At tonight’s General Membership Meeting (January 22nd at 5:15 PM), a formal Notice of Motion will be issued to the membership. This notice serves as the required preliminary step before we move to adopt our newly modernized bylaws.
The final presentation and vote for the adoption of these bylaws will take place at the next General Membership Meeting on Thursday, February 26th, 2026.
Our current bylaws were last updated in October 2020 and are based on Bylaws that were established in 1999. Over the last several months, the Bylaw Committee has worked diligently to draft a document that reflects the current realities of our workplace, protects our financial future, and ensures our Union remains a leader in member advocacy and privacy.
In-Depth Summary of Key Changes
The 2026 Final Draft represents a comprehensive modernization. We encourage all members to review these specific updates:
- Financial Safeguards & Sustainability (Section 9): To ensure the Local always has the “war chest” needed for arbitrations and bargaining, we have introduced a “Reserve Fund” trigger. While monthly dues remain at 1.85%, a small 0.15% adjustment would automatically trigger only if our bank balance falls below $150,000, and would cease once the fund reaches a healthy $200,000. The Committee wishes to reassure the membership that our current financial practices are extremely well-performed and stable; we have no indication that we will need to utilize this trigger language in the immediate future. This is simply a long-term insurance policy for the Local.
- Leadership Succession and Training (Section 7): To ensure a smooth transition of power and protect institutional memory, new language requires outgoing officers to provide a period of formal familiarization and training to their successors.
- Increased Member Benefits & Support (Section 8): We have adjusted our “Voting of Funds” to account for the rising cost of living:
- Retirement/Resignation: Increased to $20 per year of service.
- Death or Critical Injury While on the Job: Clarified language and increased from $500 to $750 for the one-time payment for active members or their families.
- Gifts/Bereavement: The threshold for flowers or gifts for illness, births, or loss has been increased to triple the hourly rate of Paygrade 1.
- Election Integrity (Section 12): The bylaws now explicitly mandate that the Annual General Meeting and all elections be held in person only (no live streaming or hybrid voting) to ensure the absolute security and secrecy of the ballot. (The bylaw committee is still hard at work on this particular section with updates to be presented in Summer of 2026 that will ensure that our shift workers have equal opportunity, we are currently looking at the possibility of holding a “roving ballot box” where we take the ballot box to each department for example and provide equal opportunity for all people to participate in the vote)
A Recognition of Work to be Done
The Bylaw Committee recognizes that while this draft is a significant step forward, there is still work to be done. We are specifically aware of the challenges faced by our shift workers and those with varying schedules in participating in Union activities and elections.
The committee is continuing to explore new language to provide meaningful updates to our voting accessibility among other key issues. We anticipate presenting further language regarding these inclusivity improvements in the summer of 2026. We also are welcoming any feedback that can be provided!
Notice of Motion
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a motion will be made at the Regular General Membership Meeting on Thursday, February 26th, 2026, to repeal the 2020 Bylaws and adopt the 2026 CUPE 1048 Bylaws in their entirety.
As per Section 15 of our current Bylaws, the notice provided at tonight’s meeting (January 22nd) fulfills the requirement for the 7-day posting period prior to a vote on bylaw amendments.
Bylaw Committee Recommendation
The Bylaw Committee is solely responsible for the creation of this document, having spent months reviewing every article in consultation with the CUPE National Constitution. The Committee unequivocally recommends the adoption of these new Bylaws. We believe these changes move CUPE 1048 from a reactive model to a proactive one, providing the President and the Executive with the structural tools needed to hold the City accountable while significantly enhancing the protections and benefits afforded to every member.
Review the Documents
Members are encouraged to review the comparison between the current and proposed documents:
We look forward to seeing you at the meeting tonight for the formal notice, and on February 26th for the final discussion and vote.
In Solidarity,
The Bylaw Committee
CUPE Local 1048