Ontario Public Service Employees Union Constitution 2016

Preamble

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union was founded in 1911 under the name “Civil Service Association of Ontario.” The Association was incorporated under the Corporations Act of Ontario in 1927. As the need for a trade union approach to be applied to relations between public employees on one hand and their employers and managers on the other hand has been increasingly accepted by employees, public, and government, and as the Members and Officers of the Civil Service Association of Ontario, Inc. were and are desirous of re-dedicating and re-structuring their organization to parallel more closely the aims and forms of other Canadian employee organizations, the said Members and Officers adopted the present name of the Union in 1975, in accordance with, and to be governed by, the provisions that follow in this Constitution.

Article 1 Name

1.1 The Union shall be known in the English language as the “Ontario Public Service Employees Union” and in the French language as the “Syndicat des employées et employés de la fonction publique de l’Ontario.”

Article 2 Interpretation and Abbreviations

2.1 “Union” means Ontario Public Service Employees Union and not a subsidiary body.

2.2 “Subsidiary body” means every internal organizational structure or body established in this Constitution other than the Convention and its Committees, the Executive Board and its Committees, and the Executive Committee.

2.3 “Board” means the Executive Board.

2.4 “Committee” means the Executive Committee.

2.5 “Office” refers to elected office at the provincial, Regional, Divisional or Local level, but a delegate to a Convention shall not be considered to hold office by reason only of his/her delegate status.

2.6 “President” means President of the Union and not of any subsidiary body in the Union except as used in Article 29.

2.7 As long as the Union remains incorporated under The Corporations Act of Ontario, this Constitution shall be understood to be the “Bylaws” of the Corporation, “Convention” shall be understood to mean “General Meeting,” “Board” shall be understood to mean “Board of Directors,” and other terms found in this Constitution shall be understood to bear comparable meanings attributed to such terms.

2.8 “LEC” means Local Executive Committee.

Article 3 Headquarters

3.1 The Headquarters of the Union shall be located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Article 4 Aims and Purposes

4.1 The aims and purposes of the Union shall be:

To regulate labour relations between the Members and their employers and managers, said labour relations to include the scope of negotiation, collective bargaining, the enforcement of collective agreements and health and safety standards, and the safeguarding of human rights;
To organize, sign to membership, and represent employees in Ontario;
To advance the common interests, economic, social and political, of the Members and of all public employees, wherever possible, by all appropriate means;
To bring about improvements in the wages and working conditions of the membership, including the right of equal pay for work of equal value;
To work for and defend members to ensure that our workplaces are safe and free from harassment and discrimination;
To promote and defend the right to strike;
To promote full employment and an equitable distribution of wealth within Canadian and international society;
To co-operate with labour unions and other organizations with similar objectives in strengthening the Canadian labour union movement as a means towards advancing the interests and improving the well-being of workers generally in Canada and internationally;
To promote justice, equality, and efficiency in services to the public;
To strengthen, by precept and example, democratic principles and practices both in the Canadian labour union movement and in all manner of institutions, organizations, and government in Canada and internationally.

Article 5 Jurisdiction

5.1 Employees of the Government of the Province of Ontario, or employees of a Board, Commission, or other emanation of the Crown in Right of Ontario or within the provisions of the Public Service Act (Ontario), or employees of municipalities, municipal boards and commissions, school boards, public utilities, and social and welfare agencies, or any employees deemed by the Union to be engaged in service to the public, or any employees in groups recognized or which may be recognized as an appropriate unit for collective bargaining purposes under existing labour legislation shall be eligible for membership in the Union.

Article 6 Membership

6.1 An employee gainfully employed in the jurisdiction defined in Article 5 becomes a Member of the Union by:

Signing and submitting to the Union a membership application form prescribed by the Union; and
Paying any initiation or membership fee prescribed by Ontario law.

6.2 A person becomes a Member of the Union if s/he is a Member in good standing of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union at the time this Constitution comes into force or if s/he is a Member in good standing of a recognized bargaining unit which, by majority vote of its Members, merges with the Union in accordance with the procedures established in Article 9 of this Constitution.

6.3 A Member shall remain in good standing provided s/he is:

Not more than three months in arrears in payment of dues;
Gainfully employed in a bargaining unit for which the Union holds or seeks recognized bargaining rights;
Not penalized by suspension or expulsion following conviction under Article 30 of the Constitution; and
Not penalized by suspension or expulsion following conviction of a breach of OPSEU’s harassment and discrimination or personal harassment policy, provided that in accordance with any applicable laws, no such penalty shall require the employer to discharge such Member from employment.
Not penalized by suspension under Art. 16.10 of the Constitution.
Not penalized by failure to step down from an acting management or acting excluded management position under Article 6.8.2.

However, failure to meet the requirements of (a) or (b) above shall not disqualify Members who are absent from their regular place of employment on leave of absence, paid or unpaid

“Leave of absence” shall include sabbatical leave, long-term disability, maternity leave, parental leave, workers’ compensation, and any other form of extended leave of absence while remaining in the employ of the employer. Members on long-term disability, and members on workers’ compensation who do not meet the requirements of (a), may seek and hold office in the Union or any of its subsidiary bodies, and may be delegates to Union meetings, provided they pay uniform monthly dues, not to exceed $5.00, to be set by the Executive Board, and are both able and available to carry out their duties. Members on other leaves of absence may seek and hold office in the Union or any of its subsidiary bodies, and may be delegates to Union meetings, provided they pay full Union dues and are both able and available to carry out their duties. Any dispute as to ability or availability shall be decided by the President, with right of appeal to the Executive Board.

6.4 Notwithstanding the provisions of any other article of this Constitution, a Member subject to regular seasonal and/or short-term lay-offs may remain in good standing for up to one year while laid off without payment of dues, but a Member subject to permanent or indefinite lay-off shall not be eligible for continuing membership for any period of the lay-off.

6.5 Notwithstanding the provision of Articles 6.3(b) and 6.4, a Member dismissed or improperly laid off by his/her employer shall, if a grievance is submitted on the dismissal or lay-off, remain a Member in good standing until the grievance is settled, provided that if the Member wishes to seek or hold office in the Union, s/he must pay a uniform monthly amount of Union dues, not to exceed $5, to be set by the Executive Board.

6.6 Notwithstanding the provision of Article 6.3(b), upon payment of full Union dues a Member shall remain in good standing while:

holding elected political office in any government, municipality, municipal board or commission, school board, public utility, social or welfare agency; or
holding appointed office on any board or commission, etc., as a representative of labour; or
holding elected or appointed office in any labour organization to which the Union is affiliated.

6.7 A person who ceases to be a Member by reason only of non-payment of dues shall be reinstated upon submission to the Union of a new membership application accompanied by all arrears in dues.

6.8 A Shop Steward, Unit Steward, local officer, trustee, delegate, team or committee member who is temporarily assigned (seconded) by the employer from his/her normal workplace to another workplace within the bargaining unit, and who retains the right to return to his/her normal workplace, shall be entitled to continue to hold or seek re-election to the Union office or function in his/her normal workplace during the term of such assignment (secondment), provided s/he is willing, able and available to carry out the duties of the Union office or function. Any dispute as to ability or availability shall be decided by the President, with right of appeal to the Executive Board. While occupying such Union office or function, the member shall be ineligible to seek or hold any Union office or function in the other workplace.

6.8.1 A shop Steward, Unit Steward, local officer, trustee, delegate, team or committee member who volunteers and is assigned or seconded by the employer from his/her normal workplace to a position outside any OPSEU bargaining unit shall not be entitled to continue to carry out the duties or functions of his/her office during the period of assignment or secondment. The Member shall be entitled to retain all other rights as a Member in Good Standing.

6.8.2 Any member who is in a temporary management or temporary excluded management position shall return to their home position when required, under authority of the President, to do so. If they fail to step down, they shall be ineligible to seek or hold any Union office or function.

Honorary Members

6.9 Honorary membership in the Union may be granted to retiring Members who have been active in unions or to persons outside the Union who have rendered distinguished service to the trade union movement. The Executive Board shall be responsible for establishing criteria for the granting of Honorary Membership and these shall be circulated to all Locals. The President shall have sole authority to issue Honorary Memberships but may do so only on the recommendation of a Local or the Executive Board.

6.10 Honorary Members shall not be required to pay dues or assessments and shall not be regarded as Members in good standing. In the case of those who had been Members of the Union, they shall have the right to attend meetings of their former Locals with voice but no vote.

Retired Members

6.11 A Member in good standing (as defined in Article 6.3), or an employee of the Union, who ceases to be employed in an OPSEU bargaining unit and leaves the work force by retiring directly to a pension (including a disability pension) earned in his/her workplace, or retiring from a bargaining unit with no pension plan, is entitled to become and remain a Retired Member on payment of dues of $10.00, provided that the Member or employee is not in the employ of the Union. Retired Members will remain on the Union’s mailing lists for whatever publications they wish to receive. A Retired Member shall have the right to participate, with voice but no vote, in the activities of the Local to which s/he belonged at the time of retirement, or of a more readily accessible Local upon consent of that Local. However, such participation shall not add to the Local’s entitlement to dues rebates or delegates.

Irregular Employment Status Members

6.12.1 Members who have an irregular attachment to the work force shall be designated as “Irregular Employment Status Members.” An irregular attachment to the work force is an employer/employee relationship in which a Member works no pre-established amount of time during a pay period.

6.12.2 For purposes of computing a Local’s entitlement to rebates or to delegates, the Executive Board may adopt a “reduction formula” if that Local has as Members persons designated as “Irregular Employment Status Members.”

6.12.3 Notwithstanding Article 29.8, the reduction formula shall also determine the quorum for Local membership meetings.

Article 7 Membership Rights

7.1 Every Member in good standing is entitled:

To be represented by the Union;
To be treated with dignity and respect within the Union;
To be free from discrimination, interference, restriction, coercion, harassment, intimidation or disciplinary action exercised or practised by a Member with respect to another Member, both within the Union and in the workplace, by reason of race, colour, age, national or ethnic origin, political or religious affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, record of offences, physical characteristics or physical or mental disability;
Subject to any qualifications stipulated elsewhere in this Constitution, to be nominated for, and hold, one or more offices in the Union;
To participate in the Union’s business at the Local level, participate in the election of delegates and alternate delegates to Conventions, and vote on the ratification of collective agreements affecting such Member, except where the collective agreement is the result of binding arbitration;
To make a formal presentation to the Board upon receipt of such presentation in writing at Headquarters not less than ten (10) calendar days before the date of the regularly scheduled Board Meeting at which the presentation is to be made, provided always that notice may be waived by majority vote of the Board;
To attend any meeting of the Board, notwithstanding that s/he may not have a vote at such meeting, except that the Board may meet in closed session for purposes of discussing individual or staff contracts of employment;
To receive a copy of the Constitution of the Union and to be advised of amendments to it, and to receive an up-to-date copy whenever the Constitution is compiled and reprinted.

7.2.1 Only Members in good standing may hold office.

7.2.2 A member may be removed from office and/or barred from running for office for a specified term by a two-thirds majority vote of the Executive Board after a finding of a breach of OPSEU’s harassment and discrimination or personal harassment policy.

7.2.3 A member will be removed from office and will be barred from running for office if they refuse to return to their OPSEU bargaining unit position from an acting management or excluded management position when required, under authority of the President, to do so.

7.3 Proxy voting is not permitted at any level of the Union.

Article 8 Stewards' Responsibilities and Rights

8.1 Each Union Steward shall be responsible for representation of members in a working area, including the responsibility:

to distribute information to the group;
to carry the group’s issues to the LEC/unit committee;
to communicate LEC/unit committee decisions to the group;
to enlist support of members of the group in workplace actions and union campaigns; and
to prepare and investigate grievances from the group.

8.2 To carry out these responsibilities, Stewards shall have:

the right of access to LEC/unit committee meetings;
the right to be informed of the status and disposition of grievances from the group; and
the right to high quality education and training necessary to effectively exercise all their responsibilities.

Article 9 Mergers and Transfers

9.1 Where a group of employees in a recognized bargaining unit are or have been members of another bona fide trade union but wish to join the Union, for the purposes of this Constitution the minimum proof for the said wish shall be a majority vote of members voting on an appropriate and specific resolution either in a referendum or at one or more general membership meetings for which reasonable notice has been given. Following submission of the minimum proof, the Executive Board shall have the authority to grant membership in the Union on the adoption by a two-thirds vote of an appropriate and specific motion.

9.2 In any case where a group of employees merging with the Union in accordance with Article 9.1 is expected to form an integral part of an existing Local or other subsidiary body in the Union, the membership of the said Local or other body must approve the merger by a two-thirds vote in a referendum or at one or more general membership meetings for which reasonable notice has been given.

9.3 Where two or more existing Locals of the Union wish to merge, transfer, or exchange all or parts of their jurisdictions, or an existing Local wishes to divide itself into two or more Locals, the governing principle shall be that all affected parties, whether total Local membership and/or portions thereof, shall approve of any such proposed mergers, transfers, or exchanges by two-thirds majority votes in the manner described in Article 9.2, and subject to Board approval.

Article 10 Affiliations

10.1 Affiliation of the Union, as a whole, to any labour, fraternal, service or other organization may be decided only by a Convention. Any and all fees and dues payable directly as a result of any affiliation so decided shall be the responsibility of the Union.

10.2 A Local may affiliate to any local or district labour, fraternal, service or other organization established under the aegis of any parent organization to which the Union is affiliated pursuant to Article 10.1. The Union’s Head Office shall reimburse no less than ninety (90) per cent of the cost of local or district labour council affiliation by any Local requesting such affiliation. However, a Local shall bear full financial responsibility for the cost of any other affiliation authorized by this Article. Where a Local is not able to afford this responsibility, the Board will authorize payment by Head Office.

10.3 A Local may not affiliate or contribute to any organization, other than as provided for in Article 10.2, without obtaining the prior authorization of the Board.

Article 11 Structure

11.1.1 The Members of the Union shall be grouped by occupation or bargaining unit, or geographical location, or a combination of these criteria, into Local Occupational Groups, Units or Locals. Groups of Locals may form Area Councils and Occupational Divisions for the purpose of pursuing particular goals common to some Locals or parts of some Locals, but the Councils and Occupational Divisions will not have a legislative function in terms of this Constitution and will not necessarily be related to the administrative structure of the employer.

11.1.2 Locals shall be entitled to elect delegates to Conventions and the delegates in Convention shall be the supreme authority in the Union except where this Constitution requires decisions by referendum of, or ratification by, the general membership.

11.1.3 Locals shall be grouped into seven Regions and each Region shall elect three persons to the Executive Board. The Board shall be the supreme authority in the Union when Conventions are not in session except where this Constitution requires decisions by referendum of, or ratification by, the general membership, and shall be comprised of Officers and Members.

11.1.4 The Officers shall constitute the Executive Committee.

11.1.5 From among the Members of the Board elected by and in the Regions, the delegates in Convention shall elect a President, who shall be Chairperson of the Board and of the Committee, and a First Vice-President/Treasurer, both of whom shall be full-time paid Officers of the Union.

Article 12 Locals of the Union

12.1.1 All Members of the Union shall be organized into Units and no Member may be a member of more than one Unit, except where the Member is employed in more than one bargaining unit by a different employer.

12.1.2 “Unit,” as used here and in Article 29, means a group of Members from a single ministry, department, institution or agency of the Government of Ontario or from any other single employer. A Unit groups Members for purposes of electing Local Officers and Stewards and for conducting negotiations on a ministry level and on fringe benefits and working conditions on a province-wide level.

12.1.3 Units shall be organized into Locals.

12.2.1 The purpose of establishing Locals of the Union is to encourage participation of all Members in their Union. Locals will therefore have autonomy to the extent that their powers are not otherwise circumscribed by this Constitution or by Ontario statutes. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Locals may negotiate local collective agreements, process grievances, establish joint labour-management committees on local working conditions, exercise control over expenditure of their revenues, join local labour councils and other organizations, engage in social and community activities, elect delegates to Convention and schools of the Union and central labour organizations to which the Union as a whole is affiliated, and participate in policy formation in the Union and in collective bargaining beyond the Local level.

12.2.2 Units and Locals shall be formed on the basis of geographical propinquity of membership in accordance with guidelines established by the Executive Board. Where possible in a given area, other common elements, such as occupation or management, which bind the Members shall also be used as bases to establish Locals.

12.2.3 Locals may be formed of Members who work under more than one collective agreement.

12.2.4 In the case of Members who are Crown employees Locals shall be defined and established as follows:

Single-Unit Local is a group of Members from one ministry, department, institution or agency of the Government of Ontario or Crown in Right of Ontario who work at the same place or in close proximity to one another;
Multi-Unit Local is a group of Members from one ministry, department, institution or agency of the Government of Ontario who work at two or more locations within a given geographical area but who have separate relations with management based on the different locations;
Composite Local is a group of Members from two or more ministries, departments, institutions or agencies of the Government of Ontario within a given geographical area;
A Local may have Units in not more than two different Regions and any such Local shall decide in which of the two Regions the Local as a whole shall function.

12.2.5 In the case of Members who are not Crown employees, a Local will normally consist of a group of Members recognized as a bargaining unit under the Ontario Labour Relations Act or the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act and may be referred to as a Single‑Unit Local. Nothing shall prevent the merger of such a Local with another such Local or a Local of Crown employees to form what may be termed a Composite Local.

12.3.1 Locals of the Union in existence at the time this Constitution comes into effect shall be recognized as Locals under this Article and shall be issued charters. All Locals, whether existing or new, once established, may be re-organized only in accordance with Article 9.

12.4.1 Locals shall be chartered by the Union in accordance with the principles set out in this Article. Charters shall define the Locals and be signed by the President and First Vice-President/Treasurer on behalf of the Union and shall constitute recognition of the Locals for all purposes of this Constitution.

12.4.2 Only the delegates in a Convention may revoke or suspend a charter. Suspension or revocation of a charter does not deprive individual Members of their rights under this Constitution but does deprive the Members of such collective rights as electing delegates, forming executive committees, and participating in Area Councils.

12.4.3 Nothing in this Article shall stand in the way of a Local voluntarily surrendering its charter, pursuant to a two-thirds vote of its members, for purposes of amalgamation, transfer, or other form of re-organization.

12.4.4 In the event of suspension or revocation of a charter, the Members affected shall, within 2 months, be reorganized by the Executive Board, after consultation with the Members affected, into a new or existing Local and the appropriate charter shall be issued forthwith.

12.5.1 A Local may adopt Local bylaws. If a Local fails to adopt its own set of Local bylaws then Article 29 of this Constitution shall have full force and effect as if it had been adopted by the Local’s membership as its own set of bylaws. Any bylaws adopted by a Local, and any subsequent changes to them, must not be in conflict with this Constitution and must be adopted by at least two-thirds of the Members voting at a regular or special general membership meeting of the Local for which reasonable notice has been given to all Members of the intention to deal with the Local’s bylaws.

12.5.2 No supplemental bylaws or changes to them shall take effect until they have been approved by the President, which approval shall not be unduly delayed or unreasonably withheld. If the President’s approval is refused, or if it is withheld for more than 45 days, the Local shall have the right to have the matter reviewed by the Board and the Board shall have the right to order the President to approve the bylaw(s) in question.

12.6.1 Establishment of Regions

For the purposes of administration and election, Locals shall be organized into Regions. Regions will be based on geographical boundaries and/or population.

12.6.2 Establishment of Units, Locals and Regions

The Board shall establish Units, charter Locals and define Regional boundaries within the Union’s jurisdiction.

12.7 Where the numbers justify, or upon the request of a local, French language services shall be provided and a local shall be serviced in French.

Article 13 Conventions

13.1 The regular Convention shall be held annually in Ontario at a time and place to be determined by the Executive Board.

13.2.1 At least 90 days prior to the opening of a regular Convention the President shall issue a Convention call in both official languages to all bodies entitled to send delegates giving the planned time for convocation, expected duration of the Convention, and a general statement of the business to be transacted. The call shall also state how many delegates each body is entitled to send and shall be accompanied by the appropriate number of delegates’ credential forms, in duplicate. The forms must be completed and attested to by two officers of the organization sending delegates. The originals should be retained by the delegates, who will present them at the time of registration immediately before and during a Convention, and the duplicate must be forwarded so as to reach the Union’s Headquarters not later than 30 days prior to the opening of the Convention.

13.2.2 Not less than 15 days prior to the opening of the Convention, the Board shall forward to all registered delegates a copy of all resolutions and constitutional amendments submitted up to that date, as well as the material referred to in Articles 16.13.4 and 16.17.

13.3 For purposes of calculating delegate entitlement, only Members in good standing shall be counted. Honorary Members and employees paying dues, but not having joined the Union, shall not be counted. All calculations shall be based on membership records at Union Headquarters as of the last day of the month prior to the issuance of the Convention call. However, if a discrepancy arises between Headquarters and Local records which would affect the delegate entitlement of a Local, upon providing sufficient proof a Local shall be entitled to any extra delegate to which its Local records may entitle it.

13.3.1 Notwithstanding Articles 13.2.1 and 13.3, new units certified by a labour relations board after the last day of the month prior to the issuance of the Convention call, shall be entitled to send delegates to the Convention provided they have been allocated to a Union Local and have elected their Local officers no later than two weeks prior to the Convention. Calculation of delegate entitlement shall be based on membership records at Union Headquarters as of the date of certification.

13.4 Delegate entitlement to Conventions shall be as follows:

Locals: Up to 150 Members – 1 delegate
151 to 300 Members – 2 delegates
301 to 500 Members – 3 delegates
501 to 800 Members – 4 delegates
801 to 1100 Members – 5 delegates
1101 to 1500 Members – 6 delegates
1501 to 1900 Members – 7 delegates
1901 to 2300 Members – 8 delegates
2301 or more Members – 9 delegates
Each Member of the Executive Board shall be entitled to be a delegate of his/her Region.
Each Member of a Convention Committee as stipulated under Article 13.9.1 shall be entitled to be a delegate of his/her Region.
The Members of the Executive Committee of the Retired M