February 3, 2022
TSSU Spring 2022 Executive Election
TSSU is accepting nominations for the following positions: Secretary-Treasurer, Chief Steward II, Trustee II, Solidarity and Social Justice Commissioner, Ex-Officio (See below for description).
Positions are open to any member in good standing. More information is summarized below as well as in the By-Laws.
As of the January GM (January 27, 2022), nominations for the election are open, and they close on the February 23, 2022 at the GM. All members in good standing can run by filling out
Thinking about running for a position, but want more information? Email tssu@tssu.ca and we’d be happy to answer your questions!
Chief Steward II: Salaried at 25 hours/week (a) The Chief Stewards shall be jointly responsible for knowledge of the Collective Agreement, Health and Safety regulations, and other relevant legislation. They will be responsible for communicating monthly updates on the status of ongoing grievances to the Executive and General Membership in order to facilitate mobilization and organizing. Both shall also be responsible for the Grievance Procedure including meetings, research, and legal activities. Both shall work in conjunction with the Member Representative to ensure member rights are enforced and protected as outlined in the Collective Agreement. The two Chief Stewards in consultation with the Member representative will also be responsible for maintaining any seniority lists and for checking position posting in relation to the Collective Agreement. Each semester, these two officers shall mutually agree on the division of the responsibility for the following tasks: • Chairing and coordinating Steward meetings. • Chairing and coordinating Grievance meetings. • Serving as the resource person for the OH&S Commissioner
Secretary-Treasurer: 25 hrs/week The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining the administrative records and performing the daily financial duties of the Union. They shall also be a legal and financial signing authority and be a member of the Finance Committee and Internal Relations Committee. Maintaining the administrative records of the Union includes: ensuring that accurate minutes for GM and Executive meetings are taken and distributed at subsequent meetings, including arranging for another minute taker when unavailable, or presenting; maintaining a current file of all GM and Executive Minutes in the TSSU office, as well as keeping a record of, and reminding the Executive of, resolutions passed at these meetings; ensuring the Union's archives are maintained, including setting a records disposable schedule and backup of digital and paper files where necessary; facilitating access to information of past precedent and resolutions from previous meetings, and thereby assisting the Ex-Officio in maintaining institutional memory; receiving, organizing, and filing appointment forms from departments and following up where they have not been received; auditing appointment forms and flagging issues for the Chief Stewards / Staff. Financial Duties Include: chairing the Finance Committee; maintaining an accurate and proper internal bookkeeping system, including coordination with an external bookkeeper, if/when one has been hired; regular review of the union’s budgeted vs actual revenue and expenses, and providing regular updates to both the Executive and Finance Committees; regular bookkeeping duties, including bank reconciliations, payroll, remittances, stipends (including coordination with the committee chairs), and receiving & depositing dues and other revenue (these duties exclude regularly paying bills and membership dues to organizations, which shall normally be a duty of the coordinator); preparation and payment of taxes, including generation of T4s, T4As, and Records of Employment; preparing the annual budget, in consultation with the Finance and Executive Committees, normally for presentation at the February GM; assembling the annual audit documents, and coordinating with the auditor; presenting a financial update to at least one GM of each semester, including circulating an audited financial report, and appointing (or reappointing) the auditor, normally in the Fall semester, but no later than January of the subsequent year.
Trustee II: 5 hrs/week The two Trustees shall ensure that the TSSU By-Laws are adhered to and be responsible for keeping these same By-Laws up-to-date. They shall also ensure that proper procedures are adhered to at GMs in accordance with Bourinot’s rules. Trustees must have the ability to obtain all non-email account passwords that pertain to common union business. Trustees will have access to membership lists but shall not make any changes to the lists. They shall oversee the work done by Executive Members and report any atypical decisions to the General Membership of the Union. They shall be involved with the scheduling and publication of GMs in conjunction with the salaried officers; and schedule and oversee all elections/referenda. The Trustees shall be responsible for inspecting the financial records of the TSSU on a monthly basis in consultation with the Coordinator. One Trustee shall be a member of the Internal Relations Committee and the other shall be a member of the Finance Committee.
Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner: Commissioner Stipend The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner (SSJC Commissioner) shall be responsible for coordinating the activities of the Solidarity & Social Justice Committee. The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner shall call meetings and ensure that meetings are chaired and minuted. The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner shall coordinate with union volunteers, outside allies, events, and vendors to further the goals of the Solidarity & Social Justice Committee. The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner shall attend Executive meetings and act as a liaison between the Executive and the Solidarity and Social Justice Committee in conjunction with the Organizer. The Solidarity & Social Justice Commissioner shall also act as liaison between the Solidarity & Social Justice Committee and other TSSU committees to facilitate the flow of information between committees and the General Membership.
Ex-Officio: Stipended The Ex-Officio, or advisor to the Executive, is intended to improve continuity between out- going and incoming Executives, particularly regarding reasons for previous Executive decisions. The Ex-Officio helps to ensure the non-hierarchical nature of the TSSU by maintaining an institutional memory based on lived experience. The Ex-Officio is a stipended, non-voting position to be filled by any member who served on the Executive during the previous twelve (12) months.
