Union News - October 2022
With our new normal, most members will continue to work from home either full time or in a hybrid format. Opportunities to meet your Executive, and even other members, are few or almost non-existent. Meetings such as an AGM either done in person or while not prefect virtually, give members an opportunity to connect with other members, speak to or ask questions of their local executives or hear from the national leaders of the union on matters of importance to the membership.
Annually your Local Executive will send the membership an invitation to attend the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM). But what is the AGM and why should you attend?
The AGM is required for the Executive to report on all matters that have taken place during the previous year. Most importantly, this includes financial reports of the local’s expenditures and income received, mostly from the membership dues. Information is also provided charting the direction of the local for the upcoming year. Decisions, which include electing officers to the Local executive, are made by the members who attend the meeting. The rules that govern the operation of the local are generally contained in by-laws that can only be changed with the support of the membership and must be amended at the AGM. All these things are very important member responsibilities.
For any of these crucial activities to happen, there must be a quorum of members attending the AGM. A quorum is a small number or percentage of members who must be in attendance to make any of these decisions. The other side of quorum is that a relatively small number members could make decisions that affect all members, such as electing officers, making changes to by-laws or even increasing dues.
Attending an AGM is a small time commitment that can provide huge benefits, for you and for all members. Plan to attend.
Melanee Jessup
President, UTE Local 00015 Kitchener
Communications Committee