JJ Dining Room, VCC, located at 250 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C.
Vancouver Branch Current Executive:
Karen Hall (fall 2016) President (Present)
Dan Thibault (fall 2015) Vice - President (Present)
Behzad Mehrabadi (fall 2015) Secretary (Absent)
Tim Powers (fall 2016) Treasurer (Present)
Karim Chaggani (fall 2015) Member-at-Large (Absent)
Daryl Wong (fall 2015) Member-at-Large (Absent)
Sid Ansari (fall 2015) Member-at-Large (Present)
Biren Juttun (fall 2014) Member-at-Large (Present)
Kathy Kerr (fall 2016) Member-at-Large (Present)
Terry Peters (fall 2016) Member-at-Large (Present)
Parliamentarian:
Dan Jones
Guests:
Rob MacDonald – PIPSC BC/Yukon Regional Director
Jamey Mills – PSAC Vancouver Area Council President
Garth Mullins – CAPE Regional Representative
Mohan Grewal – Vancouver CRA Branch Vice President
1. Welcome and Call to order - D. Thibault: (5:25 PM)
The Vice President welcomed attendees and introduced the guests as well as the election committee and its members. It should be noted that the event was well attended. Reminded attendees about Survey on tables, Elections for Branch Positions and Raffle Draws
2. Approval of the Agenda – D Thibault
Copies of the agenda, and minutes of last year's AGM were distributed. The attendees were asked if they wished to make any changes to the agenda. A motion to accept the agenda was presented.
m/s by K Kerr /S Ansari, Carried.
3. Adoption of 2014 AGM Minutes
No additions/corrections/deletions was made to the minutes. A motion to accept the 2014 minutes made,
4. Business Arising
No business arising from approved minutes.
5. Key Note Speaker Rob MacDonald – BC/Yukon Regional Director
Highlighted that it had been a busy year but we need to keep moving forward together as we are still in bargaining and there is still a need to engage our members. We need to learn from what we have done and to keep it going.
6. 2014 Financial Report and 2015 Budget T Powers - Treasurer
2015 Financial Report and 2016 Budget distributed and overview provided. T. Powers explained how funds were used and planned to be used. A motion to accept 2015 financial Report and 2016 budget was carried.
M/S K Kerr / S Cowell, Carried.
7. Vancouver Branch President’s Report: K Hall
K Hall focused on the successful year engagement outlining the Branch achievements in partnering with the Vancouver area Sub Groups, the Vancouver CRA Branch and our Sister Unions CAPE and PSAC. Thanked members for supporting last years budget to make this happen and shared the Branch goals to work at better engaging our Separate Employers and members in communities outside of downtown Vancouver. She encouraged members and stewards to focus on events at their work sites and that we are their to support. Acknowledgement was given to our Sub Group Presidents that were present along with the Vancouver CRA Branch. Presentation and thanks were given to PSAC and CAPE representatives. Report attached
PSAC and CAPE representatives each said a few words to highlight the partnership from their perspective
m/s D. Thibault /S Cowell, Carried.
8. Election of Vancouver Branch Executive
K Kerr, Chair of Elections Committee explained that there were 5 positions up for election in 2015. The committee received 5 written nominations for the branch executive; Sid Ansari; Jean Laberge; Behzad Mehrabadi, Daniel Thibault along with one submission that was later withdrawn. During the Branch AGM, there were three calls for nominations. There was one nomination (Daryl Wong) from the floor. All five nominations were accepted by acclamation.
The following is the new Vancouver Branch Executive and their terms:
- Kathy Kerr (Fall 2016)
- Terry Peters (Fall 2016)
- Geoff Kendell (Fall 2016)
- Behzad Mehrabadi (Fall 2017)
- Tim Powers (Fall 2016)
- Sid Ansari (Fall 2017)
- Daryl Wong (Fall 2017)
- Karen Hall (Fall 2016)
- Daniel Thibault (Fall 2017)
- Jean Laberge (Fall 2017
DINNER
9. Prizes:
Door prizes were distributed by Vancouver Branch Treasurer, T Powers. During the AGM, D. Thibault distributed the prizes to attendees by random draws.
10. Adjournment: 7:45 pm.
M/S K Hall / M Lee moved to adjourn. Carried.
Vancouver Branch AGM – December 3, 2015
President’s Report
Brothers and Sisters,
I want to thank you for coming out tonight to participate in this AGM.
Last year at our AGM, our Executive presented you a budget at that deviated from the norm of previous years. They presented a budget that opened up opportunity, within our mandate, to demonstrate our commitment to Better Together. And you approved. I am thankful for their vision and your continued support.
I became President earlier this year and came to the Executive with 3 goals in how I would like to structure our commitment to Better Together.
Mobilization /Member Engagement
In our Branch we represent around 1400 members located in 21 communities in over 50 different buildings. To engage members and mobilize in a meaningful way has just a few challenges. But we knew that we could work with the momentum of bargaining and the federal election to do a better job.
Member Engagement
- We supported rallies on the 19th (between 250 and 400 at each rally!)
- Created a community of our Sub Group Presidents and the Vancouver CRA Branch. We brainstormed and worked together to support common events
- International Women’s Day in individual branches
- Supported Lunch and Learns and an evening event with our President in October
- Movie event in October combined with an election talk (Saturday morning to see The Martian – around 140 members)
- Plantgating (leafleting) at work sites and election signs (with union partners)
- Increased messaging via emails and social media
- Created a table outlining funding sources available to our members
Community Engagement
- May Day – small group with banner and flags – had some media attention
- Pride Parade – Marched and Danced in Parade!
- SunFest – Table in Conservative Riding – Super successful – ran out of Scientific Integrity info
- Labour Day – first event with our new tent!
Strengthening Union Relationships
- I started the year meeting with the PSAC Vancouver Area Regional Council in January to see what opportunities exist for our unions to work together.
- We brought CAPE into the fold
- It was agreed that we will continue to encourage PIPSC and PSAC locals in our respective government buildings to hold on-site events. We are hoping that collectively our members become more comfortable in union settings, which are supported by management, so that when we do need to mobilize and engage for larger needs, they will be ready to engage with faces they recognize.
I also want to recognize and support the work of our Sub Groups who were active with lunch and learns, movie events and events like hosting a coffee truck a individual work sites. As a Branch we tried our best to support these sub group events through messaging out to members.
Looking forward with the budget that you have approved tonight, we will continue on this engaged path with the following in mind:
- We will work to better engage and be more inclusive with our Separate Employer members such as the First Nation Health Authority and Destination Canada
- Continue to strengthen the relationship with our union partners and team up on events when it makes sense
- Working more effectively to engage more members
- Hosting more events outside of Vancouver
- Supporting our members and stewards to hold more events that are work site based
- Supporting our Steward Network in the Vancouver Branch
Thank you to everyone for making this previous year such a success in engagement. We look forward to 2016 and seeing what more we can accomplish when we are Better Together.
In Solidarity,
Karen Hall
Vancouver Branch President