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CONSTITUTION OF THE YUBA COLLEGE – AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

 

ARTICLE I. Name and purpose

Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the Yuba College-American Federation of Teachers, AFT/CFT Local 4952, herein called YC-AFT.

Section 2. YC-AFT shall be a democratically controlled organization supporting quality education in the Yuba Community College District and the best interests of the part-time faculty of the District.

Section 3. YC-AFT shall, through affiliation with the California Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, work to further these goals in California and throughout the nation.

ARTICLE II. Membership and membership meetings.

Section 1. Membership shall be open to all certificated part-time faculty, counselors, librarians and other academic employees of the Yuba Community College District. Membership shall also be available to others such as retired faculty, intermittent part-time faculty, part-time faculty members on extended leave, etc., subject to approval of the Executive Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board) of the YC-AFT.

Section 2. Every member shall pay into the treasury dues in a manner and amount to be fixed by a majority of those members voting in an election to be set by the Board.

Section 3. At least one general membership meeting shall be held each year. Members shall be notified at least 10 days before meetings. Fifteen per cent of the membership shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. A membership meeting shall act upon all matters referred to it by the President, by a majority of those present at a meeting of the Board, or by a petition of at least 10 members of YC-AFT. Procedures shall be goverened by Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised Edition.

Section 4. The Executive Board of the YC-AFT shall adopt the procedures by which negotiated agreements shall be ratified by members of the unit. These procedures shall include whether ratification shall be by mail ballot or a ratification meeting.

ARTICLE III. Executive Board

Section 1. The Board of YC-AFT shall consist of the following: a campus chair from each campus and center (Marysville, Lake, Woodland, and Colusa, with members teaching at Beale or in other outreach programs to be considered members of the Marysville campus), the chair to represent the first 50 members of his/her respective campus or center, additional representatives for each additional 50 campus members or fraction thereof up to a maximum of three representatives per campus or center, and the elected officers of YC-AFT. The President shall nominate, with appointment by a majority vote of the Board, the following: a grievance chair, a chief negotiator, and a membership chair, all of whom shall serve at the pleasure of the Board, and all of whom shall be voting members of the Board. A majority of the Board shall be a quorum.

Section 2. The Board shall act as the governing body of YC-AFT in all matters not referred to the general membership meeting. The President, at the direction of the Board, sshall set up committees, the Board then being required to act upon the recommendations the these committees. Proceeding shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised Edition.

Section 3. The Board may refer to the membership any matter which it deems proper.

Section 4. The Board shall have the power to set the salaries and fringe benefits of all YC-AFT employees. Such employees, under the direction of the President, serve at the pleasure of the Board.

ARTICLE IV. Campus Representation

Section 1. Each of the college campuses (Marysville [including members at Beale and other outreach programs], Woodland, Lake, Colusa) in the community college district shall be represented on the Board by their campus chair and campus representatives.

Section 2. The membership at each campus shall be composed of all members of YC-AFT, the majority of whose assignments is to that campus.

Section 3. The members at each campus shall elect their chair and representative/s to the Board. These elections shall be held in December of each year. The term of office shall be one year Campus chairs and representatives shall be responsible for communication with campus divisions. Campus chairs shall be designated vice presidents for membership.

ARTICLE V. Officers and Elections

Section 1. The elected officers of the YC-AFT shall be: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Section 2. Duties of officers:

 

1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board and the general membership. The President shall represent YC-AFT to the Board of Trustees of the Yuba Community College District and to all other official bodies.
2. The Vice-President shall assume the duties of President if the President is unable to attend the meetings or unable to represent YC-AFT. The Vice-President shall act as chairperson for the nominating committee and parliamentarian for the meetings. The Vice-President shall also perform such assignments as designated by the President on consultation with the Board.
3. The Secretary shall keep minutes of all Board meetings and general membership meetings, and shall send copies of such minutes to all members of the Executive Board within one week of said meetings. The Secretary shall be responsible for official YC-AFT correspondence.
4. The Treasurer shall prepare annually an itemized budget for presentation to the membership, and shall prepare detailed quarterly reports of income and expenditures for presentation to the Board. The Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining all YC-AFT accounts, filling all necessary financial statements, and keeping an up-to-date record of each member’s payment of dues.

Section 3. Officers shall be elected during December of each year as follows:

1. Each voting member shall have an opportunity to be nominated for office. A nominating committee shall be appointed by the President, in consultation with the Board, 30 days prior to all scheduled elections for the purpose of finding candidates for all offices. The report of said committee shall be presented 20 days prior to the scheduled election. Other candidates may be nominated by petition signed by at least 5 members and the candidate, and shall be received at least 15 days prior to the date of the election.
2. Notice of an impending election of officers shall be delivered through U.S. mail to each member at least 10 days in advance of election.
3. Election shall be by secret ballot with a majority of the votes cast necessary to elect. Should only one (1) individual be nominated for particular position, he/she shall automatically be declared elected.
4. If no candidate receives a majority, a run-off election shall be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes, with the run-off to be determined by a majority vote.
5. Results of elections shall be published, and records, including ballots, kept by the Secretary for one year from the date of the election.

Section 4. The officers shall take office on January 1, following the election in the previous December.

Section 5. Mid-term vacancies in any office shall be filled by appointment of a majority of the Board.

Section 6. All members of the Board will also serve, at their option, as official YC-AFT delegates to conventions. Additional delegates and alternates to which YC-AFT may be entitled may be nominated and elected from the membership of YC-AFT.

ARTICLE VI. By-laws

Section 1. By-laws may be proposed by a majority of vote of the Board or by a petition signed by 15 members in good standing of YC-AFT.

Section 2. By-laws shall be enacted or amended by YC-AFT members. The proposed by-laws or amendment shall be distributed by mail to all members at least 10 days in advane of the vote.

ARTICLE VII. Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by a majority of the Board, or a by a petition signed by 15 members of YC-AFT.

Section 2. Amendments to this constitution shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote of those voting in a mail ballot of the members.

 

BY-LAWS

OF THE

YUBA COLLEGE – AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

 

 

ARTICLE I. Dues

Section 1. Dues and Fair Share. There shall be the following schedule for payment of YC-AFT dues:

1. Part-time temporary certificated employee (including faculty, counselors, librarians and other academic employees): Base dues shall be 1.5 per cent of gross monthly pay.
2. Retirees or employees on extended leave: Dues shall be set at $2 per month for each of the months listed in (a).
3. This dues structure shall be effective . Base dues shall be adjusted once per year by vote of the membership per Article II, Section 2 of the YC-AFT Constitution.
4. Fees charged to agency fee payers will be fixed b the Executive Board within the maximum figure allowed by law.

ARTICLE II. Vacancies

A vacancy shall be declared when (1) and officer or member of the Board submits his/her resignation to the Executive Board, or (2) an officer or member of the Board is absent for three consecutive board meetings. The Board, at its discretion, may extend the acceptable period of absence.

ARTICLE III. Internal disputes procedure.

A. Definitions.

1. Internal dispute. An internal dispute is a formal, written allegation by a Union member that the member has been adversely affected by arbitrary, capricious, or invidious action by the Union
2. Member. A member herein refers to any Union member who is in good standing.
3. Good standing. Good standing refers to a situation in which a Union member’s dues are current and not in arrears.
4. Day. A day, for the purposes of this procedure, is a calendar day.

B. Time limits

1. A member who fails to comply with the established time limits at any step shall forfeit all rights for purposes of that affected internal dispute to further application of this procedure.

2. Time limits may be extended at the discretion of the Union.

3. Steps in the procedure may be waived by mutual agreement.

C. Miscellaneous provisions.

1. Time and date of any meting at any stage or level of theis procedure shall be established by the Union.

D. Procedural steps

1. Informal/Oral. Within 30 days of the time a member knew or reasonably should have known of an event giving rise to an internal dispute, the members shall discuss the alleged violation with the Union President.
2. Formal levels.
1. If a satisfactory resolution is not reached within 20 days of the informal/oral step above, the member shall present, within 10 days thereafter, a written complaint setting forth in detail all particulars pertaining to the internal dispute. The written complaint must set forth any sections of the YC-AFT By-laws and Constitution alleged to have been violated and any reason why the member believes that he Union acted arbitrarily, capriciously or invidiously toward the individual.
2. The written complaint shall be filed with the Union President, who shall transit it to a panel of three members, consisting of Campus Chairs. Within 30 days after their receipt of the written complaint, the panel shall communicate their decision on the complaint to the member and the President. The panel, at its discretion, may request a persona conference with the member filing the complaint. Any such meeting shall be by mutual agreement and preferably will occur prior to the panel executing its written decision on the complaint.
3. Within 15 days after receipt of the decision of the panel, either the member or the Union President may submit the complaint to the Board for decision.
4. The Board is empowered to commence any investigations and/or hearings which it deems necessary in matter of internal disputes. The Board is empowered to review any proposed resolution of any internal dispute by either the President or by the three-member panel. The Board is empowered to approve, modify or disapprove any proposed resolution of an internal dispute, and the decision of the Board shall be final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
5. All fees and expenses of the complainant member shall be borne by the member, and no party to the dispute shall be responsible for the fees and expenses of any other party.

 

ARTICLE IV. Fiscal Policy

1. A petty cash fund of $100 shall be established. Expenditures fro this fund shall be recorded and filed prior to additional amounts of $100 being approved by the Treasurer.
2. Non-budgeted expenditures of not more than $200 may be authorized by the Treasurer, with the approval of the President, for all necessary expenses. Such expenditures shall be reported to the Board at the next meeting of the Board.
3. All other non-budgeted expenditures shall be approved in advance by the YC-AFT Board.

ARTICLE V.

Appeal procedures for grievant regarding grievances arising out of alleged contract violation.

A. As indicated in the Contract, the Union retains the right to determine whether or not to appeal a grievance to any level beyond the second level of the grievance procedures. Once such a determination has been made by the Union and has been communicated in writing to the grievant, the grievant may appeal the decision to the YC-AFT Executive Board. Such an appeal shall be filed with the President and shall state the ground on which the appeal is being made. The grievant may request to appear before th Board in closed session to present his/her arguments. The decision by the Board shall be final. All such appeals shall be handled in a timely manner so as to conform to the deadlines set forth in the contract.