Proposed amendments to CSEA’s Constitution and By-Laws The Committee has, amongst its functions, the duty to review proposals and make recommendations to the Delegates regarding amendments to the CSEA Constitution and By-Laws. Committee recommendations are presented to the Delegates, together with the reasons for the recommendations. This report addresses proposals submitted for the 2013 ADM. (New language is underlined; deleted language is in brackets.) THE INITIAL TWO PROPOSALS INCLUDE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION AND/OR BY-LAWS. THE FIRST PROPOSAL IS A BY-LAWS PROPOSAL AND IF PASSED AT THIS MEETING, WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. THE SECOND PROPOSAL CONTAINS BOTH CONSTITUTIONAL AND BY-LAWS PROPOSALS. IF THE CONSTITUTIONAL PORTION PASSES, IT WILL RETURN FOR A SECOND READING AT THE NEXT DELEGATES’ MEETING. IF THE BY-LAWS PORTION PASSES, IT WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. Proposal 1 The following By-Laws proposal was submitted by Statewide President Danny Donohue: ARTICLE IV – Finance Sections 1-2. Text Remains the Same. Section 3. REFUND AND REIMBURSEMENT. (a) REFUNDS TO LOCALS. (1) Each duly organized Local of the Association which has complied with all of the provisions of the mandated Local Constitution and this Constitution and By-Laws, shall receive from the Treasurer an annual payment of twenty-five percentum of the membership dues and twentyfive percentum of the agency shop and union shop fees collected from the employees in such Locals after the net per capita payment to AFSCME, based on the June 1 audit, has been deducted. Beginning with fiscal year 2014, such annual payment shall decrease by one-half of one percent each year, for a period of ten years, so that beginning with the fiscal year 2023, the annual payment described herein shall be twenty percent. Such refund to locals shall be reduced an amount equal to the net per capita paid to the appropriate AFL-CIO federations and labor councils in the State of New York. The expense of the delegates to regular or special meetings of the Association shall be paid by the Local from such funds as hereinafter provided. (2) Text Remains the Same. (3) Text Remains the Same. (b) Text Remains the Same. (c) Text Remains the Same. EXPLANATION: This proposal was submitted with the following justification: “During the last three years we have seen a significant decrease in membership, resulting in a substantial reduction of dues revenue. At the same time, the need to provide services and programs continues. Decreasing the rebate by five percent will mitigate the effect of the revenue loss. At the same time, the reduction for Units and Locals is not substantial. Moreover, phasing in the five percent reduction over ten years, at 1/2% per year, will allow the subdivisions to adjust to the change, if necessary, over a substantial amount of time.” The Committee supports this proposal. The size of our membership has diminished, causing a decrease in revenue. At the same time, the cost of maintaining an adequate structure for the provision of appropriate services has risen, and continues to rise. The services provided by our staff and retained professionals are essential to meeting the everyday needs of proper member representation. The Committee does not believe that a reduction in services is beneficial to the union or our members. This is especially true when the best chance of maintaining the proper level of services can be achieved by minimal adjustments to rebates, an adjustment which will not have a direct financial impact on our members. In addition, the ten year implementation of the proposal will allow locals to adjust to the decrease in revenue over a substantial period of time. FOR THE PURPOSE OF PLACING THIS AMENDMENT BEFORE THE DELEGATES, ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE, I MOVE THE ADOPTION OF THIS AMENDMENT. THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS A “YES” VOTE. Proposal 2 The following Constitution and By-Laws proposal was submitted by Statewide President Danny Donohue: CONSTITUTION ARTICLE X - Delegates Sections 1-2. Text Remains the Same. Section 3. RETIRED MEMBERS. The Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson and the Secretary of the Retiree Executive Committee shall be non-voting delegates to any the annual delegate meeting of CSEA, provided however that on issues and motions relative to the Retiree Division, the Retiree Delegates shall have both the right to speak before the Delegates and one vote for each Retiree Local of the Retiree Division. Section 4. RETIREE DIVISION MEETINGS. (a) Delegates to the Annual Biennial Meeting of the Retiree Division shall consist of one delegate from each Local for each one hundred (100) members or fraction thereof. The officers of the statewide Association shall be delegates. (b) Text Remains the Same. (c) A report from the Retiree Division, including any motions passed by the delegates to the Annual Biennial Meeting of the Retiree Division with regard to items affecting solely the Division, shall be presented to the next scheduled CSEA Annual Delegates Meeting by the Chairperson of the Retiree Executive Committee for informational purposes only. BY-LAWS ARTICLE II - Meetings Section 1. ANNUAL REGULAR DELEGATES’ MEETING. (a) ASSOCIATION. The Annual Regular Delegates’ Meeting of the Association shall be held on call of the President between the 1st day of September and the 30th day of November at least once every two years in each year. The President shall give notice of the date of such meeting to the President of each Local, Region and members of the Board of Directors before April 15 in each year a meeting will be held. When held, Each year the Annual Regular Delegates’ Meeting shall last for five (5) days. Prior to the convening of the general session, meetings shall be conducted which shall be consistent with the internal makeup of CSEA with direction toward bargaining unit seminars and State Department meetings for the State Division delegates and appropriate workshops for the various components of the Local Government and Private Sector Divisions. Standing Committees, which are submitting reports to the delegate body, shall conduct an open forum during the first two (2) days of the meeting. Separate sessions of the State Division, Local Government Division and Private Sector Division shall be held prior to the general meetings. Necessary business appropriate to the separate divisions shall be conducted at these separate sessions, while business pertaining to the Association as a whole shall be conducted at the General Business meetings. Subsequent dates shall be devoted to an agenda fully prepared, described and distributed to Local Presidents, Region Presidents and delegates, thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Regular Delegates’ Meeting. The President may call a meeting of the Board of Directors for the day prior to the first day of the Annual a Regular Delegates’ Meeting. Any resolutions which are to be submitted for action by the delegate body concerning any subject matter must be submitted to the Secretary of the Association by May 15 of the year of the Annual a Regular Delegates’ Meeting at which the resolution will be considered. The Secretary will forward the resolution to the Resolutions Committee for study Continued on Page 14 October 2013 The Work Force 13
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