District operating policy

Purpose

To provide a clear and consistent policy framework to guide District Directors, District Executive Committees and AMAPCEO staff in the governance and operation of Districts. 

This policy is to be read in conjunction with the AMAPCEO Constitution, By-laws, and other relevant policies (some of which are cited for reference below). 

Policy Statement

The current governance and representation structure was established by the Delegates at a special conference in June 2016, coming into effect on January 1, 2017.  At the conclusion of the first full year of operation of Districts (in March 2018), the Board of Directors formalized a District Operating Policy, and developed an associated Guide to District Functions, Roles and Responsibilities that is attached to this policy as Appendix A.

Policy

1. District Purpose

The purpose of Districts, according to Article 12 of the Constitution, is three-fold:  to provide electoral constituencies through which members elect Delegates and a Board Director; to provide an opportunity to organize members in geographic units through which to participate in the activities of the organization including bargaining readiness; and to promote the purposes and objectives of the union.

2. Composition and Meetings

The voting members of each District Executive Committee comprise (with exceptions as noted in #12, “Additional Executive Members”, and #17, “BPS Unit Delegates”, below):

a. The District Director, who has a dual role as a member of the Board of Directors and as Chair of the District Executive Committee; and

b. All elected Delegates from the District, who also have dual roles: to attend the Annual Delegates’ Conference (and any other Delegates’ Conferences that may be held) and to participate as members of their District Executive Committee.

c. All Alternate Delegates appointed by their District to temporarily replace an absentee Delegate at the ADC/SDC.

d. All Alternate Delegates initially appointed by their District to replace a vacant delegate position (no incumbent) at the ADC/SDC, who pursuant to Section 12 of this policy, choose to stay on as an Alternate Delegate until the next District Delegate election.

The District Executive Committee is required to meet a minimum of four times each year but may meet more often if it wishes. Quorum for all meetings is a majority of voting members (i.e., Director plus occupied Delegate roles – vacancies excluded).   

A designated staff advisor from the AMAPCEO office has been assigned to support each District and will help organize—and participate in—all District Executive and general membership meetings and events.

3. Authorities

The Delegates’ Conference or the Board of Directors may specify additional purposes, powers, and duties of Districts in a by-law and the Board has authority to approve any District policies and to resolve any conflicts, inconsistencies, ambiguity, or lack of clarity between District policies and the Constitution or by-laws.

AMAPCEO’s parliamentary authority is Robert’s Rules of Order, which also applies to meetings of District Executive Committees in all procedural matters, unless the Constitution and By-laws specify otherwise. It is acknowledged that most District business will not require this degree of formality.

4. Code of Conduct Applies

The Activist Code of Conduct, outlined in By-law #9 and included in Appendix B to this policy, applies to all members of each District Executive Committee, including:

a. Each member’s responsibility to AMAPCEO and, as such, an expectation to act (in all of their activist roles) honestly, in good faith and with due care and diligence and in the best interests of the organization as a whole and its members; and

b. Each member’s duty to attend required meetings of bodies to which they are elected or appointed; to prepare adequately for those meetings by reading the agenda and other material; and to give advance notice and explanation in cases where they are unable to attend.

5. District Vice-Chair

The District Executive shall elect a Vice-Chair from among its elected Delegates, annually, following the conclusion of the Spring delegate election. Alternate Delegates are precluded from holding the position.

The Vice-Chair shall preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair and shall be a representative of the District at ALF.¹ 

If a vacancy occurs in the position of District Director in the last six months of their term of office, the Vice-Chair will temporarily fill the vacancy, including the Director’s role on the Board, until the end of the original term of office (vacancies that occur earlier in a Director’s term are to be filled through a by-election among all District members).  If the Vice Chair assumes temporary directorship, an acting Vice Chair shall be elected from the elected Delegates serving on the Executive.

Given the size of Districts, and the time commitment required of District Directors in their roles as members of the Board, the Vice-Chair is intended to be a key resource for the district, sharing with the Director the responsibility of providing leadership to both the Executive Committee and the District membership.

6. Other District Officers

Each District Executive Committee is expected to elect a Secretary and a Treasurer and may elect additional District officers and create subcommittees as required to conduct its work.

7. Community Leads

For the Districts outside the City of Toronto and for the Districts in suburban Toronto, the District Executive is expected to elect one of the Delegates from each Community as a Community Lead. (The District Executive may instead ask the Delegates from each Community to select a Community Lead from among themselves, but if those Delegates are unable to agree, the full District Executive will make the decision.)  

For each of the Districts inside the City of Toronto, the District Executive will designate four Delegates to be Community Leads. Community Leads should be selected by District Executive Committees by the end of June each year, so that leaves can be processed in time to enable them to attend the Fall meeting of the Activists and Leaders Forum.  (See also #8, “Activists and Leaders Forum, and #15, “Length of Term”, below.)

Community Leads in Districts with identifiable Communities will provide the Executive and the District Director with a primary resource in that geographic area. They will be responsible for arranging and overseeing local meetings and activities including bargaining readiness and shall represent their Community at the Activists and Leaders Forum (ALF). Those who are Leads in Districts without specific Communities, will provide the Executive and District Director with a primary resource and share responsibility for arranging and overseeing local meetings and activities including bargaining readiness within the greater geographic area. They shall also represent the greater District at ALF.

8. Activists and Leaders Forum

The Board has established an activist networking body called the Activists and Leaders Forum, representing a broad cross-section of internal stakeholders who typically meet two times a year (Spring and Fall) to exchange information and participate in training.  Members of the Board of Directors, District Vice-Chairs and Community Leads are members of the Forum (or ALF).  Representatives from Broader Public Sector (BPS) bargaining units, the Board’s Equity Committee and the retiree caucus also participate.  The current terms of reference and composition of the Forum is attached to this policy as Appendix C.

9. District Policies

The District Executive may adopt policies as required to regulate its activities, subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

10. District Membership Meetings

The District Executive is required to convene at least one general membership meeting annually, however, depending on the size and distribution of members in a District, multiple general membership meetings in different physical locations may be held to enable as many members as possible to attend. 

In the case of Districts that are sub-divided into designated Communities, it is expected that at least one annual meeting would be held in each Community.

The District Executive will collaborate with the Membership Services Unit and the President/CEO’s Office in the scheduling of District General Membership meetings.

To facilitate logistical support for these meetings, the Board of Directors has established a schedule of District General Membership meeting dates, with Districts and/or Communities allocated on a Spring or Fall cycle.  The approved meeting cycle can be found in Appendix D. 

The District Director shall be responsible for chairing general membership meetings with the President/CEO, Vice-President, or their designee bringing greetings and labour relations updates from the Board of Directors.

11. Make Whole Delegate

The Constitution at Article 20 (c) says “a District that includes Communities is entitled to the same number of Delegates as if it were organized without Communities” … “the additional Delegate(s) shall be allocated to the District and voted upon according to a process to be specified in a by-law.” In such an instance the following process will be utilized.

At the close of Spring Delegate elections, those candidates who were unsuccessful within their local Community competition shall automatically be considered for the position of Make Whole Delegate for the District.

If there is only one candidate then acclamation shall occur, if there is more than one candidate then the newly elected District Executive shall meet and consider all such candidates while taking into consideration the needs of the greater District in relation to activist support. The meeting must attain quorum and the majority result must be  communicated to the Elections & Credentials Committee, no later than the end of June. The term for the position shall be for two years.

Should there be no residual candidates from the Community competition then the Make Whole Delegate position for the district shall be deemed vacant until the Fall callout for Alternate Delegates. At which point, any District member, from any Community could self-nominate. The District Executive would then meet pursuant to the alternate delegate elections process. If elected in this manner the term for the position would replicate that of an alternate delegate.

12. Alternate Delegates 

Under the Elections By-law, District Executive Committees have authority to appoint Alternate Delegates to fill Delegate vacancies in advance of a Delegates’ Conference.  Detailed rules governing the Alternate appointment process are issued by the Elections and Credentials Committee. 

Alternate Delegates who fill the void of a temporarily vacant Delegate position with an incumbent for the purposes of representing their district at an ADC/SDC will end their assignment at the conclusion of the ADC/SDC.

Alternate Delegates who fill the void of a vacant Delegate position without an incumbent will be permitted to maintain their involvement, as an Alternate Delegate, until the next scheduled election, so as to ensure the district’s ability to service its members. They shall have the ongoing right to vote while in their extended alternate role, and they may also hold executive positions (e.g., Community Lead) save and except for the role of Vice-Chair (See Item #5) above.

13. Additional Executive Members

The District Executive Committee has the authority to appoint additional non-voting Executive Committee members if required (to ensure broad representation from all parts of the district or to include a greater activist base).   

All such appointments, along with the criteria/process used for selection, must be reported to the Board of Directors before becoming effective. Unless authorized by the Board of Directors, non-Delegate members will not be counted for quorum and will be ineligible to vote on matters or hold District office (Vice Chair, Community Lead, Secretary, Treasurer etc.).

14. Annual District Workplan, Budget & Sponsorships

Each District Executive is required to prepare an annual workplan premised on a centrally costed and provided annual budget. 

Guidelines on the preparation of a Workplan, the District Budget Policy and a District Budget Template are attached, respectively, as Appendices E, F, and G. 

District Executives may be asked to support donations or provide sponsorships to community or workplace initiatives organized by members, in which case a District Executive recommendation may be submitted to the Board’s Executive Committee, through the President/CEO’s Office, under a process outlined in the Community Donations and Sponsorships Policy, attached as Appendix H.

15. Information Sharing

Directors are encouraged to share information included within the Board’s Summary document, on a monthly basis, and to otherwise direct their Delegates to Board Minutes posted on the website.

Districts are encouraged to share topical information of interest to members at executive and general membership meetings including at centrally or locally provided education sessions. Details on how to include training and educational sessions into local meetings can be found in Appendix E – Workplan.

16. Length of Term

District Directors and Delegates serve a two-year term, staggered so that one-half of the Directors, and one-half of each District’s Delegates, have terms that expire annually.  Given that one-half of the Delegates’ positions are up for election each year, the length of term of District Executive officers (e.g., Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Community Leads) should be for one year; incumbents, however, are always eligible for re-election. 

The Executive Committee should schedule a meeting to select District Executive officers on a date following the Spring Delegate elections each year², but no later than early September, so that the Vice-Chair and Community Leads can be identified in time for the AMAPCEO office to process leaves enabling them to attend the fall and spring ALF meetings. 

17. Vacancies and Replacements

The District Executive Committee has an obligation to fill any District officer vacancies that occur during the year, and the District Executive Committee has the authority to replace, at any time, officers who are unable to fulfill the responsibilities of their positions. 

Details on how address vacancies can be found in the ALF Terms of Reference.

Temporary appointments must be made by the Director in compliance with the relevant timelines for processing leaves to attend the affected meeting.  (There is no requirement or opportunity to temporarily replace a District Director or a Vice-Chair who is unable to attend a specific ALF meeting.)

18. District Leaves

AMAPCEO-paid leave (Article 8.5) is provided to District Directors to attend Board meetings and Board related events; to Vice-Chairs and Community Leads to attend ALF meetings; and to all Directors and Delegates to attend Delegates’ Conferences. Board members are also entitled to additional discretionary union leave to conduct other Board business or to prepare for meetings. 

In addition, employer-paid leave (Article 8.3) is available to District Directors or their designees (e.g., Vice-Chairs, Community Leads) to facilitate work within Districts, such as planning and member engagement. 

A total of three days of such leave per calendar month for each District is available; unused leave in a given month is not able to be accumulated to be used at another time (leave for any travel required for this purpose will be provided under Article 8.5 and is reimbursable by AMAPCEO to the employer). More details are contained in the Leave Policy and Process Reminder, attached as Appendix I to this policy.

Paid leave is typically not provided for members to attend meetings of the District Executive Committee or general membership meetings.  

19. BPS Unit Delegates

Bargaining Unit specific Delegates (as authorized by By-law #2, Part C) shall automatically be affiliated with and serve as members of the Executive Committee in the District in which they work. They shall be counted towards quorum and will be full voting members of their District Executive, but they shall not be eligible to hold elected positions within the Executive Committee (e.g., Vice-Chair, Community Lead, Secretary, Treasurer or another District Officer role).

1 Anyone representing their District on the Board of Directors must to have first been elected to their District delegate role. The Vice Chair may under certain circumstances have to backfill for an outgoing Director. As such, they must be elected delegate (not alternate/interim).

2 The Elections By-law specifies that the Delegate nomination period opens on the first working day following April 1st and closes on the last working day in April, with the election, if required, to take place during the first two weeks of May. It is possible, therefore, that the new Delegates would be known as early as the end of April, if they are acclaimed, and at the latest by mid-May, if an election is required.