Every spring in an MGEU Convention year, the union holds hundreds of Local meetings to elect convention delegates and Local representatives during a three-month window.

It’s always a tall order, requiring the coordination of dozens of staff and hundreds of elected MGEU workplace representatives. But, as the MGEU prepares for its first-ever Virtual Convention in October, what really made the 2021 Spring Local Meeting season stand out is that the union managed to organize every one of this year’s 256 meetings, virtually, to comply with public health restrictions.

After 330 hours spent in studio hosting the meetings, the final Local meetings wrapped up last week. During that time, more than a thousand members attended a meeting and elected…

  • 303 Local Presidents, Chief Stewards, Vice-Presidents, and Members at Large;
  • more than a hundred stewards;
  • more than a hundred health and safety reps; as well as
  • 237 convention delegates.

MGEU President, Michelle Gawronsky, says that the process of moving hundreds of in-person Local meetings and a convention to a virtual space was a big task this year, and she remains hopeful that members will once again be able to meet in-person sometime very soon.

“It’s really been quite an undertaking. I want to give a special thank you to all of our dedicated staff and a huge thank you to the technical experts we’ve been working with over the past few months to see this through and make sure our Locals could still meet and elect their representatives. It was very challenging at times. But together, we did it. I know everyone is looking forward to our next in-person convention as much as I am. It’s still going to be great to get together, even virtually, with delegates in October to do our union business and make history with our first-ever online convention!”

More about the MGEU’s 2021 Virtual Convention

In early December 2020, the MGEU's Board of Directors adopted a plan to conduct Local election meetings and the MGEU Convention using remote (virtual) technology, so the events could proceed even if COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were in effect.

MGEU Online 2021 has been scheduled as follows:

  • Virtual Delegate Orientation – October 7, 2021 (6:30pm - 8:30pm)
  • Virtual All-Candidates Forum – October 19, 2021 (7:00pm - 8:00pm)
  • Virtual MGEU Convention – October 20-21, 2021

Secure Online Meeting and Voting

In order to provide delegates with consistency and familiarity, the same secure online voting / meeting platform (DOTS Connect) used for Spring Local meetings will be in place for the 2021 Virtual Convention.

The platform is supported by Data on the Spot (DOTS) and delegates will receive an email directly from DOTS with information about their login and voting credentials prior to Convention. DOTS will also provide delegates with direct technical support leading up to and during Convention proceedings.