At the Guild’s recent biennial convention in Toronto, delegates debated a number of proposals from members to change or clarify the way the union conducts it affairs.
Bylaw amendments change the Guild’s bylaws – the rules that govern the union’s structure and basic operations. The amendments adopted at this convention deal with:
– Communication between bargaining committees and the membership during contract negotiations;
– Changing the title of the position of Director of Education to Director of Education and Mobilization;
– A process to deal with location units that become too small to be viable;
-The length of election campaigns for Guild elected positions
– Clarifying when a member’s “good standing” may lapse, and can be reinstated
General resolutions, once passed by the convention delegates, become instructions to the Guild’s national leadership. Although they are not legally binding, it is generally understood that they are to be adhered to as closely as reasonably possible.
Delegates passed the following resolutions:
– CMG membership cards are to be issued on a timely basis;
– The Guild will re-examine the structure of its own National Executive Committee, with a view to reducing the size of the committee;
– Any new structure for the National Executive Committee is to ensure a French-speaking representative;
– The Guild is to prefer union-made products and unionized service providers;
– The CMG is to create a portal on its website to provide members with information on retirement, including information about the various pension plans to which members may belong through their employment;
– When a bargaining committee is proposing a change in working conditions that may affect a specific group of members, those members are to be informed and consulted;
– The National Executive Committee is to work with the CBC branch executive to set up a plan that would provide some additional funding to the branch’s three largest location units (currently Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver);
– At CMG conventions, union business is to take precedence over presentations from outside guest speakers.
To read the full text of the amendments and resolutions, please click here.
The 2014 Resolutions Committee:
Scott Edmonds
Jon Soper
Jonathan Spence
Keith Maskell, CMG staff representative