What the Union is
Members are the source of democratic authority. Locals, Convention, the Regional Presidium, independent bodies and elected officers exercise only the authority that the Constitution gives them.
CONSTITUTION — THE MECHANISM
Not a dictionary.
A working system.
The Platform gives the short answer. Here is the next layer: who has authority, how it is used, where it stops, and what happens when another part of the system is involved.
PLATFORMCONSTITUTIONDEEPER SOURCE
01 · THE RULES
Constitutional renewal
A Constitution should let an ordinary member understand the structure without needing an interpreter.
Who exercises authority
The Constitution names each office or body, its powers, its limits and the decisions it may — or may not — make alone.
No hidden procedure
A usable rule answers the practical questions: who decides, by what majority, by when, who must be notified, when the decision takes effect and how it can be challenged.
Do not make members hunt
When one rule depends on another body or procedure, the reference should explain the connection in place. The contextual links on this page do exactly that: they open a short explanation first, and only then offer the relevant section.
02 · MEMBERS
You are the source of the authority
Membership is not the audience around the institution. It is where the institution gets its democratic authority.
Power starts with members
Leadership does not give members power. Members delegate defined authority upward so institutions can act collectively on their behalf.
Not a subscription
Dues fund the organization. They do not replace voting, participation, scrutiny or collective action.
The institution has a duty too
Member participation has to be real. Rules, records, meetings and decision paths must be accessible enough for members to use the authority they hold.
03 · CLOSE TO THE WORKPLACE
The Local
The Local is where members meet, decide and organize. Officers carry out its authority; they do not own it.
The Local decides
The Local is a collegial body. A Chairperson presides and performs defined functions, but a personal decision cannot replace a decision that belongs to the Local.
Officers have defined powers
Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Financial Officer and other officers act only within powers assigned by the Constitution or a valid Local decision.
Organizing before the problem
A strong Local does more than process problems after they happen. It builds participation, workplace organization and bargaining strength before the next agreement.
Collective action is local
Communication, participation, picketing, logistics and member support happen where members actually work.
Local elections
Members renew Local leadership every two years. The new Local representation then feeds into formation of the Regional Presidium.
04 · CAPACITY
Knowledge must be ordinary
Members cannot use a system they cannot understand.
Know the system you own
Members should be able to understand the Constitution, the Local, workplace rights, bargaining and the route from a workplace issue to a provincial decision.
Train before the crisis
Stewards and Local officers need practical training for representation, meetings, records, bargaining and collective action before the problem arrives.
Open access to knowledge
Materials should be plain, searchable and available without needing permission from staff or leadership.
05 · LOCALS TOGETHER
Regional Presidium
Not another layer above Locals. A place where Locals act together without surrendering their own authority.
Two representatives from every Local
Each Local sends two representatives. The equal base representation prevents the largest Local from simply erasing smaller ones by size.
Formed after Local elections
A new Regional Presidium is formed within three months after Local elections.
It forms independent institutions
The Presidium forms the Convention Council and other independent bodies required by the Constitution. It also approves the provincial budget proposed through the Financial Officer.
Accountable, not subordinate
An independent body can report to the Presidium without taking orders from it on individual decisions. Reporting and control are not the same thing.
06 · BETWEEN CONVENTIONS
Provincial Executive
Convention sets the direction. The PE carries it between Conventions, within the Constitution and the mandate it received.
Four-year mandate
The Provincial Executive is elected for four years. Regular Convention is held every four years.
Some decisions belong to the whole PE
The Constitution distinguishes between an officer's individual powers, collective PE decisions and matters reserved to Convention.
Signing is not deciding
When the PE decides collectively, an officer's signature executes the decision. The signature does not create a power the officer did not have.
President
The President coordinates the whole and exercises defined powers. The office does not absorb every other portfolio.
Vice-Presidents
Each Vice-President leads a defined portfolio with a visible mandate and responsibility. They are not spare Presidents waiting for a vacancy.
Annual Accountability Conference
One year after the PE begins its mandate, and every year after that, each Local sends one representative chosen by the Local to review the PE's work.
07 · TRACE THE DECISION
Decisions & consequences
Authority should leave a visible trail.
Every decision has an author
“The system” or “the organization” is not an answer. The responsible office or body should be identifiable.
Record the vote
For a collegial body, the record should show the motion, authority used, result, conflicts and who is responsible for implementation.
Disagreement belongs in the record
A member of an independent Chamber may attach a written separate or dissenting opinion when they disagree with the majority.
Authority and responsibility stay together
The right to decide and responsibility for that decision should not be separated.
08 · THE CONSTITUTIONAL LINE
Interpretation & constitutional control
The Constitutional Chamber interprets the Constitution. It does not govern in place of elected bodies.
Outside political confidence
The Chamber does not decide whether the PE is doing a good job. It may have to decide whether a Conference, Convention or confidence procedure was constitutional.
A disputed decision can be paused
The PE may file a constitutional challenge to a confidence-related decision. Filing suspends the disputed decision while the Chamber reviews it.
Ten working days
For this urgent challenge the Chamber must issue its ruling within ten working days, not merely begin a hearing.
Collective decision
The chair presides. The Chamber decides by majority. Any member may attach a written separate opinion.
Five-year term
The term is deliberately separated from the four-year PE cycle.
09 · MONEY IS POWER
Financial power
Financial rules should tell members who proposes, who approves, who spends and who checks.
Financial Officer
The Financial Officer prepares the proposed provincial budget, submits it to the Regional Presidium for approval and monitors execution by the Provincial Executive.
Approval is separate from spending
The body spending the money should not be the only body setting its own financial limits.
Independence needs a real budget
Constitutional bodies need protected operating budgets sufficient to do their work. Funding cannot be withheld to influence a decision.
Protected does not mean hidden
Independent bodies still report approved budgets, expenditure and use of funds. Financial independence is not freedom from accountability.
Reserves should have a purpose
Dues, reserves and investments should strengthen the capacity to represent, organize and bargain — including sustaining collective action.
10 · WHEN POWER GOES WRONG
Accountability & discipline
Accountability starts with information and correction. Discipline begins when an actual violation has to be decided.
A high threshold
If two-thirds of voting Local representatives find the PE's work unsatisfactory, the process can move to an Extraordinary Convention on confidence.
Convention decides the mandate
The Accountability Conference does not remove the PE. Convention gave the mandate, so Convention decides whether to confirm it or end it.
Twelve months after confirmed confidence
After an Extraordinary Convention confirms confidence, another ordinary confidence process cannot begin for twelve months. Constitutional, disciplinary or criminal processes remain separate.
Due process first
Complaint. Jurisdiction. Investigation. Notice. Response. Hearing. Collective decision. Written reasons. Sanction. Review where the Constitution provides one.
Keep separate institutions separate
Different terms, incompatible offices, independent election administration, protected budgets, recorded decisions and direct member participation make institutional capture harder.