There are several committees that operate within the WRDECE Local. Committees are responsible to the Local Executive, in order to ensure they are meeting the mandate, philosophy, and ideals of the Local. Every committee will have an Executive Liaison. The Executive Liaison will meet with each Committee Chair to discuss annual planning and budget. The Liaison will attend committee meetings and activities, when possible, and discuss options for meeting dates and times with the Committee Chair. They will provide a two-way communication link between the Executive and the Committee, including speaking to budget proposals when required.
WRDECE Committees and their Goals
All Member/Social The volunteer members of the All Member Committee strive to introduce new members to their professional union, both the Local and the Federation structure of it. They work hard at encouraging members to participate and truly engage in ETFO and try to ensure that members are familiar with their Local union and feel supported to become union activists, if they desire. The Committee also celebrates member achievements and milestones through Years of Service Certificates, DECE yearly Awards and recognizing retirements. The foremost goal of both the ETFO Provincial Federation and your ETFO WRDECE Local is to serve the needs of our members.
Collective Bargaining To apply to this committee, you must complete the Collective Bargaining Committee application that is sent to members in preparation for the upcoming round of bargaining. The Collective Bargaining Committee, with assistance from the Local Executive and Provincial ETFO staff, works hard to educate the membership on the various processes of tiered bargaining (Central items vs Local items) and to ensure opportunities are provided for encouraging member involvement, engagement and feedback during the bargaining process. The Committee develops and presents a preliminary submission of the Collective Agreement that is fair and just, reflecting the needs of the membership, that have been gathered from the feedback received from the bargaining survey. Your WRDECE Local strives to have a committee that represents and provides the perspective of the diversity of the membership, which shall endeavour to include representation from occasional and permanent members.
Constitution and Bylaws The Constitution and Bylaws Committee works hard to ensure that the Local Constitution and Bylaws reflect the actual practice and beliefs of the WRDECE Local. They ensure fair and just guidelines for the Local to operate within. The Committee also assists with the development and provision of operational guidelines and expectations by means of the WRDECE Local Reference Handbook and they encourage and facilitate the participation of members within Local Committees and Programs.
Environmental committee not running
Equity & Social Justice/Human Rights The Equity & Social Justice/Human Rights Committee is committed to encouraging greater participation of members who belong to equity seeking groups in all areas of the WRDECE Local and to develop members' awareness of equity and social justice resources and community programs. The Committee works hard to identify and educate WRDECE Local members about human rights issues that include, but are not limited to: culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, ability, size, socio-economic status, age, faith and religious diversity within the educational community and society.
Political Action/Public Relations The Political Action/Public Relations Committee fosters and encourages greater political involvement of the members of WRDECE Local. They ensure strong healthy relationships between the WRDECE Local and other ETFO Locals, labour affiliates, and the general public, in order to work towards a respected, well funded public education system, including child care. The Committee identifies political issues and concerns that have a direct and/or indirect impact on the members of the Local and community and works collaboratively with sister locals and community organizations to further the political agenda of the WRDECE Local and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. The Committee also strives to advance the political standing of the WRDECE Local within the WRDSB and the Waterloo Region and to support the advancement of ECEs in the Waterloo Region and the Province of Ontario.
Professional Learning The Professional Learning Committee endeavours to provide opportunities for improvement and/or development of skills and knowledge pertaining to the field of Early Learning/Early Childhood Education. The Committee also encourages and promotes professional dialogue, collaboration with colleagues, as well as networking with other professionals within the education sector.
Status of Women The Status of Women Committee is made up of volunteer members who promote awareness of the issues affecting women and girls in the local and global community. The Committee also aims to empower the women of our Local and make recommendations to the Local Executive for possible action on issues related to the status of women.
Duties of Committees and Programs (Local Constitution Article 7, Section 3 updated July 1, 2023) Committees are responsible to the Local Executive and shall consist of volunteer members in good standing. All Committees shall consist of an Executive Liaison, endeavour to have members volunteer to be part of a Committee, endeavour to provide opportunities to the membership to become involved in the Local, and follow the Terms of Reference as outlined in the WRDECE Local Reference Handbook.
Committees/Programs Terms of Reference (WRDECE Local Handbook updated September 2023) There are several committees/programs that operate within the WRDECE Local and are responsible to the Local Executive. To ensure they are meeting the mandate, philosophy and ideals of the Local, general Terms of Reference have been created. Should a Committee/Program wish to alter the general and/or Committee/Program specific Terms of Reference, they shall submit the proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws Committee no later than April 1 annually. Any approved changes shall take effect as of July 1.
Committee Chair Expectations
A Chair is responsible to:
• Schedule, organize and facilitate Committee meetings, via the WRDECE Local general email and calendar.
• Prepare meeting agendas, as required, following established template.
• Following Roberts’ Rules of Order, maintain a list of speakers for the duration of the meeting.
• Determine a secretary for the committee and ensure that meeting minutes are recorded using the established minute template, and placed, no later than ten (10) working days after each meeting, to the relevant committee Google drive folder.
• Submit committee motions/resolutions to the Local Executive via Executive Liaison.
• Complete and submit a monthly written report to the Executive Liaison. A summary of all monthly reports presented to the Local Annual Meeting shall be considered the Committee’s year-end report.
• Ensure information to be posted to Local Website is provided to the Executive Liaison, with a minimum of two (2) weeks’ notice, prior to the posting date.
• Notify the Executive Liaison should a release request letter be required.
• Advise the Executive Liaison on matters related to the work of the committee.
• Liaise, when appropriate, with other committees both within the Local, and those of sister locals/affiliates.
• Ensure Terms of Reference are being adhered to.
• Attend training, both within the Local and with the Federation, as required.
Committee General Terms of Reference
• Endeavour to hold committee meetings outside of the regular workday, unless otherwise arranged with the Local Executive.
• Endeavour to follow Roberts’ Rules of Order at committee meetings/events.
• Receive and act upon as required, recommendations, resolutions, submissions, and referrals from bodies such as, but not limited, the Federation, Local Executive, and the Local Annual Meeting.
• Provide the perspective of the member on Local/Federation initiatives/programs.
• Provide advice on the content, delivery/design of WRDECE Local programs/events.
• Provide advice/feedback on issues as requested by the Local Executive and/or the membership as a whole.
• Support Federation endeavours to promote solidarity.
• Facilitate the budget allocated to the Committee/Program responsibly, with the membership as the priority.
Are you interested in volunteering for a committee? Email the Executive Member responsible for the Committee at [email protected] with the committee you would like to volunteer for as the subject line.