Proposed Amendments to Statewide Constitution

Coalition of University Employees (CUE)

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Here are the sections of the statewide constitution that are being proposed for amendment. Proposed added language appears in bold font. Proposed deleted language appears in ~~strike-through font~~.

IV. LOCAL STRUCTURE

K. Expenses - travel: Travel expenses for members of the statewide executive board to attend statewide board meetings will be the responsibility of the statewide organization. Travel expenses for CUE member delegates or members to attend statewide ~~conventions and other~~ meetings will be the responsibility of the locals. For statewide conventions, the statewide organization will take responsibility for up to five delegates from each local and then the locals will be responsible for additional delegates' expenses. The statewide organization will also be responsible for the expenses of the statewide president.

V. STATEWIDE STRUCTURE

A. OFFICERS

[no changes]

2. Duties of officers:

a. President: The president is the chief executive officer of this union and is charged with administering the affairs and executing the policies of the union, as determined by the general membership and the executive board. He/she shall preside at all meetings of the general membership, the convention and of the executive board, or delegate that duty. He/she shall report periodically to the membership regarding the progress and standing of the union and his/her official acts, shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, except as disallowed elsewhere in this constitution.

b. [no changes]

c. [no changes]

d. Secretary: The secretary shall record, compile and maintain all minutes of meetings of the general membership, the convention and of the executive board. The secretary shall promptly transmit copies of the minutes to each local, and make them available to all members promptly upon request. The Secretary shall carry on all official correspondence of the union, except as the executive board may direct otherwise.

B. EXECUTIVE BOARD

6. The executive board may call for a convention to be held, subject to approval of the membership by referendum vote. The board shall set a formula for representation of locals by delegates to be elected by members on each campus in accordance with Appendix A to this constitution. An agenda shall be made available upon request one week in advance. Conventions will be open to all members, but only delegates may vote. A convention shall not have the authority to elect officers or amend the constitution. It will have the authority to adopt other motions binding on CUE. It will have the authority to rule on election appeals that have been forwarded to the convention according to Appendix A of this constitution.

C. CONVENTION (All of this section is new language so original C. becomes D.; D. becomes E.; E. becomes F. with no other changes proposed)
1. Schedule:
a. CUE shall have statewide Conventions at least once every two years. The first regular convention shall be held in 2006.
b. The convention shall occur over no fewer than 3 consecutive days.
c. The Convention will begin no earlier than the close of nominations for Statewide Officer elections and no later than the week after those ballots are mailed out.^*
d. In the event there is an election whose results are appealed to the Convention (see Appendix A, 2E of this Constitution), a special Convention shall be held and begin no later than 8 months after the challenger(s) appeal to a Convention.
^*(not part of proposed language: With our current election schedule this would be sometime between mid-June and early August.)
2. Authority:
a. A Convention shall not have the authority to elect officers.
b. It will not have the authority to hire, promote, discharge or alter the compensation of staff.
c. It will have the authority to adopt other motions binding on CUE.
d. It will have the authority to rule on election appeals that have been forwarded to the convention according to Appendix A of this constitution.
e. A majority vote in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment would refer the matter to a vote of the statewide members to be called within 60 days. The ballot mailing shall include arguments representing different points of view as well as the results of the convention vote. The proposed amendment(s) would then pass and be incorporated into the statewide constitution by a simple majority with a quorum requirement of 15% of the membership.
f. The Convention would be able to send out a referendum to poll the full membership regarding other issues within its authority (see V.C.2.a-e) the results of which would be binding without the standard quorum requirement.
3. Delegates:
a. Conventions will be open to all members, but only delegates may vote. No proxies are allowed.
b. Locals are entitled to 1 delegate for every 50 members (or fraction thereof) up to 200 members, and then 1 delegate for every additional 100 members (or fraction thereof). Local delegations shall be elected so that campus and medical center members are represented in proportion to their numbers at locals with both. Local 3 shall elect a delegation which represents OP members in proportion to their percentage of total Local 3 membership. Local elections for delegates shall be completed between 15 and 90 days before the beginning of the convention.
c. Convention delegates shall be members of the bargaining unit, and members of a CUE local.
d. The term of office for convention delegates is the duration of a single convention.
e. Travel expenses and lost-time wages for delegates will be paid by CUE. The statewide organization will take responsibility for up to five delegates from each local and then the locals will be responsible for additional delegates' expenses.
f. Before the opening of the convention, each local’s elected delegates shall elect one delegate to be the delegation contact and organizer who shall be responsible, upon request of the statewide Secretary, to record and report to the convention and the statewide Secretary the votes of their local delegation for the duration of the convention.
g. All convention votes shall be roll-call votes with each individual delegate’s votes, grouped by local, recorded and reported in the minutes.
h. CUE is open to using electronic voting methods during the convention as they become available as long as reporting individual delegate votes and vote totals are made visible immediately after each vote is taken.
4. Agenda:
a. Ninety days advance notice of the dates of the CUE statewide Convention shall be given to all members. Notice of the convention agenda should be distributed to all members with at least 30 days notice before the beginning of the convention.
b. Conventions shall be located alternately in the North and the South of the state as nearly as is possible.
c. A topic may be placed on the convention agenda either by a petition of 60 member signatures, a majority vote of the statewide executive board, or by majority vote of membership meetings from at least two locals (requiring ten-day notice to all members of that local that proposals for the convention agenda will be discussed). This process must be complete and reported to the statewide organization 40 days before the first day of the convention.
d. A simple majority of delegates can vote to change the schedule or length of time given to items on the agenda. It will take a 2/3 vote of delegates to add new agenda items or take existing agenda items off before discussion has taken place.
e. While CUE elections and campaigning are not part of the official business of the convention, space and time will be made available for interested candidates to hold informal meetings, discussions and/or debates that shall be both announced to and open to all CUE members present at the convention. These meetings shall be scheduled before or after the start of business (but not during lunch) on any day when the convention is in session.

X. REFERENDA

A statewide referendum may be called by a vote of a majority of the executive board, by a majority of the convention delegates or by a petition supported by 10% of the members statewide.
Once a referendum has been successfully called for, the executive board shall refer the matter to vote to be called within 30 days. The executive board shall send notification to all members and it shall include the referendum and the arguments representing different points of view (as well as the results of the convention vote if that is how the referendum was called).
The results of a referendum shall be considered valid if 30% of the statewide members have voted, and will be determined by a simple majority of votes cast.

The results of any referendum called by convention (see V.C.2.e), however, shall be determined by a simple majority of the votes cast without a quorum requirement.

[was B.] Matters not subject to referendum are employment, assignment, promotion, discharge or compensation of staff.

XI. AMENDMENTS

This statewide constitution may be amended in the following manner: A motion to change the constitution must be supported by a majority of the executive board, by a majority of the convention delegates or by a support of 10% of the members statewide.

Once a referendum to amend the constitution has been successfully called for, the statewide executive board shall refer the matter to a vote of the statewide members to be called within 60 days. The executive board shall send notification at least 30 days prior to the vote to all members and it shall include the referendum and the arguments representing different points of view (as well as the results of the convention vote if that is how the referendum was called).

The results of a referendum called by the Executive Board or by petition shall be considered valid if 40% of the members voted, and will be determined by a vote of two-thirds of the votes cast. However, after April 30, 2000, the results of a referendum whether called by the Executive Board, by convention, or by petition to set member dues shall be considered valid if 30% of the members voted, and will be determined by a simple majority of the votes cast.

The results of any referendum except regarding member dues or affiliation called by convention (see V.C.2.e), shall be determined by a simple majority of the votes cast if 15% of the members vote.^**

^**This sentence does not appear in the minutes of the meeting. The sentence was adopted with "without a quorum requirement" in a discussion of general referenda, not amendments. It should have been part of X. If the sentence remains here, in XI (Amendments), it should say "if 15% of the members vote" to be consistent with the overall discussion and vote of the board. At the time of distribution of this document, we are waiting for verification of this by the statewide executive board.

APPENDIX A: ELECTIONS CODE

Section 2. Challenges and protests.

E. Any protestor or nominee dissatisfied with the ruling of the Appeal panel may appeal to the next CUE convention to be held. Appeals must be submitted within 15 days of the ruling of the appeal panel or, if no decision has been rendered, between forty-one and sixty days after the filing of the protest to the appeal panel. In the meantime, the finding of the Appeals Panel shall be put into effect, pending decision by the convention.