Unifor's fourth Constitutional Convention was held earlier this month in Toronto, Ontario -- also the first in-person event in three years. Together was the theme for the convention - a play on Unifor's founding mission statement, "to build a modern union that plays a leadership role in society so all workers in Canada have a good job, a decent standard of living, and greater equality".

Unifor 594 sent our maximum of four delegates: Nathan Kraemer, Richard Exner, Tasha Lang and Ashlyn Heintz. This year, not only were we there to vote on a wide variety of resolutions and proposed changes to the Constitution, hear Regional reports, view the 2022-2025 Action Plan and support other workers; we had the opportunity to vote for the leadership of our Union. 

All positions were up for nomination; Regional Directors, Secretary-Treasurer, and National President which had three candidates: Dave Cassidy, Lana Payne and Scott Doherty. All delegates in attendance voted on behalf of the 275,000 Unifor members across Canada. When the votes were tallied, Lana Payne was elected to head our new leadership team. They are as follows:

President: Lana Payne - Predecessor Jerry Dias.

Quebec Director: Daniel Cloutier - No election required. Predecessor Renaud Gagné, retired after 41 years.

National Secretary Treasurer: Len Poirier - Predecessor Lana Payne.

Ontario Regional Director: Re-elected Naureen Rizvi.

Western Regional Director: Re-elected Gavin McGarrigle.

Atlantic Regional Director: Jennifer Murray - Predecessor Linda MacNeil.

UNIFOR CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 2022

With a full agenda, we were unable to get to all of the proposed changes. The ones that weren't voted on will be sent to the NEB (National Executive Board) for them to vote on and report back.

The notable results to the resolutions are as follows:

• Unifor National will rejoin the Canadian Labour Congress. Failed - left in NEB hands to have meaningful conversations for the future of the relationship.
• Include an Indigenous member on the NEB to be selected by the AWOC Caucus at their regular conference. Passed
• Temporarily amend dues remittance for all locals from 54% to 52% for the 2023/24 fiscal years, and back to 54% thereafter. Passed
• Transfer $33 Million in equity in the Organizing Fund to equity in the General Fund. Passed

The notable results to the Constitutional Changes are as follows:

• That all occurences of gendered terms used to designate individuals in our constitution be replaced by a non-gendered term or expression in order to align our constitution with what is required by our union from locals and for bargaining agreements. Passed
• The elected Leadership shall be elected by all members in good standing, by secret ballot or by a secure and confidential voting system, on a one member-one vote basis. Failed
• A member who retires is entitled to "retired membership status" and does not have to pay dues. The retired member has all privileges of membership except the right to vote on contract demands, strike votes, ratifications of collective agreements and on matters pertaining to the administration of the collective agreement. In addition, a retired member can vote for, but cannot run for local union executive office and cannot run or vote in elections for workplace respresentatives. Passed
• Amend Article 6 E (2) of the Unifor Constitution (Aug 2019) Voting and Elections be changed from voting on a "Per Capita Basis" of delegates to a "One member - one vote" for all members in good standing of our great union. Failed
• Benefits payments will cease upon:
• The individual member's return to work date, or 
• The date the individual member qualifies for EI. Passed

Finally, the Action Plan for 2022-2025 involves five main points to become an even stronger union, inclusive union, responsive union and an organizing union. 

1. Expanding Collective Bargaining and Union Rights - by growing the union membership & advocating for worker-friendly labour laws.
2. Confronting the Affordability Crisis - by developing inflation-guarding bargaining strategies & improving pension literacy and retirement security.
3. Securing Fairer, Safer Workplaces -by strengthening labour and health and safety standards & advancing mental health supports.
4. Strengthening Democracy - by fighting to stop public service privatization & improving member engagement.
5. Building Solidarity - by engaging with global union partners & combatting racism and hate.

Overall, the five-day convention was very informative. We are awaiting the results from the NEB regarding the resolutions/constitutional amendments we didn't get to. The next Constitutional Convention will occur in three years. If you have any questions about the changes made, don't hesitate to ask any of the members that attended!