CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
OF THE
UNITED UNION EMPLOYEES OF NEW YORK
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I
Headquarters
The organization shall be known as United Union Employees of New York (UUE-NY). The headquarters of the organization shall be maintained in the community of Albany, New York.
ARTICLE II
Organization Purposes
The United Union Employees of New York exists for the purposes of being able to collectively present to the appropriate and authorized representatives of the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., our employer, the views and desires of the members of UUE-NY with respect to salaries, fringes benefits and any and all terms and conditions of employment. In addition to the purpose of collective bargaining, UUE-NY is also formed to promote the best interest of members in social, financial, educational and other activities.
ARTICLE III
Membership
Membership shall be given to all full and part time employees of CSEA who are included in the UUE-NY bargaining unit, as described in the current UUE-NY/CSEA contract.
ARTICLE IV
Dues
Section 1UUE-NY dues will be paid biweekly depending on salary schedule. The
UUE-NY schedule of dues shall be as follows:
$10,000 and under $2.00
10,001 – 15,0004.00
15,001 – 20,0005.00
20,001 – 25,0006.00
25,001 – 30,0007.00
30,001 – 35,0008.00
35,001 – 40,0009.00
40,001 – 45,000 10.00
45,001 – 50,00011.00
50,001 – 55,00012.00
55,001 – 60,00013.00
60,001 – 65,00014.00
65,001 – 70,00015.00
70,000 and above16.00
Dues will be paid through payroll deduction upon filing appropriate dues deduction forms with the Membership Chairperson of UUE-NY. Also, each new member shall pay a one-time initiation fee of $5.00. An agency shop fee will be collected biweekly in the amount of the usual salary schedule for non-union employees. UUE-NY may assess additional monies or dues that have been approved by a majority vote of the membership present at a meeting of the Union.
Section 2aAny UUE-NY dues paying member who is at half pay status and not receiving benefits from the Sick Leave Bank (i.e., sick, maternity or disability leave) will pay half dues for the duration of leave at half pay.
Section 2bAny CSEA employee on extended leave without pay (i.e., sick, maternity or disability leave) will still be considered an active member of UUE-NY.
ARTICLE V
Officers
Section 1Elected officers of the Union shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, two (2) Officers-at-Large and one (1) Chief Steward; all of whose duties will be outlined in the By-laws.
Section 2Election of officers shall in accordance with the By-Laws.
Section 3All members shall be given the opportunity to vote for their choice of officers by written ballot as specified in the By-Laws.
Section 4Elected positions becoming vacant during the term of office of any elected official will be filled through appointment by the President.
ARTICLE VI
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors will be the elected officers of the Union and will hold meetings monthly to be scheduled by the President.
ARTICLE VII
Union Funds
All expenditures of UUE-NY funds shall bear the signature of two (2) officers of the Union, one officer being the President and the other officer being the Treasurer.
ARTICLE VIII
Amendment of the Constitution
The Constitution of UUE-NY may be amended at a regular business meeting by a vote of two-thirds of the members present provided: 1. the amendment was submitted in writing at the previous meeting and; 2. notice of voting to amend has been given to all UUE-NY members.
ARTICLE IX
Miscellaneous
Parliamentary procedure shall be in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order insofar as they do not conflict with the Constitution and By-Laws of UUE-NY.
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE 1
Section 1The President shall conduct all business of the Union during the interim between regular business meetings and meetings of the Board of Directors. He or she shall appoint all committees unless otherwise directed by the membership and shall preside at all membership meetings of the Union. He or she shall not be a member of the Nominations Committee, but shall serve as an ex-officio member of all other committees. He or she shall fill by appointment any vacancies in an office, or chairpersonship of the Union for the remainder of that term. He or she shall fill by appointment all Shop Steward positions.
Section 2There shall be a Vice President who shall act in the absence of the President. In the event that the President is unable or unwilling to fulfill the duties of his or her office, the Vice President will assume the responsibilities of that office. The Vice President will also act as chairperson at all UUE-NY/Labor Management meetings.
Section 3The Secretary shall be responsible for the custody of all official papers of the Union and the recording of the proceedings of meetings held by the Union. He or she shall give notice of meetings as directed by the President.
Section 4There shall be a Treasurer who shall be responsible for the financial records of the Union and shall record income and expenditures of all monies. He or she shall submit a report to the membership at every regular business meeting and when directed, at meetings of the Board of Directors and his or her records will be made available to any member upon request.
Section 4bAll expenditures of Union funds shall be made by check and such documents shall be filed under the Union’s permanent records.
Section 5There shall be two (2) Officers-at-Large who shall be responsible for
ensuring an audit is performed annually of the union’s financial records.
The audit shall be completed by three UUE-NY members; none of whom
are/were officers during the period being audited. A report of their
findings shall be made to the Executive Board and be made available to
any member upon request.
Section 6The Chief Steward shall oversee the appointed Shop Stewards and act as liaison between the Shop Stewards and the Executive Board. The Shop Stewards will be appointed by the President and will serve at the President’s discretion. The Shop Stewards will handle all complaints from the membership that are work related. The Chief Steward shall oversee the filing of all grievances. Any complaints that are not grievable will be resolved through contact with management.
Section 7The President will appoint a Sergeant-at-Arms to serve under her/his term of office. The Sergeant-at-Arms will be responsible for keeping order at all UUE-NY meetings.
ARTICLE II
Election of Officers
Section 1Election of Officers shall take place prior to the annual meeting in May. The term of the office of all duly elected officers shall be two (2) years. No person may serve more than three (3) terms consecutively as President of the Union.
Section 2All members shall be given the opportunity to vote by written ballot at the time of election, according to the procedure outlined in Section 3 of this article.
Section 3Nominations: Any member shall be eligible to be nominated to run for any elected office of the Union. Nominations shall be made from the floor during the meeting prior to the annual May meeting. No second to any nomination is required. Any nominee not at the Nominations meeting must, within five (5) working days of the Nominations meeting, inform the Nominations Committee of his or her acceptance or rejection of any nomination he or she has received.
Any nominee for more than one (1) office must, within five (5) working days of the Nominations meeting, inform the Nominations Committee in writing of which, if any office he or she chooses to run for. No person shall run for, nor hold more than one (1) office at the same time. All nominations for each office, including a provision for the selection of a write-in candidate for each office shall be placed on the proper ballot which will then be returnable within ten (10) working days following their distribution to a three (3) member board of canvasses. All ballots shall be returned in a sealed envelope provided and must be signed on the reverse side for validation purposes.
Section 3bResults of Election: Results of the election for each office shall be made known at the annual meeting in May. A candidate must receive a plurality of votes cast in order to be elected to the office for which he or she has been nominated. In the event of a tie in an election for office, there shall be a run-off election conducted by the Elections Committee. The results shall be made known within five (5) working days after the Annual meeting. In the event of a tie in the run-off election, the candidate who has the most seniority within CSEA shall be declared the winner.
Section 3cPossession of Office: Duly elected officers shall assume their duties immediately upon their election. Outgoing officers shall deliver to the new officers, as soon as possible, but in no event later than thirty (30) days, all books, papers, records or files which constitute Union business.
Section 4No non-Union Agency Shop employee will have the right to participate in the election of UUE-NY officers.
ARTICLE III
Impeachment
Any officer of the Union may be removed from his or her official duties by a two-thirds vote of the membership for any conduct that is found to be prejudicial to the best interests of the Union. Such vote may only be taken at a regular meeting after written charges have been preferred against him or her at the previous meeting and he or she has been afforded the interim period as a reasonable opportunity to reply. A review board will be established to investigate all charges of impeachment and submit their recommendations to the membership.
ARTICLE IV
Fines
All members who fail to back the Union when a strike or job action is called shall be fined a full day’s pay for each day they cross the picket lines or violate the action taken. They shall then be expelled from membership in the Union. In order to be reinstated to membership, such person must pay the fine and the appropriate UUE-NY initiation fee.
ARTICLE V
Meetings
Section 1At least three (if needed), regular business meetings shall be held between September and March. Two weeks notice of scheduled meeting dates shall be given to all members of UUE-NY.
Section 2The annual meeting to be held the month of May shall be decided upon at the discretion of the Social Committee.
Section 3Special meetings of the Union shall be called at the discretion of the President or upon receipt of a written petition signed by not less than twenty-five (25%) percent of the Union’s membership. In either case, such meeting shall be held within two (2) weeks of the President’s call or receipt of the petition.
Section 4The presiding officer at all meetings of the Union and Board of Directors shall be the President. In his or her absence, the order of business at the meeting shall be conducted by the Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer in that order. All Union business will be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order (newly revised).
Section 5A quorum for the meetings of the Union shall be twenty (20) members, or twenty percent (20%) of all active members in good standing, whichever is fewer. The Secretary shall be responsible for determining quorum for meetings of the union.
Section 6Any elected or appointed official who is unexcused from any two (2) consecutive meetings shall have his or her position vacated. The vacated position shall be filled by appointment made by the President. Any absence may be excused because of illness, legitimate CSEA business or personal hardship by the Board of Directors. Any elected or appointed official so removed shall have a right of appeal to the membership at a duly constituted meeting of the Union.
Section 7Any member who is legitimately unable (i.e., through illness, family emergency, work conflict, etc.) to attend a meeting shall have the right to submit a written proxy vote to the President of any issue. Proxy votes shall be counted as regular votes at all meetings.
Section 8UUE-NY members traveling 75 miles or more for the purpose of attending
UUE-NY related business or activities, to include annual events hosted by UUE-NY, will be reimbursed mileage at the current IRS rate and tolls with receipts; meals will be reimbursed as stated in Article 27, Section 2. Overnight accommodations are to be made through the UUE-NY Treasurer.
ARTICLE VI
Amendment of By-Laws
The By-Laws of the Union may be amended at a meeting by a vote of members present provided: 1. the amendment was submitted in writing at the previous regular business meeting and; 2. notice of voting to amend has been given to all UUE-NY members.
ARTICLE VII
Strike/Job Action
When the Union finds it necessary to engage in concerted activity short of a strike or other job action, such as informational picketing, the membership will be notified by the Solidarity Committee to be appointed by the President. Members who fail to back the Union in such activity will be subject to discipline by the Union that can include fine and/or expulsion as determined by the Solidarity Committee.
ARTICLE VIII
Contract/Reopener Ratification
Section 1Special Meeting: In addition to Article V, Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 of the UUE-NY By-Laws, meeting notification is to be given to all members no less than five (5) days prior to the meeting date. Also, five (5) days prior to the meeting, the UUE-NY President or designee, will fax a tentative agreement fact sheet to all Regional Stewards, charging them to reproduce and distribute said fact sheet to all of his or her members.
To facilitate regional representations, any and all Special Meetings regarding tentative agreement, review and/or discussion will be held on the weekend.
Section 2Voting Procedure: Within five (5) days of the Special Meeting, ratification ballots will be mailed to all members. The ballot mailing will include the following:
- Ballot(stating a return deadline)
- 8 ¾ Secret Ballot Envelope
- #9 Return Envelope
- Tentative Agreement Fact Sheet
Ballots shall be returned seven days after distribution. Ballots bearing a postmark of the deadline will be accepted. All ballots will be returned in the sealed envelope provided and must be signed and printed on the reverse side for validation purposes.
ARTICLE IX
Contract Negotiations
All contract negotiations must include a method of regularly informing the membership regarding the status of such negotiations. Under no circumstances may the Union’s bargaining committee agree to withhold information regarding contract negotiations from the Union’s membership.
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