CSR endorses Electoral Ballots for ARA 2006
by Larry Liffiton, President
Council of School Representatives approved two Annual Representative Assembly electoral ballots at its monthly meeting held on December 7. The first of these ballots gave rise to a vigorous debate that resulted in a close vote. The second ballot was approved unanimously.
Electoral ballot #1 would create a new Association bylaw imposing financial penalties on Locals who failed in their duty to fairly represent their members by failing to “seek advice from the Association when advice should have been sought, follow advice received from the Association or its solicitors, or cooperate with the Association.”
The amount of the penalty is not described in the proposed bylaw, causing several school representatives to voice concern during debate on the resolution to concur with the Electoral Ballot. Some speakers to the motion expressed the need to have the amount of the penalty limited within the bylaw. Proponents of the motion noted the penalty to the Local is intended to be a portion of the penalty imposed on the Provincial Association by outside agencies, such as the Courts or arbitration proceedings, arising out of legal cases where members have filed against the Association for a failure in its duty of fair representation. Because Locals do not have a legal standing on their own, actions against a Local must always be filed against the Provincial Association.
Further debate focused on who should bear the burden of the penalty and the question of intentionality in determining whether a Local should be held to account for its actions. It was clear from both sides of the debate that the concepts behind the proposed bylaw were supported by most, but that many representatives wanted to see more precision in the wording of the bylaw.
At the end of a half hour of debate the vote approved electoral ballot #1 by a narrow margin. The results of that vote and the vote on electoral ballot #2, which codifies current bargaining procedures, will now be sent to Edmonton to be counted along with the votes of all Locals across the province to see if it has enough support to be brought to the floor of the Annual Representative Assembly in May 2006.
Electoral ballots are the method the Association must follow when amending current bylaws or introducing new bylaws. Each Local is given one electoral vote for each 50 members or fraction thereof. Electoral ballots require a majority support across the province in order to be sent for a vote at the Annual Representative Assembly. They are not amendable resolutions.
Have a comment about this article? Want to write a letter to the editor or maybe an article yourself? Contact ataglance@ata38.ab.ca to find out more.
© December 2005, ATA Local #38 Calgary Public Teachers
