Zone Officer – Position FAQ

The workload and time commitment may vary each week, and can flex depending on your availability to accommodate remote work schedules.

Typically volunteers can expect 2-5 hours/week for this role (during the work-day).  This time is covered by union leave release time, so volunteers in this role do not need to work extra to make up the time.

The Union will inform HR about your Union role.  HR then gives formal notice to your Manager to provide for release time from work as required.

The base commitments are:

• 2 hour meeting (11am-1pm) every other Thursday;
• Responding to members’ emails;
• Note-taking in meeting with members and the Employer;
• Meeting with members to provide support/interpretations of the Collective Agreement;
• Attending basic training(s) for the role.

We understand departments have high volume times & we want our volunteers to enjoy holidays without needing to continue their union work.  You can just let us know when that’s the case, and then we can distribute the workload accordingly.

Great question!  There is no difference.

Workplaces call positions of this nature different titles including: union stewards, union representatives, union reps, or zone officers!

We want our Zone Officers to support members when they feel well equipped to do so, and also recognize that lots of that comes with observation and practice.  Zone Officers are always learning, and the Collective Agreement articles can have many different interpretations, so ongoing education and openness to asking for help are very important.

The Office schedules opportunities for Zone Officers to shadow colleagues in member advising meetings, or meetings with the Employer.  Zone Officers are provided with training materials, and opportunities to attend CUPE National’s “Introduction to Stewarding” workshop.

Incoming Zone Officers are also involved in group chats with fellow Zone Officers to discuss questions, and seek input.  Guidance from our Grievance Chair and/or President is always available for matters that need advice or escalation.

The Office is in progress in creating a manual and workshops that are specific to our members, and those supporting them, so you can stay tuned for that.

Supporting members and representing members in meetings can be emotionally challenging at times.  Our Zone Officers meet or email with members about simple questions like “how many sick leave days do I have?” or “how can I be compensated for overtime?“.

At times, members may have some more difficult challenges or complex matters that they are experiencing including: sick leave, harassment investigations, termination, etc.  Escalated or complex matters are supported by our Grievance Chair and/or President as well as the Zone Officer, so there is collaboration.

We endeavour to support our team so it remains a strong and safe place to lean if the work is ever feeling challenging.  The Office is a resource for Zone Officers to debrief anything if needed, and if our volunteers are ever feeling that they are at their emotional capacity, then we can discuss to best support their wellness.

We can accept nominations from any of our members (casual, continuing, term, replacement)!  We welcome applications from folks of any position, you just need to be a member of our Local.

For those interested with contract end-dates that are sooner than the volunteer term (duration), we recommend sending us an email to indicate this so the Local can advise accordingly.

We’re glad to hear you are interested!  Members can submit a Nomination Form and Statement of Interest to indicate their nomination.  In order to complete your nomination, two colleagues need to email us to say that they nominate you.  Instructions are found in the Nomination Form, and we will notify you once we have received everything we need.

If there is only one nominee, (we call this “acclaimed”), and no election is required.  The position is automatically awarded to that sole nominee, and membership is notified.

If there are multiple nominees interested in the volunteer position, (we call this “contested”) and an election is called.  This allows membership the opportunity to vote and democratically determine the member that they feel would be the best fit for the position.

Elections are managed and overseen by the Local’s Elections Committee.  When an election is called, they will communicate to membership all relevant procedural information needed for the vote, in addition to the nominees’ Statements of Interest.  We use confidential ballots for elections of this nature, to preserve the anonymity of members voting.  After the election is closed, the nominees and membership are notified of the results.

There are always volunteer opportunities for those who run and are still interested, so we always encourage folks to reach out to our Office to discuss how your skills may compliment other open positions.

Statements of Interest are an important part of the nomination materials.  It is the way that nominees can express who they are, related experience, why they would be a good fit/why they are interested in the position.

If the position is contested (meaning multiple people are interested in it), then these Statements of Interest are shared with membership for their consideration prior to an election.