Share these graphics with your co-workers, friends and family!

Facebook cover:

Social media share graphic:

In April and May, 2013, a total of 14 regional meetings were held across the country, in addition to one national telephone town hall. The meetings were attended by more than 2,300 CAW and CEP members. During the meetings, CEP Secretary-Treasurer Gaétan Ménard and CAW Secretary-Treasurer Peter Kennedy, as well as staff members from both unions, provided an update on the steps leading to the creation of a new union.

The full slide show from the joint meetings is now available here.

For the livestream url, please check back soon! If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up to have the new name and logo sent to you and other new union updates!

May 10, 2013

Progress Report on the CAW-CEP New Union Project

• New Union constitutional highlights now out
• Regional tour makes its way across Canada

Local union leaders and activists from the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union (CEP) have been gathering in regional meetings to hear details of the plan to create a new union at a founding convention in Toronto this Labour Day weekend.

The full schedule for the series of 14 regional forums is posted here. Each meeting begins with an overview of the overall project timeline, presented by Gaétan Ménard (Secretary-Treasurer of the CEP) and Peter Kennedy (Secretary-Treasurer of the CAW), including logistical details for the founding convention. Additional presentations to the regional meetings consider three aspects of the New Union project in further detail: the process for choosing a name and logo, features of the draft constitution, and the New Union’s plan to offer membership to Canadians who work outside of certified or recognized bargaining units.

The meetings have been very well-attended, with plenty of time for questions and discussion with local union leaders in each region. “These forums are an opportunity for our local leadership to learn more about the proposed structure and operation of the new union, so they can attend the founding convention with full knowledge and enthusiasm,” said Kennedy. He and Ménard co-chaired the 16-member Proposal Committee which issued a detailed report last year calling for the formation of the new union.

Delegates to each meeting have received a booklet describing the main features of the proposed constitution for the new union, including: membership conditions and dues; the structure of the New Union’s Canadian, Quebec, regional, and industrial councils; procedures for election of officers and National Executive Board members; delegate entitlements to conventions and councils; and special bodies for skilled trades members, retirees, and equity groups. This constitutional highlights brochure is also available on-line.

“Our new constitution is much more than a combination of the best features of the existing CEP and CAW constitutions,” said Ménard. “It is an innovative and principled document which lays the foundation for a fighting union that can successfully confront the challenges ahead of us.”

Detailed language in the full constitution is still being fine-tuned, including by considering input received from the regional meetings. The complete draft constitution will be posted on-line, and distributed to all locals of the two unions, by the end of June, allowing ample time for review and discussion before the founding convention.

Delegates to the regional meetings are also learning about the legal “path” by which the New Union will be formally created at the founding convention. That convention will feature multiple sessions of CAW and CEP delegates – meeting both separately and jointly. Each union will first approve the plan for forming the new union, which will then be formally established at an initial founding meeting (whose primary task will be to approve the new constitution). Then delegates from each of the CAW and the CEP will then vote to merge with the newly-established organization, which will subsequently reconvene to carry on its business (including election of officers and National Executive Board members).

Meanwhile, union staff and outside experts are engaged in a detailed process for choosing the new union’s name and logo. Focus-group testing in 8 cities, conducted with the assistance of external communications specialists, received detailed feedback (from both union members and non-members) regarding potential themes and values which could be incorporated into the New Union’s name. Designers are now developing a short-list of potential names and logos to be considered by leaders from both unions in coming weeks. Following meetings of the two unions’ National Executive Boards to approve the final name, it will be unveiled publicly for the first time on May 30.

The New Union’s founding convention will occur in Toronto, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, from Friday August 30 through Sunday September 1. Members of the new union will then march under their new banners in Labour Day parades in numerous cities and regions across Canada on September 2.

Further information regarding the New Union Project is available at www.newunionproject.ca.

Here is an overview of the New Union constitution. Please share it with other CEP and CAW members. An updated version of the new draft constitution will be sent to all CEP and CAW local unions in June.

Download this great new workplace poster and put it up on your union bulletin board, in the lunchroom and wherever possible in your workplace. It’s another way to make sure our members know they’ll be part of the new union forming this Labour Day weekend. The more posters, the merrier.

April 11, 2013

• Working Group recommendations approved by both National Executive Boards
• Schedule of regional forums announced
• Founding convention of new union set for Toronto, August 30-September 1

Work towards the formation of a new Canadian union, integrating the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union (CEP), is continuing at a busy pace.

Since the beginning of the year, six special Working Groups have been holding multiple meetings to develop a plan of action for the formation of the new union. These Working Groups have addressed several key areas: writing a constitution for the new union; developing a communications plan (including a new name); developing a strategy for new member organizing; planning for the integration of new union structures, staff, and offices; staff relations; and detailed preparations for the founding convention.

Recommendations arising from each of those Working Groups were forwarded in March to the New Union Proposal Committee. That is the body consisting of 8 senior leaders from each union, that issued the original report last summer proposing the formation of a new union (titled “Towards a New Union”). The Proposal Committee endorsed all of the Working Group recommendations (including adopting a near-complete draft of the new union’s proposed constitution), and forwarded them to the respective National Executive Boards of both unions for review and approval.

The NEB of CAW met in Port Elgin, ON, March 18-21 to review the six reports. The CAW executive unanimously endorsed the Working Group recommendations. Subsequently, the CEP NEB held two sessions (in Ottawa and Toronto) to consider the same reports. On April 9 it too voted unanimously to endorse all the Working Group recommendations.

“I am very pleased with the incredible amount of work that has been completed by the Working Groups in such a short period of time,” said Gaétan Ménard, National Secretary-Treasurer of the CEP and co-chair of the Proposal Committee. “These committees have really rolled up their sleeves. Their work is laying the foundation for a successful launch of our new organization.”

“This project is much more than a merger,” said Peter Kennedy, National Secretary-Treasurer of the CAW and the other co-chair of the Proposal Committee. “We are building a new organization, with innovative, improved practices in a number of key areas – like organizing, representation, and communications. This requires the expertise and commitment of our leaders and activists from both unions, and they are delivering.”

A series of 14 regional meetings has been organized to brief local leaders and activists from both unions on the Working Group reports and the timetable for the formation of the new union. These meetings will also include detailed presentations on the process for selecting a name for the new union; on the new union’s constitution; and on innovative strategies for broadening union membership to include Canadians working outside of traditional bargaining units.

The tour of regional meetings kicks off on April 25 in Thunder Bay. A full schedule is posted here.

The name for the new union has not yet been selected. Communications specialists from both founding unions have been working with designers and conducting focus group testing of potential names and identities. A full report on that process will be provided to the regional meetings. A final decision on the new name will be made by the NEBs of the CAW and the CEP later this spring.

The new union will hold its founding convention in Toronto, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, from Friday August 30 through Sunday September 1. Members of the new union will then be able to march under their new banners in the Labour Day parades occurring in communities across Canada on September 2.

Further reports and resources related to the New Union Project are available at www.newunionproject.ca.

Here is the list of upcoming regional joint meetings. The two unions will be reporting and getting feedback on the New Union formation progress so far – particularly the efforts of the Organizing, Communications and the Constitution Working Groups.

All local union presidents and unit chairs are being asked to attend. All CEP and CAW members are welcome to attend.

Anyone planning to participate must RSVP with their respective local union, in order to assist event organizers.

We look forward to seeing you there!

*formerly known as Travelodge Airline Hotel

Here you’ll find facebook cover pages in English and French and shareable graphics.