Is there a President in the House?
September 29, 2011 by Dale Robinson
As previously announced in CUPEUNews and in the last edition of CUPEUNow, CUPEU’s President, Geoff Selig, will be stepping down from his post as President this year. A new President will be elected at our Annual General Assembly to be held this fall - or will they? To date, we have not had any CUPEU members come forward to express interest in this very key union role.
We need your help. We are once again asking you, our CUPEU membership, to look around you for a suitable candidate. Consider approaching a colleague, a friend or a fellow CUPEU member who you think would make a good President. What exactly makes a good President? Some qualities might include having some knowledge about Negotiations; or having the ability to understand different perspectives at the bargaining table and in other scenarios. Other desired qualities could include perseverance in following up on issues of importance to CUPEU and caring deeply for CUPEU members and that they are treated fairly. It should be remembered that the incumbent won’t be working alone. In fact the new President will have the whole Executive and Union Council to support his/her role and work. In addition, the new President will have the benefit of having access to Geoff Selig’s years of knowledge and expertise as he remains on in an auxiliary “Past President position” within the Executive.
Don’t forget, becoming a President is a position that one grows into. It doesn’t happen overnight. You will learn as you go along and will have strong support to facilitate this process. This support also includes working with one of the best CSN advisors CUPEU could hope to have; Adriana Volpato. Adriana has worked with Geoff over the course of many years and possesses an unparalled expertise and knowledge surrounding CUPEU’s history.
In the meantime, to get more information about what the President’s position entails, you can go to CUPEU’s Constitution . Here you can find a description of the CUPEU President’s duties on page 16 (Chapter 7, article 38) which you can use as a guide. You can also find a general description of Executive members and their duties on page 13 (Chapter 6).
It’s an exciting time to become a part of CUPEU’s Executive as it’s Negotiations team gear up to negotiate a new Collective Agreement with the University. If you know someone who would be an asset as part of this process and able to lead CUPEU with the help of a strong Executive and Union Council and CSN rep, please consider nominating them. Or… maybe you are considering the position yourself? If so, consider attending one of CUPEU’s upcoming Executive or Union Council meetings. This experience can help give you clarity on the President’s role.
If you’d like to attend an Executive or Union Council meeting, please advise out office manager, Laurenza by calling her at 8603 or by emailing CUPEU.
Let’s get busy. CUPEU members have stepped up on numerous occasions to fill union roles as needed. We now need to do this once more so as to have a new President to step into the role by our Annual General Assembly this coming fall!