On April 24th, 2023, the CATCA Executive Board met with Delegates from CATCA in a Special General Meeting to discuss a tentatively negotiated amendment to the CATCA/Unifor Merger Agreement.
The tentative agreement was explained and discussed in detail to provide accurate information and context to the delegation and allow for questions and answers and to equip delegates to share information with their units upon their return.
The new agreement was well received by delegates.
A broader discussion regarding the convention resolution requiring CATCA to conduct a referendum on our affiliation with Unifor followed which included protracted debate on the topic.
Ultimately, a motion from the floor to rescind the 2022 convention resolution requiring a referendum was passed. This vote was carried out by means of a roll-call vote. A Roll-Call vote requires a recording of each delegate’s individual vote of whether they were in favor of, or against the Motion. The results of the vote were:
267 total votes; 211 (79%) – Yay; 56 (21%) – Nay, and the Motion was carried to rescind the Policy.
This means that CATCA will not be conducting a referendum on whether to continue our affiliation with Unifor.
A further motion was passed directing the National Executive to sign the new agreement with Unifor as soon as possible. The agreement was signed later that day and the new conditions will apply retroactively to January 1st, 2023.
It is notable that there was some significant dissenting opinion on the matters presented and that excellent arguments and rationale in support of those were presented. Despite the very strong positions and feelings by various members, the entire delegation conducted itself with the utmost respect and dignity throughout the entire process and this should be a huge source of pride for us all.
The CATCA Executive Board would like to sincerely thank the delegation for volunteering their time to participate in such an important topic for this Association.
On behalf of the Executive Board
Nick von Schoenberg Scott Loder
President Executive Vice President