Constitution

Pembina Hills Local No 22

Name

1. The name of this local shall be Pembina Hills local association of The Alberta Teachers' Association.

Boundaries

2. The area served by this local association shall include Pembina Hills Regional Division

No 7 and all of the provincial regional offices of the Alberta Distance Learning Centre[FM1].

Membership

3. (1) All active members of The Alberta Teachers' Association employed within the boundaries listed in section 2 are members of this local.

(2) Associate members of The Alberta Teachers' Association such as are assigned from time to time by the Provincial Executive Council of the Association and who pay the prescribed local association fee may become members of this local association with all rights and privileges of active members.

Objects

4. The objects of this local association shall be to further the objects of The Alberta Teachers' Association as set out in section 4 of the Teaching Profession Act and ATA General Bylaws.

Fees

5. This local association shall have the power, subject to approval of the Provincial Executive Council of The Alberta Teachers' Association, to levy fees for membership in this local association such as are determined from time to time in a general meeting of the local association. Such fees shall be additional to the fees prescribed by the Annual Representative Assembly.

Rules of Procedure

6. The proceedings of all meetings—general, special, local council and executive committee—shall be regulated by the official Rules of Order and Procedure as published in the Members' Handbook.

Organization

7. The governing body of this local shall be a general meeting of its members, ten percent of whom shall constitute a quorum.

8. A general meeting of this local shall be held at least once a year to hear reports and deal with same, hold elections, approve and set policy and deal with such other matters as may arise.

Local council

9. There shall be constituted a local council of this local consisting of:

  1. all members of the executive committee,
  2. school representatives, other than executive committee members, elected in September by each staff according to the following schedule: one for each 20 teachers or major fraction thereof on the staffwith each school and ADLC regional office guaranteed a minimum of one[FM2] representative,
  3. local representatives if not members of the executive committee,
  4. a representative of the substitute teacher group,
  5. chair of standing committees if not members of the executive committee, local representatives or school representatives,
  6. convention representatives if not included in (a) to (e).

10. Members of this local other than members of the local council may attend council meetings, may speak with approval of the meeting but may not vote.

11. The duties of the local council shall be:

  1. to administer the affairs of the local association, including adoption of an audited annual financial statement and approval of an annual budget,
  2. to elect all ad hoc committees,
  3. to approve frames of reference for each of its committees,
  4. to hear reports from committees and decide on action to be taken, if any,
  5. to elect representatives to the district convention committee, the ATA Summer Conference and to other events requiring local representation on an ad hoc basis,
  6. to deal with other matters not inconsistent with this constitution or ATA General Bylaws.

12. The local council shall meet September to June.

13. A majority vote of those present shall govern the decisions of the local council unless rules and regulations otherwise decree.

14. Ten local council members are required to constitute a quorum.

Executive committee

15. The executive committee of this local shall consist of: president, past president, vice-president(s), secretary, treasurer, local communications officer[FM3] and other chairs as required.

16. It shall be the duty of the executive committee to prepare the agenda of business for all meetings, to exercise general supervision of the affairs of the local association, to prepare and transmit to head office of The Alberta Teachers' Association such reports and statements with reference to the affairs of the local association as may be required by the Provincial Executive Council of The Alberta Teachers' Association and to ensure that all Association moneys are used to further the objects of the Association as set out in the Teaching Profession Act, to ensure that there is liaison between the local and all employing boards within the local and, where time is of the essence, to assume the functions of the local council.

17. The executive committee shall meet as often as local business requires.

Notice of meetings

18. Notices of intent to hold a general, special, local council or an executive meeting shall be mailed or faxed by the secretary at least seven days before such meeting is to be held,

and such notices shall include an outline or agenda of business to be discussed at the meeting, provided, however, that any meeting may, by a twothirds vote of the total number of members on the roster, waive notice of a meeting or of any motion brought before the meeting.

19. Meetings of this local association or of any bargaining unit(s) within the local shall be called by the president or on the request of the executive committee or the local council or on the written request of ten members of the local or at the request of the representative(s) to the regional economic policy committee or the chair of the economic policy committee, as applicable, or at the request of an officer of The Alberta Teachers' Association or of the district representative of whose district this local association forms a part.

20. A record shall be kept of all those attending general, special, local council and executive committee meetings of this local.

21. An officer of The Alberta Teachers' Association or district representative of whose district this local forms a part may attend and participate in any meeting (general, council or executive) of this local association.

Duties of officers

22. (1) An ATA officer shall not vote. A district representative shall not vote except at a general meeting of a local of which the representative is a member.

(2) President: The duties of the president shall be:

  1. to call and preside at all general, local council and executive committee meetings of this local association,
  2. to exercise general supervision over the affairs of this local association,
  3. to serve as a local representative to representative assemblies.
  4. to serve as ex officio member of all standing and ad hoc committees.

(3) Vice-President(s): The duties of the vice-president(s[FM4])shall be:

  1. to take charge of the affairs of this local association in the absence of the president,
  2. to assist the president in the discharge of duties,
  3. to be a member of the teacher/board advisory committee,
  4. to act as the Local Political Engagement Officer,
  5. to act as chair of the nominations committee.

(4) Secretary: The duties of the secretary shall be:

  1. to keep accurate records of all proceedings of this local association,
  2. to bring before the executive committee of this local association all communication received by the local,
  3. to prepare and send to The Alberta Teachers' Association such statements and reports as may be required,
  4. to prepare and send notices calling all meetings, whether regular, special, local council or executive committee.

(5) Treasurer: The duties of the treasurer shall be:

  1. to prepare at the direction of the executive committee, an annual budget for the local,
  2. to keep accurate records of all moneys received and collected and to take charge of same,
  3. to prepare an annual financial statement for audit purposes,
  4. to make the necessary disbursements of the funds of this local association as authorized by the executive committee or local council.

(6) Local Representatives (ARA Representatives): The duties of each local representative of this local association shall be:

  1. to represent this local association at all representative assemblies of The Alberta Teachers' Association,
  2. to report the proceedings of all representative assemblies to the local council and to such other gatherings as may be decided,
  3. to attend meetings of the local council of this local association,
  4. to attend general meetings of this local association and to attend meetings of ARA committee including regional conferences.

(7) Local Communications Officer: The duties of the local communications officer[FM5] shall be:

a. monitor and maintain local website

b. public relations with local media, subject to the approval of local council

c. marketing/organize community events, subject to the approval of local council

d. facilitate communication between local, its members and the community.

(7)(8) School Representatives: The duty of the school representatives shall be:

  1. to attend all meetings of the local council of this local association,
  2. to represent their staff at these meetings,
  3. to report the proceedings of these meetings to their staff,
  4. to arrange for an alternate to attend and report in their absence,
  5. to assist the LCO in compiling a list of school events,
  6. to report school issues to local council.

Committees

23. (1) Economic Policy Committee (EPC): The duties of this committee shall beto gather and study data and prepare proposed amendments to the salary agreement for consideration of members of the bargaining unit(s) affected,

(2) Negotiating Subcommittee: The negotiating subcommittee shall be chosen from and by the economic policy committee. It shall be the duty of this subcommittee to engage in collective bargaining with the board of trustees.

(3) Local Communications Committee: The duty of this committee shall be to carry out a communications program with the teachers in the local and between the local and its various publics. All actions of this committee shall be subject to prior approval by the executive committee. The chair of this committee shall serve as the local communications officer[FM6].

(4)(3) Professional Development Committee: The duty of this committee shall be to assume general responsibility for all professional development activities undertaken by this local association.

(5) Joint Educational Advisory Committee of the Pembina Hills Region: This committee shall provide an advisory liaison between the local and the Pembina Hills Regional Division Board of Trustees.

(6) Policy Advisory Committee of the Pembina Hills Region: This committee shall provide advice subject to approval of the local council, to the Pembina Hills Regional Division Board of Trustees on the creation of and amendments to policy.

(4) Teacher/Board Advisory Committee[FM7]: This committee shall provide a liaison between the local and the Pembina Hills Regional Division Board of Trustees and, subject to the approval of local council, provide advice to the Pembina Hills Regional Division Board of Trustees on issues outside of the collective agreement and on the creation and amendment of policy.

(7)(5)Social Committee: This committee shall, with the approval of local council, organize social activities.

(8)(6)Annual Representative Assembly Committee: This committee shall, as needed and subject to the approval of local council, prepare resolutions for consideration at the Annual Representative Assembly. The committee shall include all local representatives and such others as appointed by local council.

(9)(7)Other committees as the local may elect from time to time.

24. Duties of Committee Chairs: It shall be the duty of the committee chair to:

  1. report to the membership and/or local council of their meeting,
  2. ensure the secretary has access to legal minutes of all committee meetings,
  3. prepare a written annual report and make it available to the membership at the annual general meeting.

Elections

25. Election of Officers

(1) The executive of this local association shall be elected annually by vote of the members of this local association no later than the last general meeting of the school year.

(2) Each bargaining unit within the local shall select an economic policy committee subject to the terms of the frame of reference of the Economic Policy Committee.

(3) All persons elected under subsection (1) shall assume office on July 1 following their election.

(4) A vacancy on the executive committee occurring between annual elections shall be filled by election of a member of this local association by the remaining members of the executive committee.

(5) Should one or more of the local representatives be unable to fulfil their term of office, or should[FM8] vacancies otherwise occur during the school year, replacements shall be elected by the local council.

Substitute teachers group

26. (1) At the request of 10 or more substitute teacher members, this local shall organize a substitute teacher group.

(2) Those eligible for participation in the group shall be members who substituted for one of the employing jurisdictions included in the local for at least one day during the previous 12-month period.

(3) An appropriate budget for the group shall be established.

(4) The frame of reference for the group shall be as follows:

  1. its objects shall be to advance the professional skills and knowledge unique to substitute teaching and to advance within the local the special interests of substitute teachers,
  2. it shall have at least one general meeting per year,
  3. it shall elect a chair, a vicechair, a secretarytreasurer, and two members-at-large to an executive which shall be responsible for organizing activities to promote the objects of the group,
  4. its executive shall present to the local an annual report of its activities and of the disbursement of its funds.

Provincial Association Intervention[FM9]

This section appears verbatim from the sample constitution.

General

27. The financial year of this local shall be July 1 to June 30.

28. (1) This local association shall reimburse members acting on its behalf for all necessary out-of-pocket expenses.

(2) This local association shall pay all expenses as determined and authorized by the local council.

29. Barring technical issues, all meetings of local council and its executive committee will be made available to members through communication technologies such as video conference and internet based networks[FM10]. Other local meetings may be made available by similar means.

29. 30. Amendments to this constitution may be made after a twomonth notice of motion by a twothirds vote at a general meeting of this local association, subject to ratification by the Provincial Executive Council of The Alberta Teachers' Association.

Ratified by Provincial Executive Council 1994 12 03
Amendments ratified by Table Officers Committee on behalf of Provincial Executive Council 1997 01 06; 2003 11 20

[FM1]Makes it clear that the Regional Offices not within the physical boundaries of PHRD are included in the local.

[FM2]This recognizes that small schools andregional offices still have the access to representation.

[FM3]Adds the LCO and makes a singular VP. Past president remains for the sake of continuity and membership on Local Council.

[FM4]Removes multiple VP’s and adds political engagement to the VP position. Question: should the VP automatically be on TBAC?

[FM5]Adds the duties of the LCO, replacing duties of a committee.

[FM6]These duties are condensed into the work of the LCO.

[FM7]The TBAC replaces the JEAC and Policy Advisory Committee. Wording here simply incorporates both roles but can be expanded as needed.

[FM8]Reflects discussion at LCM regarding openings that occur during the year such as convention representatives.

[FM9]This section is taken from the sample constitution word for word (scanned pages included) and is a safety valve for issues of incompetence or malfeasance.

[FM10]A new comment that makes distribution of local meetings a priority in the local. The “Barring technical issues” recognizes potential limitations of location or security and does not bind the local in situations when such distribution is unavailable. The final sentence implies that while there is an expectation on LCM and executive meetings, other meetings should also consider technical availability.