EPC - Economic Policy Committee                       Frame of Refererence

EPC Chair - petermackay@gpcsd.ca

 
GRANDE PRAIRIE AND DISTRICT RCSSD#28 FRAME OF REFERENCE

 

I.          Preamble

 

This committee shall be called the Grande Prairie and District RCSSD #28 Economic Policy Committee, hereafter referred to as the EPC. It shall prepare for and oversee negotiations and oversee the enforcement of the collective agreement on behalf of the teachers who are employed by the Grande Prairie and District RCSSD #28.

 

 

2.         Duties and Responsibilities

 

            The EPC shall exist for the following reasons:

 

2.1       To gather and study data for the purpose of setting objectives for collective bargaining.

 

2.2                To identify and interpret the economic and working condition needs of teachers.

 

2.3                To prepare proposed amendments to the collective agreement for consideration of the members of the bargaining unit.

 

2.4       To effect changes to the collective agreement as negotiated and ratified by the teachers.

 

2.5       To select the Negotiating Subcommittee (NSC) and establish operational guidelines for its effective operation.

 

2.6       To keep teachers of the bargaining unit informed on matters pertaining to the progress of negotiations and the specific details of the collective agreement.

 

2.7       To consult with Teacher Welfare staff officers, district representative, consultants (as assigned) and members of the bargaining unit before, during and after negotiations.

 

2.8       To identify areas of concern for teachers and to provide the necessary assistance and direction in enforcing the provisions of the collective agreement

 

2.9       To generally exercise leadership in all matters pertaining to collective bargaining,

 

2.10     To refer the dispute to a Representative of the Bargaining Agent (RBA) following appropriate consultation with the membership.

 

 

 

3.         Membership

 

The EPC shall consist of:

 

3.1       Members of the bargaining unit elected by the bargaining unit pursuant to this Frame of Reference.  They shall be the voting members of the EPC.

           

3.2       The district representative and those staff officers and consultants assigned from time to time to the EPC by The Alberta Teachers' Association. They shall be non-voting members of the EPC.

 

3.3              The president of the Local or appointee acting in an ex-officio capacity.

 

 

4.         Election of EPC

 

4.1              Members of the EPC shall be elected on the following basis:

 

4.1.1        Every school is entitled to at least one school representative.

 

4.1.2        A school that has more than ten (10) teachers shall be entitled to two school representatives, or

 

4.1.3        A school that has more than thirty (30) teachers shall be entitled to three school representatives, or

 

4.1.4        A school that has more than fifty (50) teachers shall be entitled to four school representatives.

 

4.2       Each school shall determine at the beginning of the term the number of representatives they are entitled to according to 4.1.1 to 4.1.4.  Those representatives shall be elected at that time.

 

 

5.         Executive

 

The executive officers of the EPC shall consist of the chair, vice-chair and secretary.

 

 

6.         Duties

 

6.1       The officers, elected from and by voting members of the EPC shall:

 

6.1.1    Chair--chair EPC meetings, represent the EPC in its relationship with the general membership, attend Local council meetings as required by the Local constitution and request the calling of bargaining unit meetings by the Local president.

 

6.1.2    Vice-chair--act on behalf of the chair in his/her absence.

 

6.1.3        Secretary--keep an accurate record of all EPC meetings and perform such other internal communications functions as may be assigned from time to time.

 

6.2       The elected members of the EPC shall attend all EPC meetings and such other meetings as required by the Local association for purposes of reporting and communicating.

 

6.3       Absence from three consecutive meetings without reasonable cause or consent will result in that position being declared vacant by a motion of the EPC.  The member shall be informed of the committee’s decision by the chair.

 

6.4       A chair shall act only with the consent of a majority of the committee or subcommittee.

 

 

7.         Committees

 

 

7.1       Negotiating Subcommittee (NSC)- The NSC shall consist of four voting members

elected from and by the voting members of the EPC. These members shall engage

in collective bargaining with authorized representatives of the Board. The NSC shall select, from its members, an NSC chair.

 

7.2              Grievance Committee

 

7.2.1        The Grievance Committee shall consist of two (2) voting members elected from and by members of the EPC.

 

7.2.2        The Grievance Committee shall select from among its members a Grievance Committee chair.

 

7.2.3        The duties of the Grievance Committee shall be to

 

7.2.3.1  Represent teachers on the Grievance Committee established by the collective agreement—one of these members shall be from the NSC,

 

7.2.3.2  Review applicable precedent cases,

 

7.2.3.3  Consult with Teacher Welfare staff officers regarding disposition of each grievance.

 

7.3       The EPC may appoint such other subcommittees as deemed necessary .

 

 

8.         Term of Office

 

All EPC members, officers and committees are deemed to be elected for the longer of one year or for the term necessary to plan and execute business related to the concluding of a given collective agreement.

 

 

9.         Emergency Replacements

 

Vacancies in any executive office or subcommittee shall be filled at the next properly called meeting of the EPC.

 

 

10.       Meetings of the EPC or Bargaining Unit

 

10.1     Meetings of the EPC shall be called by the chair of the EPC on the chair's initiative or at the request of:

 

10.1.1  a majority of voting members on the EPC,

 

10.1.2 a majority of the EPC executive,

 

10.1.3  the Representative of the Bargaining Agent (RBA),

 

10.1.4 the chair of the NSC,

 

10.1.5 the president of the Local, or

 

10.2     Meetings of the bargaining unit shall be called by the president of the Local on the president’s initiative or at the request of the chair of the EPC on the chair’s initiative or at the request of:

 

10.2.1    a majority of the EPC executive,

 

10.2.2    a majority of voting members on the EPC,

 

10.2.3    the chair of the NSC,

 

10.2.4    the Representative of the Bargaining Agent (RBA) or

 

10.2.5  teachers representing at least 10 percent of the membership.

 

10.3          Notice of intent to hold a meeting shall be given to members as soon as possible

 

 

11.       Quorum

 

A majority of the voting representatives on the EPC shall constitute a quorum.

 

 

12.       Rules of Procedure

 

The proceedings of all meetings shall be regulated by the official rules of procedure as published in the ATA Member’s Handbook, except that the chair shall have full rights to debate and vote as accorded to all other members.

 

 

13.       Finances

 

13.1     The EPC shall prepare and submit an annual budget to the Local

 

 

14.       Preparation Procedure

 

14.1     The EPC shall request and consider suggested amendments to the collective

agreement from the membership of the bargaining unit, members of the EPC and Barnett House.

 

14.1.1 In addition, the EPC may propose suggested amendments to the members of the bargaining unit

 

14.2     A draft initial proposal of amendments shall be prepared and submitted to the members of the bargaining unit for discussion, amendment and approval.

 

14.3     Subsequent to the procedures outlined above, the EPC shall prepare a final initial

proposal for transmission to the Board and provide members of the bargaining unit with a copy.

 

 

15.       Negotiating an Agreement

 

15.1     The NSC shall work toward a settlement utilizing the following processes:

 

15.1.1      They may sign a memorandum of agreement when, in their opinion, the conclusion of such a memorandum of agreement is warranted or

 

15.1.2      They may bring a Board offer to teachers or

 

15.1.3      They may report back to meetings of the teachers when they are of the opinion that further negotiations are not likely to be productive and may request further instructions.

 

 

16.       Ratification of the Collective Agreement

 

16.1     A collective agreement shall be ratified by a simple majority of the members of the bargaining unit present at a properly called meeting of that unit, voting in favor of acceptance of the proposed agreement by means of a secret ballot vote.

 

16.1.1    Notwithstanding 16.1, the requirement for a secret ballot vote may be waived provided no member objects.

 

16.2     Members shall register upon entry to the assembly.

 

16.3     Ratification votes shall be conducted consistent with the following agenda:

 

1.      Call to Order

q       Declaration of closed meeting of the bargaining unit

q       Introductions

q       Explanation of procedures to be used during meeting (voting and other)

 

2.  History of Negotiations

 

3.  Presentation of the Issue (eg, board offer, memorandum, etc.)

 

4.      Question Period for Clarification

q       No debate

 

5.      Explanation of Future Procedures (if applicable—eg. A request for a

      Representative of the Bargaining Agent)

 

6.      Motion on the Issue (eg, Motion to accept the Memorandum of Agreement—

print motion on agenda)

 

7.  Recommendations to Membership (from EPC, NSC, etc)

 

8.  Debate on Motion

 

9.      Vote by secret ballot (the ballots and ballot boxes are made available at this

      point and only one ballot shall be accepted from each voter)

 

10.  Other Business (if votes on other issues are required, the procedures used

 shall be in accordance with items 3 to 9 above).

 

16.4     Except where time is of the essence the text of proposed amendments to the

collective agreement shall be made available in writing to the members of the bargaining unit prior to the meeting.

 

 

17.       Amendments to this Frame of Reference

 

Subject to ratification by the Provincial Executive Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, this Frame of Reference may be amended in accordance with the following procedures:

 

17.1          Amendments may be initiated by the applicable EPC.  Such amendments require:

 

17.1.1    That notice of motion of intent to amend be given at a preceding EPC meeting,

 

17.1.2    Approval by a majority of the EPC members,

 

17.1.3    Consultation with the Local Council,

 

17.1.4    Approval by a majority of members present at a properly called meeting of the bargaining unit.

 

17.2          Amendments may be initiated by the Local Council.  Such amendments require:

 

17.2.1    That notice of motion of intent to amend be given at a preceding meeting of Local Council,

 

17.2.2    Consultation with the applicable EPC prior to a vote being taken,

 

17.2.3    Approval by a majority of the members present at a properly called meeting of the bargaining unit.

 

 

18.       Effective Period

 

This Frame of Reference shall be in place for as long as bargaining is conducted at the local level. Upon appointment of a Representative of the Bargaining Agent (RBA), it shall be superseded to the extent required by the guidelines established by Provincial Executive Council for bargaining at the RBA level which stipulate the RBA is to assume control of all procedures in consultation with the officials of the bargaining unit.