November 3, 2020 - Hello Members,

Units are able to pass resolutions that they want to be considered at the Local Union Delegated Meeting, which is being held March 16-18, 2021. For a Unit to pass a resolution to the LUDM, a member of the Unit must propose the resolution at their Q4 Unit Meeting being held in either November or December, it must be in a correct format, and the Unit Meeting must approve it by majority vote. To be clear, your November or December Unit meeting is the only Unit Meeting at which such a resolution may still be passed prior to the submission deadline. 

A resolution to the LUDM that has been passed by a Unit will be forwarded to a LUDM Resolutions Committee, and may be debated at the LUDM. Approved resolutions to the LUDM will be emailed by the Unit Secretary to ludm.resolutions@usw1944.ca prior to January 15, 2021. No particular form needs to be completed, an email is sufficient.

Such resolutions may seek to propose Local By-Law changes, changes in Local practices, or may state the Local’s position on an issue.

Resolutions to LUDM can now be formatted in one of two ways: Traditional or Clear-Language.

Traditional Format

A Traditional Format resolution is structured as follows:

          Whereas ___________; and,
          Whereas ___________; and,
          Whereas ___________; now,
          Therefore be it resolved ___________; and,
          Be it further resolved ___________; and,
          Be it finally resolved ___________.

“Whereas…” essentially means “Because…” and so these portions of the resolution are used to explain facts that necessitate the action that the resolution is seeking to enact. 

“Be it resolved…” means that the group supporting the resolution is deciding to do a particular thing, which will be expressed after these words. 

So for example:

          Whereas cats are quieter than dogs; and,
          Whereas cats are softer than dogs; now,
          Therefore be it resolved that USW Local 1944 express its view that cats are better than dogs; and,
          Be it further resolved that USW Local 1944 make a donation of $1,000 to Cats Unlimited.

Clear Language Format

A Clear Language Format resolution is structured as follows:

          Because ___________ and
          Because ___________ and
          Because ___________,
          USW Local 1944 will ___________ and
          USW Local 1944 will ___________ and
          USW Local 1944 will ___________

In this format, “Whereas…” has been replaced by “Because” with essentially the same purpose, and “Therefore be it resolved” has been replaced by “USW Local 1944 will” with essentially the same purpose.

So for example:

            Because cats are quieter than dogs and
            Because cats are softer than dogs,
            USW Local 1944 will express its view that cats are better than dogs and
            USW Local 1944 will make a donation of $1000 to Cats Unlimited. 

In Solidarity,

USW Local 1944