August General Assembly Reminder and Update
Hello TRAC members,
We want to remind you that your union will be holding a General Assembly on
August 22nd, 2023 @ 6:00 p.m.
Registration
Participants MUST register at this link before August 21st:
https://psac-afpc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5wsdeqhqDwqGNSi8UqQwfekIW8yQBEwTRaY
Once you register, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with instructions. *REMINDER: If you registered for the GA previously scheduled for August 17th, you’ll need to re-register for the GA on August 22nd.
The meeting will now ONLY be held over Zoom (see “Why is the GA going online only?”).
In conformity with the TRAC by-laws, only members in good standing will be allowed to attend and vote at the GA. You are a TRAC member if you:
Have had a contract as a TA or RA in the last 12 months
Signed a TRAC membership form, which you can fill out here https://afpcquebec.formstack.com/forms/afpc_qc_form_adh_acc_univ_conc_trac
Haven’t resigned from TRAC by signing a CSN card
By law, anyone who resigns or resigns a membership card for the sole purpose of interfering with the operations of TRAC will be denied access to the General Assembly.
Why is the GA going online only?
Members may have questions as to why the originally planned hybrid TRAC GA meeting is now only being held over Zoom. We wish to be fully transparent with our members about the reason surrounding this decision.
Some members have raised concerns that CREW-CSN intends to disrupt TRAC’s democratic right to hold a GA and conduct its business. Despite on-campus security willing to intervene if necessary, the safety and security of our members is of utmost priority. Furthermore, we find it important to take precautionary measures so that members in good standing feel safe to attend the meeting in the first place, ensuring they can freely exercise their democratic rights to participate, to run for election, and to voice themselves at the meeting. This GA is intended to be a peaceful and productive event, and any interference by CREW-CSN will be considered an attempt to infringe on our union’s democracy.
TRAC Executive Election
Although PSAC has taken on grievance and legal union representation, we understand that your access to union representation was suspended when CREW-CSN organizers suddenly resigned from their TRAC executive positions hours before the last GA registration closed, not allowing those who might take their place to attend. This time, members in attendance will be invited to elect a new executive team, restoring services to members as quickly as possible.
A motion will be presented for the Executive Committee to be only a transitional Executive Committee until 1 month after the TRAC/CSN vote and have another election 1 month after the vote to elect Executive for the rest of the year.
All executive positions will be up for election:
President
Vice-President
Secretary-Treasurer
Mobilisation Officer
Communications Officer
Bargaining Officer
Grievance Officer
If you are interested in running for one of these positions, please send an email to office@trac-union.ca to let us know you will be running before August 21st at 5:00 p.m. You must have the support of 2 TRAC members through letters of approval to be eligible. These can also be sent to office@trac-union.ca before August 21st at 5:00 p.m. This is a standard practice TRAC has maintained in past election procedures.
Bargaining Committee Election
Allegations have been made that TRAC won’t fight for your terms in upcoming negotiations. These are false allegations as negotiations with Concordia have yet to start. The previous TRAC executives abandoned negotiations before finalising their demands to change the Collective Agreement and had not yet started the discussions about salary and pay raises. CREW’s bargaining demands actually come from TRAC members who do not support CREW.
Although the original intention was for the floor to be opened to attendees for bargaining suggestions, input, and electing a bargaining committee, we have decided to wait until after the TRAC/CSN union vote to elect the bargaining committee. Your union is still committed to bargaining and placing members’ voices at the forefront, but this shift will let TRAC focus on educating members about the misinformation spread by CREW and the CSN raid and also get TRAC back to representing your interests in day-to-day operations. We will hold bargaining committee elections in the GA after the TRAC/CSN vote.
Agenda
Welcome
Motion for the election to be for a transitional Executive Committee until 1 month after the TRAC/CSN vote and have another election 1 month after the vote to elect Executive for the rest of the year
Election
Executive Committee
Update about the CSN raid and the union vote
Varia
Adjournment
Best,
The "VOTE FOR TRAC" Committee