27 Feb 2013
5:00 PM
Westman Area Council
Double Decker Restaurant
Meeting called by: Glen Johnston Type of meeting: Annual General Meeting
Facilitator: Note taker: Roy R Clark
Attendees: Glen Johnston, Martin Kaminski, Roy Clark, Susan Norman, Jeff Sexton, Trudy Taylor, Randy Walker and Barb Kristjansson.
Visitors: Cory Szczepanski
Regrets: Nil
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 5: 1 0 PM by Glen Johnson.
Introduction of Guest Cory Szczepanski is the President of the Southern Manitoba Area Council for the United Steel Workers and the President of the Brandon and Area Labour Council.
Guests Presentation
The Brandon and Area Labour Council meets monthly and all are invited to attend. The Council helps unions and union members with their issues. They also represent labour to the Brandon City Council, both unionized and non-unionized. They were instrumental in getting a WCB office located in Brandon. The Council would like to appeal to all locals to help bring awareness to the public on union and labour issues. Many of these issues represent the same fight for all.
March 9th there will be a Rally and Public Forum at the Ukrainian Reading Hall on Stickley from 1:30 to 3:00. During the Forum there will be a speaker from the national Canadian Labour Council.
Concerning the RAND issue there has been a lot of research and polling as well as considering some strategic wording to eliminate negative stereotypes for both union members and the general public. It is expected that the RAND formula will result in a 25% loss in union membership.
The Brandon and Area Labour Council want to encourage local advocacy between all labour organizations and unions. This will help to ensure that the same message is being presented by all parties.
Reading of Previous Minutes
The minutes of the last meeting were passed around for all to read.
Correspondence
· An e-mail chain was received regarding Bylaws that may contain wording reflecting the removal of Officers based on attendance at meetings. This is contrary to the PSAC Constitution. Our Bylaws do not contain such a clause.
NBoD
· A memorandum referring to the Action Plan "Build member support, engage members in action." This education initiative will start with regional meetings in March 2013.
· An e-mail regarding new regional banners. The Winnipeg office has two sets of banners, one for Winnipeg and one for Brandon. We will ask for it to be sent out.
· Idle No More buttons have been made up for members to wear and pass out if they are attending any events.
· An e-mail with a SurveyMonkey link. The purpose of the survey was to determine availability for the upcoming regional leadership meetings.
· An e-mail informing members of the updated NBoD Action Plan.
· Education -The new Winter/Spring 2013 schedule is now posted on the website.
· An e-mail informing members that PSAC is offering 2 Prairie Region members the opportunity to attend the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Political Action Conference in Toronto.
· An e-mail inviting young members to consider attending the "Standing for Fairness for the Next Generation Forum" which is taking place in conjunction with the Political Action Conference.
· An e-mail reminder that there will be election for the currently vacant Young Worker Rep for the Prairie Regional Council.
· The chair asked if there was any business arising from the Correspondence. Nil.
Previous Minutes
The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted as they were handed out.
President's Report
Not a lot going on locally at this time. There are however, a lot of component and PRC issues.
Treasurer's Report
As per the attachment. The Chair asked if there was any business arising from the two reports. Nil.
New Business
· Our planned guest spoke at the beginning of the meeting as he had another meeting to attend that evening.
· Reporting Template and Auditing process. Direction was received to start using the template immediately instead of discussing through the PRC and being included in any bylaws. This was discussed and the President put the matter to a vote. The Committee will not adopt this reporting model until it has been discussed and approved at the PRC.
· March 9th Rally. This was discussed earlier in the meeting by our guest. No business arose from the subject.
· Budget Report. The Treasurer presented a proposed budget for next year which was discussed. A motion was made by the Treasurer and seconded by Randy to approve the budget. The motion was carried.
Financial Statement Audit
Martin and Randy conducted an audit of the financial statement. They determined that the statement was correct. A motion was made by the Treasurer and seconded by Barb to approve the financial statement. The motion was carried.
Elections
President
· The President turned the meeting over to the Vice-President.
· The Vice-President Called for Nominations.
· Trudy nominated Glen which was seconded by Barb.
· The Vice-President Called for Nominations a second time.
· Randy nominated Susan. Susan declined the nomination
· The Vice-President Called for Nominations a third and final time.
· Glen agreed to allow his name to stand.
· As there were no other nominations Glen will remain as the President. Treasurer
· The Vice-President Called for Nominations.
· Trudy nominated Jeff which was seconded by Randy
· The Vice-President Called for Nominations a second time.
· The Vice-President Called for Nominations a third and final time.
· As there were no other nominations Jeff will remain as Treasurer.
Oath of Office
The Vice-President administered the Oath of Office to both the President and Treasurer.
Points from Around the Table There were none.
United Way Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree auction was successful and the members that participated enjoyed themselves. The auction went over budget by $50.00 in error. Three members of the Executive were present at the event and discussed the error.
Woman's Committee
The President reminded those present that the regional women's committee will need to meet four times this year as they are now established.
Adjournment
A motion to adjourn was made at 7:00 PM. The motion was carried.