# 1 Move travel expense policies into bylaws
Purpose: to have all travel expense rules in one location – the bylaws
Current:
Bylaw 11: Finances
6) Per Diems and Travel Expenses
- b) Travel Costs: The Local will cover travel costs (including personal phone calls) and per diems for members and designates travelling to approved functions, as outlined in the Local’s Policies. The per kilometer rate will be current with the CUPE BC km rate, with the maximum km not to exceed the cost of airfare.
Proposed:
Bylaw 11: Finances
6) Per Diems and Travel Expenses
- b) Travel Costs:
(i) The Local will cover travel costs (including personal phone calls) and per diems for members and designates travelling to approved functions, as outlined in the Local’s Policies. The per kilometer rate will be current with the CUPE BC km rate, with the maximum km not to exceed the cost of airfare.
(ii) Parking costs are reimbursed when receipt provided and on CUPE 4163 business. Taxi, ride share, and airport shuttle costs between airport, hotel, and meeting places are reimbursed upon submission of receipts. Members should make every reasonable effort to carpool and travel together.
(iii) When staying out of town on Union business, members will stay in unionized hotels unless none are available or if the price difference between the lowest priced unionized hotel and a non-union hotel is judged by the financial committee to be more than 25% of the cost of the union hotel.
#2 Change the executive term to start later in April
Purpose: to provide a meaningful transition period between leaving and new executive members.
Current:
Bylaw 6: Duties of the Officers
1) c. The executive term shall run from April 1 to March 31.
Proposed:
Bylaw 6: Duties of the Officers
1) c. The executive term shall run from April 1 15 to March 31 April 14.
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#3. Expand upon and clarify by-election rules [Bylaw 10.4: By-Elections]
Purpose: to provide greater direction and transparency around the running of by-elections
Current:
Bylaw 10: Nomination Election and Installation of Officers
- By-Elections
Should any office fall vacant for any reason, a special membership meeting will be called where the by-election will be held. The by-election shall be conducted as closely as possible in conformity to this bylaw.
Proposed:
Bylaw 10: Nomination Election and Installation of Officers
- By-Elections
- a) Should any office fall vacant for any reason, if no general or component membership meeting is scheduled to occur within the next 3 weeks, a special membership meeting for the by-election will be held or an online election will be called. The by-election shall be conducted as closely as possible in conformity to this bylaw.
- b) The notice period between the nomination call and deadline is 10 days.
- c) For in-person by-election meetings, the vote will be held the day after the nomination deadline at the meeting.
- d) For online by-elections, voting shall open the day after the nomination deadline, and close 2 days later. A reminder to vote shall be sent out the afternoon before or morning of the last day of voting.
- e) On-line by-elections will be administered by staff, who will employ a survey software platform that enables anonymous voting.
#4 Establish guidelines around sending members to CUPE conventions
Purpose: to provide direction and transparency to the decision-making process around delegate selection
Proposed:
Bylaw 7: Committees, Representatives, and Delegates
- d) Convention delegate selection
- i) Delegates to CUPE BC and CUPE National conventions will be selected in the following order:
1) President
2) Members of CUPE BC (for CUPE BC conventions) or CUPE National committees (for CUPE National conventions)
3) Executive members
4) Other Local activists such as stewards and union committee representatives. Members from equity-seeking groups will have first priority in this category if the delegates selected from the first three categories do not include a member of an equity-seeking group.
- ii) When selecting Executive member delegates, if possible, there will be equal representation from the different components.
#5 Update Social Justice Fund vote rules to account for losing quorum
Purpose:
Current:
Bylaw 11: Finances
- b) CUPE 4163 Social Justice Fund
- v) In the event there is only a single nominee, whether or not it shall be awarded the Fund shall still be voted upon by the membership.
Proposed:
Bylaw 11: Finances
- b) CUPE 4163 Social Justice Fund
- v) In the event there is only a single nominee, whether or not it shall be awarded the Fund shall still be voted upon by the membership. there are only one or two nominees for which the nominators have shown up to promote, they shall be deemed to the recipient(s) of the award, and no vote shall be taken.
#6 Update Equity VP bylaw to state the Equity VP is the Union’s rep to any University Equity committee
Purpose:
Bylaw 6: Duties of the Officers
5) The Equity Vice-President shall:
(new) i) Be the Local’s default representative on any University equity-related committees, except in the event where the university committee will be specifically handling issues relating to an equity seeking group of which the Equity Vice-President is not a member. In such cases, the Equity Vice-President will seek out a member of that equity seeking group to be the representative, with preference given to members of the 4163 Equity Committee.
#7 Change length of Executive Terms for Treasurer and Equity Vice-President
Purpose: To make the Treasurer and Equity Vice-President
Current:
Bylaw 6: Duties of the Officers
1) a. All signing Officers of Local 4163 shall be bonded through the master bond held by CUPE National. Any Officer who cannot qualify for the bond shall be disqualified from having signing authority.
- All officers must give all properties, assets, funds and all records of the Local 4163 to their successors at the end of their term of office.
- The executive term shall run from April 1 to March 31.
Proposed:
Bylaw 6: Duties of the Officers
1) a. All signing Officers of Local 4163 shall be bonded through the master bond held by CUPE National. Any Officer who cannot qualify for the bond shall be disqualified from having signing authority.
- All officers must give all properties, assets, funds and all records of the Local 4163 to their successors at the end of their term of office.
- The executive term shall run from April 1 to March 31.
- The Treasurer and Equity Vice-President shall serve two-year terms; all other executive members shall serve one-year terms.
#8 Remove the $1 Initiation fee for new members
Purpose: to reflect the CUPE National constitutional amendment removing the requirement for membership initiation fees
Bylaw 11: Finances
1) Fees
- The initiation fee shall be one dollar ($1.00), collected by the university upon first hire into the CUPE 4163 bargaining unit. The readmission fee of one dollar ($1.00) shall be collected by the university upon rehired into the CUPE 4163 bargaining unit.
Proposed
Bylaw 11: Finances
1) Fees
- a) The initiation fee shall be one dollar ($1.00), collected by the university upon first hire into the CUPE 4163 bargaining unit. The readmission fee of one dollar ($1.00) shall be collected by the university upon rehired into the CUPE 4163 bargaining unit.
Renumber b) and c)
#9 Add an Appendix with the CUPE Code of Conduct
Purpose: to extend CUPE 4163’s commitment to fighting harassment and other inappropriate behaviors to Union functions and to clearly indicate this in the Bylaws
Proposed:
(new) Appendix A: CUPE Code of Conduct
The mandate of our union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), is to organize and defend workers and to promote economic and social justice for our members and for all workers. In carrying out our work, we in CUPE strive to promote our core values which include the principles of solidarity, equality, democracy, integrity, and respect. We are committed to mobilizing our energy and skills to work together to promote these values and to attain these goals in our union, our communities, and globally.
CUPE is committed at all levels to creating a union which is inclusive, welcoming, and free from harassment, discrimination and all types of bullying and intimidation. CUPE needs to ensure that we provide a safe environment for members, staff and elected officers to carry out our work. CUPE’s expectation is that mutual respect, understanding and co-operation will be the basis of all our interaction.
The Code of Conduct sets out standards of behaviour for participants at national convention, national conferences, schools, meetings, and all other events organized by CUPE National. It is also applicable to structures of CUPE – locals, Provincial and Service Divisions, District Councils, Provincial Unions, Councils of Unions, Provincial Councils of Unions, and Provincial Sectoral Groups. It is consistent with the expectations outlined in the Equality Statement and the CUPE National Constitution.
This Code of Conduct is intended to deal with complaints of inappropriate behaviour at events organized by CUPE National and at events, meetings and activities by other parts of CUPE referenced above. It does not apply to complaints arising in the workplace, as those are dealt with through the grievance procedure and/or the applicable workplace harassment policy.
As CUPE members, staff, and elected officers, we commit to one another and to the union to be governed by the principles of the Code of Conduct and agree to:
- Abide by the provisions of the Equality Statement.
- Respect the views of others, even when we disagree.
- Recognize and value individual differences.
- Communicate openly.
- Support and encourage each other.
- Make sure that we do not harass or discriminate against each other.
- Commit to not engaging in offensive comment or conduct.
- Make sure that we do not act in ways that are aggressive, bullying, or intimidating.
- Take responsibility for not engaging in inappropriate behaviour due to use of alcohol or other drugs while participating in union activities, including social events.
Harassment is objectionable behaviour which may include actions, language, gestures, and/or written material, and which the harasser knows or ought reasonably to know is abusive and unwelcome. Bullying is a form of harassment which is serious ongoing behaviour which targets an individual or group and which threatens that person or persons’ mental and/or physical well-being.
A complaint regarding the Code of Conduct will be handled as follows:
- If possible, a member may attempt to deal directly with the person alleged to have engaged in behaviour contrary to the Code, by asking them to stop such behaviour. If that is not possible, or if it does not resolve the problem, a member may bring forward a complaint.
- At national convention, national conferences, schools, meetings, and all other events organized by CUPE National, a complaint shall be brought to the attention of an ombudsperson.
- At a meeting, event, or activity held by a structure of CUPE, should an ombudsperson be available, the same process would be used. Should an ombudsperson not be available, a person properly appointed and designated to be in charge shall receive the complaint.
- If the complaint involves a staff member, it shall be referred to the appropriate director for investigation and the complaint shall be dealt with in accordance with the applicable staff collective agreement. If the complaint involves a staff member employed by another part of CUPE, the person responsible for their employment will be the one to whom a complaint is referred and the relevant collective agreement, should it exist, would be applicable.
- Once a complaint is received where an ombudsperson is being used, the ombudsperson will work to seek a resolution.
- If this fails to resolve the matter, the ombudsperson shall report the matter to the person in charge, who shall determine whether there is need to remove the member. The person in charge has the authority to expel members from the event for serious or persistent offenses.
- At CUPE National events where an ombudsperson is not available, a person properly appointed and designated to be in charge shall receive the complaint. Depending on the nature of the problem, the person in charge may attempt to resolve it through conflict resolution. If this fails to resolve the matter, the person in charge shall determine whether there is a need to remove the member. The person in charge has the authority to expel members from the event for serious or persistent offenses. The same process is to be used for other parts of CUPE where an ombudsperson is not available.
- For National events, if the person in charge is a party to the complaint, the director or designate shall assume that role. For all other parts of CUPE, an alternate will be designated to assume the role.
- In a case where a member has been expelled from an event, the National President shall receive a report on the matter. For all other structures of CUPE, the presiding officer shall receive a report on the matter.
- For events organized by CUPE National, the National President shall determine if further remedial action is appropriate, including restricting a member’s participation in future events organized by CUPE National. A similar process may be applicable to the other parts of CUPE, done in consultation with the National President.
This Code of Conduct is designed to create a safe, respectful and supportive environment within all parts of CUPE. It is meant to enhance the rights and obligations outlined in the CUPE National Constitution, the Equality Statement, and applicable human rights legislation, not replace them.
All chartered organizations are subject to this Code of Conduct, to apply to conventions, conferences, schools, and meetings which they organize.
The above Code of Conduct arises from the National Women’s Task Force (NWTF) report, and Resolution 209 adopted at the 2007 National Convention.