CUPE 4163’s Executive board consists of 12 positions and are elected at the Annual General Meeting held in early spring of each year. Also elected at the AGM are the Trustees – 2 from each component.
Executive Position Descriptions
While the primary duty of all CUPE 4163 Executives and Trustees – to protect and advocate for the members in the workplace – is perhaps somewhat abstract, there are some concrete duties and responsibilities attached to each position. All Executive members (and it should be noted here that Trustees are not members of the Executive) are expected to attend Monthly Executive meetings, the Fall and Spring General meetings, and any special component meetings. Executives are also consulted regularly via email by the staff and/or President and asked to weigh in on matters both Local wide and component specific.
What follows is a series of brief descriptions and the main duties of each position; for a fuller description that includes duties that are rarely if ever (but could be) performed, see the Bylaws.
Positions Elected from the membership as a whole
President
The President’s job is to work for the good of the entire Local, not just the component to which they belong. As such, they chair and create the agendas for all membership and Executive Board, General, and Personnel Committee meetings. They coordinate with the Vice-Presidents on any component matters, for example labour relation issues, member outreach, and component socials.
The President is the direct supervisor of the Business Agents employed by the Local, although the staff work with a great measure of autonomy. They are expected to meet with the Business Agents at least once a week to go over current grievances and other labour relations issues, coordinate between the Executive and the staff, and collaborate on planning Local events and initiatives such as meetings and bargaining. The President is also the Local’s spokesperson when negotiating collective agreements with our staff.
The President sits on the Finance Committee and chairs the Grievance Committee. They may be called upon to attend other Local committee meetings, such Communications Committee, to provide resources and guidance. They also sit at the table with the component bargaining teams and may be the spokesperson. The President also sits on the University Safety and Staff Benefits Committees and is often the Local’s representative at consultation meetings with the University. They also sit on the UVic Solidarity Committee with the other UVic unions.
The President regularly coordinates with the other CUPE Locals on campus and is the Local’s delegate to the CUPE B.C. Universities Committee and the Universities Coordinated Bargaining Committee in bargaining years. They are the official spokesperson for the Local, especially during bargaining, when they may be called upon to speak with the media. They are the Local’s chief representative when dealing with the UVic administration.
The President works with the Treasurer to ensure the Local finances are well-managed and is expected to have a rough understanding of the budget line items and how they work. The President helps maintain the Local’s website and Facebook page as needed.
The President is a paid position. Wages are based on 36 hours per month at Step 2 of the Component 2 Instructor rate.
Treasurer
CUPE 4163 has an annual budget is over $400,000 and the Treasurer manages this budget. They are essentially the Local’s book-keeper. This includes using Quickbooks to record all transactions; calculating and paying per capita payments to CUPE National, CUPE BC, and the Victoria Labour Council; writing cheques to pay for any Local expenses; and managing the Local’s credit card. The Local also has two paid Business Agents on staff and two paid executive positions; the Treasurer is responsible for ensuring that these people are paid regularly; calculating and remitting payroll taxes; remitting RRSP payments for the paid staff; and filling out and issuing T4s every year. They also prepare, with the aid of the Finance Committee, the yearly budget and present it to the membership at the Semi Annual General Meeting. They also report on the Local’s finances at each Executive meeting.
The Secretary-Treasurer is a paid position. Wages are based on 22 hours a month, starting at Step 1 of the Component Two Regular Teacher pay scale, and moving up one step every January 1. The Treasurer must be bondable.
Please see the description for fuller details.
description of Treasurer position
Recording Officer
The Recording Officer records the minutes of every Executive and General meeting, and is expected to send out the minutes to the 4163 office and the Executive. They are to have all records ready on reasonable notice for the Trustees or auditors.
Equity Vice President
The Equity VP must be a CUPE 4163 member who self-identifies as being from the following marginalized or equity seeking groups: Indigenous People, LGBTQ2s, Persons with Disabilities, and Racialized workers.
In recognizing that discrimination resulting from various historic and structural inequalities have created barriers to access and opportunity within the University and the Union, this position is an initial step in implementing equity, diversity and inclusion for all CUPE 4163 members and to ensure that all of our members’ concerns are addressed at the Executive level. As such, they have a lot of responsibility; to support them in their work, an Equity Action Committee will be put together (helping form the Committee will be one of the VP’s first jobs)..
The Equity VP will Chair the Equity Action Committee and work with the Committee to identify equity issues and issues of discrimination in our workplace, our union and beyond. The There is a certain amount of autonomy for the VP and the Committee in how they identify and pursue their goals.
Communications Representative
Some of their main duties will include:
- Working with the Vice-Presidents to devise and implement communications strategies for each component
- Maintaining the Local’s website and any social media accounts.
- Preparing monthly newsletters or updates (in consultation with the President and staff).
Other duties could include
- Chairing the Communications Committee.
- Assisting with Union Orientations
- Assisting in the development of a communication strategies, specific social media strategies, and campaign strategies
The Communications Representative is a paid position.
Wages are based on 12 hours a month, starting at Step 1 of the Component Two Teacher pay scale, and moving up one step every January 1.
This is the first year of the paid Communications Representative position, so adjustments can and probably will be made to the position description..
Positions Elected in each of the Components.
Vice President
The Vice-Presidents are the main representatives of their respective components. They are regularly consulted on labour relations issues in their respective components, and may be called on to attend meetings concerning their component with management . They fill in when the President is unable to chair meetings. The Vice-Presidents sit on the Personnel committee, which deals with any staffing issues including hiring new staff and negotiating collective agreements with our Business Agents. They also sit on the Local’s Grievance Committee, which is called upon to make decisions about difficult grievances, especially when there is a need to decide whether or not to advance a grievance to the arbitration stage. The Vice-Presidents also have signing authority
Member at Large
In addition to being eyes, ears, and voices for their components, Members at Large sit on the Finance Committee.
Trustee
CUPE 4163’s annual budget is nearly $500,000. The Trustees’ main duty is undertaken one day each year, when they audit the Locals’ books and accounts (usually early October). This is an all-day job, and involves going through the Treasurer’s work and ensuring that the Local’s finances are in order. They write up and present a report on their audit findings to the membership at Fall Annual General Meeting.
Trustees also act as returning officers for 4163 votes (such as the Social Justice Fund votes).