline for Nomination of Candidates for Positions of National President and National Executive Vice-President

August 12, 2008 :
Deadline for Nomination of PSAC Convention Delegates

August 12, 2008 :
Agenda, Resolutions and Committee Reports to be sent to Delegates

All application and nomination forms are available from CEIU Regional Union Offices and from CEIU National Office. Please read carefully, as the nomination forms stipulate the particular deadline dates and times.