Sunday, January 31, 2016
Dear AMAPCEO members,
Happy New Year! As we start 2016, I am excited about the year ahead.
Late last year, we held our 21st, and largest ever convention, with nearly 250 eligible voting delegates, including 71 who attended for the first time. In addition to our voting delegates, the newly created equity caucuses were well represented, with many of the co-chairs attending as “Delegates at Large.”
Delegates elected four new Board members, including Vice President Cynthia Watt, Secretary Glynn Robinson and Directors Peter Dewar and Neil MacAskill. Read their profiles.
At the ADC, the Board presented the 2015 Strategic Plan, which provides focus and direction for us over the next 5 years. You can read more about the plan inside. It puts emphasis on strengthening our collective agreements, continuing to improve member services and dispute resolution, growing our education and communications programs and increasing our outreach.
After nearly two decades of false starts, Delegates adopted the recommendations of the Governance Review Committee by an overwhelming margin of nearly 80 per cent. This means that the Board will lead further consultations on an implementation plan and bring back proposed policy changes and constitutional amendments to Delegates for a vote at the earliest opportunity. Highlights of the new governance model include geographically based representation, structured on the OPS mobilization “zones” and a fairer system of representation-by-population. Early this winter, we will begin a series of member meetings around the province to consult on the new governance model, so that we can hear more from you.
Please read on to find important information about collective agreement updates, profiles of successful disputes and activists, and the 2015 “by the numbers” year in review. I look forward to seeing you at a local workplace meeting within the next several months.
Sincerely,
Dave Bulmer