On March 28, we had the first of two spring General Assemblies. The primary purpose of this assembly was for the Secretary-Treasurer to present the financial report of the previous year, approve the Audit Committee’s report of the union’s finances, and have the assembly approve the union’s budget for the coming fiscal year.
The 2022-23 Audit Committee of Sujatha Vijayakrishnan (Chair), Loïc Nassif, and Benjamin Sauvé found the union’s financial accounts to be in order, and made recommendations to explore growing our union’s strike fund by investing, increasing the amount of money earmarked for mutual aid and solidarity initiatives, and investigate how AGSEM can maximize the support we receive from our affiliates—the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ), and Conseil central de Montréal métropolitain (CCMM).
Secretary-Treasurer Matei Petrescu prepared a financial report of the previous fiscal year that indicated the union’s finances are healthy, with both expenses lower and income (in the form of liberations, dues, and reimbursements from affiliates) higher than projected. The union has a robust strike fund to draw from should members decide it is necessary to escalate tactics in our upcoming TA collective negotiations.
The budget passed with $10,000 allocated to the Mutual Aid Fund, up from $8,000 earmarked in the previous fiscal year. Full reports from the general assembly can be consulted by AGSEM members upon request to Matei at sec-Treasurer@agsem-aeedem.ca.
The assembly was in unanimous support of a motion in solidarity with the worker-led campaign of the Concordia Research and Education Workers (CREW) Union to affiliate with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) and end their parent relationship with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). This follows a letter of support the AGSEM Executive Committee published during the card-signing campaign in March 2023.
Other motions on the agenda included sending three AGSEM members Mario Roy, Vivian Belfo, and Germano Belfo as delegates to the 67th Congress of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) from May 15-19 in Montreal, acknowledging the work of Gokcan Sahin in the negotiations for a new Invigilator Collective Agreement since he could not make the signing ceremony, and approving an application to the Mutual Aid Fund for the childcare expenses of a McGill PhD student.