What is a GM and why is it so Important?

A General Membership meeting is a place for TSSU members to gather for discussion, debate and decision-making about the work we do and our position as a union in relation to larger socio-political and economic labour issues.

Everybody who has held a TSSU appointment in the last year is a general member. The General Membership is the final decision making body of our union. We try to gather as many members as possible to ensure that all voices are heard and that our decisions reflect as many members as possible.

The union functions in large part through the work of its staff, elected officials and committee members, but at the end of the day each of these bodies respond to the general membership and take direction from the general membership as well. This non-hierarchical structure has a history of over thirty years and is an essential component of who we are and where we stand in the broader labour context. Historically, we emerge from an intersection of feminism and trade unionism, where traditional trade unionism was not addressing hierarchies (particularly, but not exclusively, gender based) within their own structures. The feminist non-hierarchical foundation of our structure attempts to create a union that is opposed to status differentials and empowers each of our members to act as autonomous agents and to respect each others’ differences. The idea behind it is simple: no member, as a result of categorical status, should have more “power” than any other in the direction and shape of our union’s activities. In practice, however, this idea requires active participation of all our membership and one important form of this participation takes place at a GM.

TSSU committees take direction from the general membership. The GM is a place where, with consideration of the differences that exist within our membership, we can discuss what committees do, what issues we should address; it is a place where we can strategize about direction in terms of both our immediate working conditions and our place in the larger socio-economic and political contexts. Think of the slogan, the personal is political.

Often there is a pre-prepared agenda of items for discussion. This doesn’t mean that new items cannot be added. The membership is encouraged to add items or suggest amendments. Many of the items we deal with at the GM are “business” related in that they require approval of the membership before being acted upon. While this can at times seem tedious (especially because they are often mired in details) it is important that members know and understand what is happening so that we can make sure the things we are doing are the things we want to do. The Chair is responsible for facilitating these meetings and if at any point you have something to say, raise your hand let her/him know. S/he will then direct you as to the proper procedure.

What is really important is to create in the GMs a sense of this being the members space, a space where we collectively reflect on who we are, where we stand, how we got here and where we see ourselves in the future.