Triennial Convention

Wednesday, May 11th to Saturday, May 14th, 2016!

Convention is a very exciting time for the union! On May 11, delegates will come together in Halifax from every corner of the province and over the next four days they will make decisions and pass resolutions that will govern the union for the next three years. They will also elect the next NSGEU Executive Committee who will help the union meet these goals and challenges.

Convention is an empowering experience for everyone involved. It is a time for hearing about our accomplishments and our challenges.  It is a time that people share stories and strategize about the future. It is a time for solidarity, sharing, and support.

Your Local at Convention

The Local is the building block of the union – its foundation. The number of delegates your Local can send to Convention is set out in the NSGEU Constitution and is calculated based on the total number of members on the membership list is 120 calendar days preceding any Convention (which is Tues. January 12). Your Local’s delegate entitlement is sent to your Local President from the Union office within two weeks of this date (by January 26). The next step is for your Local Executive to hold elections to fill the delegate positions at a special or regular meeting at least 70 days prior to Convention (prior to Wed. March 2).

Interested in Becoming a Convention Delegate?

To be eligible for nomination as a delegate or alternate to convention, a member shall have attended at least forty percent (40%) of the members Local meetings in the twelve (12) month period preceding the date of nominations. Please note that members shall be deemed to have attended the local meetings if they are unable to attend due to attending to union business or scheduled to work at the time of the Local meeting and have notified the Secretary of the Local in writing. If a Local has not elected its full complement of delegates or alternates to Convention, then a member in good standing shall be considered eligible for nomination for the remaining delegate seats or as an alternate.

Submitting Resolutions to Convention

Your local can also submit resolutions to Convention. Resolutions are very important! They are ideas that set the union’s direction in between conventions. Find out more about resolutions and how to write them – visit our on-line resolutions tutorial at /resolutionstutorial/.

NSGEU’s Executive Committee Elections

NSGEU’s Triennial Convention is where the direction and priorities of the Union for the upcoming term are established, and where leaders are elected to ensure those goals are reached.

Any NSGEU member is welcome to seek election on the Executive Committee, and giving each candidate an opportunity to participate in the campaign is critical to the Union’s strength and ongoing success.

To make sure these opportunities are open to each and every NSGEU member, there are some basic rules that govern the Executive Committee Elections:

In order to run for the Executive Committee, you must:

• First be elected as one of your Local’s convention delegates.
• Have attended at least 40% of your local meetings over the past 12 months before nominations;
• Or, over the past six years, have spent at least 12 months as a Local officer, steward, bargaining committee member, member of the Board of Directors, member of a provincial committee or regional or occupational councilor.

Once elected as a convention delegate, eligible candidates must then fill out the “Intent to Seek Nomination” form, which is available from either your Local President, the Nominations Receiving Committee, the NSGEU office, or from your Convention binder (which you will receive 10 days before convention).

Most candidates fill out this form well in advance of Convention so they have a chance to create and distribute campaign materials, but there is nothing stopping an eligible candidate from coming forward during Convention itself. The “Intent to Seek Nomination” forms must be submitted to the Nominations Receiving Committee no later than the concluding session of the second-last scheduled day of convention (which is May 13, 2016).

NSGEU Campaign Policy

NSGEU policy allows for all declared candidates to be provided with a list of names and contact information for each Convention delegate. The candidates must sign a declaration promising to use this list only for campaign purposes.

Candidates have an opportunity to have a photo and personal statement in the spring issue of the Union Stand which will be emailed out to all members.

Union staff will copy, stamp, and mail a one-page leaflet to all delegates on behalf of each declared candidate. These leaflets will be mailed out within 10 days of the candidate submitting the material for their leaflet to the Nominations Receiving Committee, c/o NSGEU head office. Candidates will also be provided with copies of this leaflet to distribute to delegates during Convention. Please note: distribution of campaign material is permitted only outside of Convention hall. Election material cannot be posted inside the hall.

Other NSGEU members are allowed to offer assistance in-kind to candidates and their campaigns, or by helping to contact delegates and distribute campaign materials at Convention.

Campaigns will be kept internal, and candidates will not seek out media as a means of communicating with members.

Other than the article in the Union Stand and the one-page leaflet, the Union (or anybody from the Union, like a Local or committee) will not offer donations, materials or assistance in-kind from outside sources also will not be allowed.

Except for copying, standing and mailing campaign material, there shall be no staff involvement in the political process. If there are any allegations of staff interference, the complaint should be made in writing to the Executive Director, who will refer them to the President for due process.

Elected members or candidates seeking election will not initiate involvement of staff in the political process. Should staff have complaints, they should make them in writing to the Executive Director, who will refer them to the President for due process.

In accordance with Article 13 – Discipline of the NSGEU Constitution, no candidate shall produce literature or make statements that will bring disrepute on the Union, other candidates or its members.

Important Dates for the Local

• Tues. January 12, 2016 – Date on which your delegate entitlement is calculated. The number of delegates each Local may elect will be communicated to each Local President within two weeks.
• Wed. March 2, 2016 – Date by which all delegates must have been elected. Locals who do not hold their elections before this date will not be eligible to send delegates to convention, as per NSGEU Constitution & Bylaws, which does not permit exceptions to this article.
• Fri. March 11, 2016 – Date by which NSGEU’s Executive Director must have received the following information from each Local’s Secretary: 1. the names of the Local’s elected delegates and alternates for convention: 2. Resolutions or constitutional amendments which were approved at a Local meeting, and certified by the Local President and Secretary.
• Mon. April 11, 2016 – Date by which all resolutions and reports which were submitted to Convention are forwarded to all delegates by NSGEU staff.
• Mon. May 9, 2016 – Date by which credential forms for each delegate have been received by the Executive Director. The credential forms are completed and submitted by the Local Secretary or Secretary-Treasurer.

Important Dates for Committees:

• Tues. Jan. 12, 2016 – Deadline for the Appointment of a Nominations Receiving Committee by the Board of Directors.
• Fri. March 11, 2016 – Deadline for committee chairs to submit any resolutions they would like to be considered at Convention to the Executive Director.
• March meeting of the Board of Directors – At this meeting, the Board will consider and vote on which committee resolutions will be addressed at Convention.
• Fri. March 18, 2016 – Deadline for all committee reports to Convention to be received by the Executive Director.
• Mon. April 11, 2016 – This is the deadline for the Resolutions Committee to submit their report to Convention.

Important Dates if you wish to run for the Provincial Executive

• Wed. March 2, 2016 – Deadline to be elected as a delegate to Convention (see above for more information).
• Fri. March 11, 2016 – Deadline for photo and personal statement of no more than 600 words which will be included in the spring 2016 issue of the Stand.
• Fri. March 18, 2016 – Date that the list of delegates to Convention will be available to candidates for campaigning purposes only.
• Fri. May 13, 2016 – Deadline to submit an “Intent to Seek Nomination” form.