The CUPE convention is held over several days and the hours for each day are set on the first day of the convention. It is customary to make the motion to adjourn at the end of each day. Usually, the chairperson will announce that the hour has arrived for the end of the daily session and the motion to adjourn becomes a formality. Also, everyone understands that the convention will reconvene the next morning at the appointed time. Of course, on the last day of the convention, the motion to adjourn is more formal as it will terminate the business of the convention.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the delegates to a convention may adjourn a session at any time if a majority vote in favour of the motion. No chairperson would entertain a motion to adjourn a convention if it was made within a short time after the session commenced. This would be a misuse of the motion to adjourn and considered a frivolous motion which would be ignored by the chairperson.
However, a legitimate motion to adjourn requires a seconder, is not debatable, cannot be amended, requires a majority vote, is not in order when another is speaking and cannot be reconsidered.
This ends the section on a review of the seven motions listed at the beginning of this booklet. We will now turn to other procedural matters contained in the CUPE Constitution.