BYLAWS
Fremont Unified District Teachers Association/CTA/NEA
I. NAME
AND LOCATION
The name of this Association shall be the Fremont Unified
District Teachers Association/CTA/NEA in Alameda County.
II. PURPOSES
The primary purposes of this Association shall be:
A.
To represent its members
in their relations with their employer, and to seek to be the exclusive
representative of appropriate units of school employees in all matters
relating to employment conditions and employer-employee relations
including, but not limited to, wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of employment;
B. To
form a representative body capable of developing group opinion on
professional matters to speak with authority for unit members
C. To provide an opportunity for continuous
study and action on problems of the profession;
D. To provide a means of representation
for its ethnic-minority members;
E. To promote professional attitudes
and ethical conduct among members;
F. To encourage cooperation and communication
between the profession and the community; and
G. To foster good fellowship among members.
III. AFFILIATION WITH THE CTA/NEA
A. The Fremont Unified District Teachers
Association shall be a chartered chapter of the California Teachers
Association (CTA).
B. The Fremont Unified
Teachers Association shall be an affiliated local association of
the National Education Association (NEA).
IV.
MEMBERSHIP
A.
Categories of Membership. There shall be two categories of membership
in the Association: Active and Associate.
1. Active membership shall
be open to any person who is engaged in or who is on limited leave
of absence from professional educational work, is an employee of
Fremont Unified School District(s), and whose primary assignment
is such as not to hold supervisory responsibility over other certificated
employees to such an extent as not to be represented in the negotiations
process by the FUDTA bargaining unit.
a.
Membership may be granted upon initiation of payroll deduction or
upon payment of annual FUDTA/CTA/NEA dues appropriate to the class
of membership.
b. The right to vote and
to hold elective office or appointive position within the Association
shall be limited to Active members.
c. Active members shall
be eligible to vote in all elections, hold elective office or appointive
position, receive special services, obtain assistance in the protection
of professional and civil rights, and receive reports and publications
of the Association.
d. An individual who is
serving as a negotiator for a public school employer shall not be
eligible for membership in the Association.
e.
Active members shall adhere to The Code of Ethics of the Education
Profession.
f.
The rights to and privileges of membership shall not be abridged
in any way because of age, sex, race, color, ethnic group, marital
status, national origin, or sexual orientation.
g.
No member of the Association may be disciplined without a due process
hearing which shall include the established appellate procedure.
h.
The membership year shall be that period of time from September
1 of any given calendar year through August 31 of the following
calendar year, inclusive.
2.
Associate membership shall be open to any person who is interested
in advancing the cause of public education but who is not eligible
for any other class of membership in the Association. Persons whose
eligibility for Active membership has been withdrawn because of
holding a non-bargaining unit position may be enrolled as Associate
members in accordance with policies adopted by the Representative
Council. Rights and privileges in such cases shall be limited to
continuance in economic benefits and insurance programs previously
held as Active members.
V.
DUES, FEES, ASSESSMENTS,
AND CHAPTER FINANCES
A. The basic annual dues level for
Active members, and representation fee for non-members represented
in the bargaining unit, shall be sufficient to cover the operating
expenses of the Association, the dues of CTA, and the dues of NEA.
B. The Associationıs portion
of the basic annual dues, and the representation fee for non-members,
shall be established by action of the Representative Council at
the last regular meeting of the school year.
C. The hapter (local) shall
apportion any negotiated representation fee or organizational security
fee on the same percentage basis as the FUDTA/CTA/NEA dues.
D. Membership in a given
class or category shall be continuous after initial enrollment until
delinquent or until a change in professional status shall make the
member ineligible for that class or category. If, by October 31
of any calendar year, a member has not either paid the established
annual membership dues for the current membership year, or made
satisfactory arrangements for payment, then that personıs membership
shall be considered delinquent and the name dropped from the rolls.
E. Annual
membership dues may be paid in cash or by payroll deduction.
F. Special assessments
fees beyond normal annual dues may be levied in the event of an
emergency by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Representative Council
following ten (10) school dayıs notice to the Active membership.
G. Contributions may be accepted
for the general budget by action of the Executive Board. Donations
of materials or property may also be accepted by similar action.
Where conditions as to use are attached to a contribution or donation,
the Representative Council shall set policies whereby such contributions
or donations may be accepted.
H. The Fiscal year shall
be that period of time from September 1 of any given calendar year
through August 31 of the following calendar year, inclusive.
I. The Preliminary
Annual Budget shall be submitted to the Representative Council by
action of the Executive Board at the first regular meeting in May,
and shall include the recommended dues level needed to fund the
budget. A copy of the proposed budget shall be given to each Faculty
Representative at that time. Final refinement and adoption shall
be the responsibility of the Representative Council at the time
of the Annual meeting. Changes between categories, need to exceed
five (5) percent of the total budget, may be made during the fiscal
year by action of the Executive Board; changes in excess of this
percentage shall be made only with the approval of the Representative
Council.
J. The Executive Board
shall not incur indebtedness where the payments for same exceeds
the amount provided in the budget for that purpose without prior
approval of the Representative Council.
VI.
POLICY-MAKING BODY
A. The policy-making body of the Association
shall be a Representative Council. The Representative Council, comprised
of members of the Association, derives its powers from and shall
be responsible to the membership.
B. The Representative Council
shall be composed of the following Active members:
1. Executive Board, ex-officio;
2.
Faculty Representatives elected on the basis of one-person one-vote;
3. Special Units: Active
members who work on more than one campus shall declare by October
1 of each school year the Local Faculty Unit that shall represent
them. Active members, such as, but not limited to Nurses, Librarians,
Speech Therapists, Psychologists, and Substitute Teachers who are
not represented through an individual school Faculty Unit shall
be counted as Special Units. Representative Council shall determine
the composition and appropriateness of the Special Units. Units
wishing to be considered a Special Unit must petition Representative
Council. An Active member can be represented by only one Faculty
Unit. When a special unit representation is at 15 or major fraction
thereof, then representation to the Representative Council may exceed
one (1) but no more than two (2).
4.
The following additional representatives:
a. Elected Service Center Council
Representative(s), when not already serving on the Representative
Council in another capacity;
b. Committee Chairpersons, ex-officio
non-voting;
c. CTA State Council Representatives,
if any;
d. Any members of the Association
who hold CTA/NEA offices or committee appointments, ex-officio non-voting;
and
e. The ALCOSTA Minority-At-Large
whenever a FUDTA unit member holds the position.
C. The Representative Council
shall:
1. Establish Association
policies and objectives;
2. Adopt the
annual budget of the Association on or before the first meeting
of the school year;
3. Approve the establishment
or discontinuance of committees recommended by the Executive Board;
and
4. Establish the dues of
the Association.
D.
The Representative Council shall meet at least once during each
school month; the number, place and time of meetings to be decided
by the Executive Board.
E. Special meetings of the Representative
Council may be called by the President, the Executive Board, or
by the petition of twenty percent (20%) of the membership.
F. Special meetings of
the Representative Council shall be called for a specific purpose
and no business other than that for which the meeting is called
may be transacted.
G. Notices and agendas for all
meetings of the Representative Council shall be sent to all members
of the Representative Council at least two days prior to the date
of the meeting.
H. For emergency
meetings of the Representative Council during crisis situations,
the Executive Board shall adopt procedures to notify representatives
of meeting dates, places, and times.
I. A
quorum shall consist of the majority of the total number of the
Representative Council members who have registered at the meeting
as in attendance as determined by the Chair.
J. Members
of the Representative Council shall serve a term of 1 year. (EXCEPT
FOR THE CTA STATE COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES WHOSE
TERMS ARE SET BY CTA AND EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS WHOSE TERM IS DEFINED
BY BYLAWS)
K. Any Active
member shall be entitled to be a non-voting member of the Representative
Council.
L. The Representative
Council shall have the authority to adopt and change its own agenda.
A preliminary agenda shall be prepared and submitted by the President.
M. The Representative
Council shall have the authority to handle all business property
placed before it in its capacity to act for the membership as the
policy-making body. A delay until the next regular or special meeting
in the handling of an item of business shall occur by its declaration
to be a Major Policy. Such delay shall be for the purpose of permitting
the polling of Local Faculty Units by the Faculty Representatives.
Major Policy may be declared by either of the methods: a majority
vote of the Representative Council; or a ruling from the chair at
the time an item is being considered, however, that such a ruling
may immediately be overturned by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the
Representative Council.
VII.
FACULTY REPRESENTATIVES
A. Faculty representatives shall
be elected by and from the Active membership for each faculty group.
Such election shall be by open nominations and by secret ballot.
B. Each faculty shall be
entitled to at least one representative and shall have one representative
for each 15 Association members on the faculty, or major fraction
thereof. Allocation of Faculty Representatives shall be established
by the Executive Board based on a membership consensus of each Faculty
Unit as of January 1 of each calendar year. Once made each year,
such apportionment shall remain in effect until the following December
31 unless as appeal for change based on extenuating circumstances
is approved by the Representative Council.
C. Active members who are
not represented through an individual school faculty group shall
be counted as a Special Unit entitled to the same representation
on the Representative Council as individual school faculty groups.
D. Vacancies: Vacancies in the
office of Faculty Representative
for whatever cause may be filled by properly elected or appointed
replacements.
E. Faculty Representatives
shall:
1. Conduct constant and ongoing
liaison between the Representative Council and the Active members
of the faculty unit;
2. Serve as the official channel
through which written communications and publications can be easily
and quickly transmitted between the Association and the Active members;
3. Represent
the views and input of the Active membership of the faculty in votes
taken in the Representative Council, conducting frequent and regular
polls of such membership for this purpose; and
4. Perform such
additional duties as prescribed by the Executive Board.
F.
Faculty Representatives may not conduct
an election in which he/she is a candidate.
G.
Alternate Faculty Representatives
shall be elected by and from the Active members of each Unit to
serve in the event of absence or incapacity of the regular Representative
for any reason.
VIII.
OFFICERS
A. The Principal shall
be President, First and Second Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer,
Attendance Area Representatives, and CTA State Council Representatives.
The ALCOSTA Minority-At-Large State Council Representative shall
be a member of the Board whenever a FUDTA unit member holds the
position.
B. These officers shall
be and remain currently paid-up local, state, and national (Active)
members as a condition for nomination to and service in their respective
positions during their terms of office. No Principal Officer shall
hold more than one position on the Executive Board at a time except
that the Chapter President may serve as a representative to State
Council.
C. No person shall serve
as an officer continuously in excess of two (2) full terms, after
which at least one full term must elapse before again being eligible
to serve in that office, with the exception of State Council Representatives,
who may serve three (3) full three-year terms. Time served in an
office in an interim capacity shall not count against the term limits.
D. These officers shall
be elected by and from the Active membership of the Association.
Such election shall be by open nominations and secret ballot.
E.
Officers shall be elected for a term of 2 years, commencing on the
27th day of June.
F. A vacancy shall be deemed
to exist in the case of death, resignation, or inability to serve
in any of the offices of the Association. If there is a vacancy
occurring in the office of the President, the Vice-President shall
assume the office. In the event a vacancy occurs in the other offices,
a special election shall be held to elect successors to fill the
unexpired terms.
G. The President shall be the
chief executive officer of the Association and its policy leader.
The President shall:
1. Preside at all meetings
of the Association, the Representative Council, and Executive Board;
2. Prepare the agenda for
the meetings of the Association, the Representative Council, and
the Executive Board;
3. Be the official spokesperson
for the Association;
4. Be familiar with the governance
documents of the Association, CTA, and NEA;
5. Appoint all chairpersons
and members of committees, and of the bargaining team, with the
approval of the Executive Board;
6. Call meetings of the Association
and the Executive Board;
7. Suggest policies, plans,
and activities for the Association and be held responsible for the
progress and work of the Association;
8. Attend meetings of the Service
Center Council of which the Association is a part;.
9. Attend other CTA/NEA
meetings as directed by the Representative Council;
10. Serve as ex-officio member of all
committees;
11. Serve as a delegate to the NEA/RA;
12. Be responsible for the formation
and distribution of the Associationıs calendar of activities;
13. Keep accurate rosters of all committees;
and
14. Carry on the correspondence pertaining
to the affairs of the Association.
H.
The First Vice-President shall:
1. Serve as assistant to the
President in all duties of the President;
2. Assume the duties of the
President in the absence of the President;
3. Serve as coordinator
of committee activities at the direction of the President;
4. Ex-officio member of
all committees; and
5. Shall function as coordinator
of Membership.
I. The Second Vice-President
shall:
1.
Serve as coordinator of communications; and
2.
Serve in any other capacity as delegated by the President.
J.
The Secretary shall:
1. Keep a careful and accurate
record of the proceedings of each meeting, regular or special, of
the Association, Representative Council, and the Executive Board;
and
2. Be responsible for the
distribution of minutes, notice of meetings, and agendas for all
meetings to members of the Representative Council and Executive
Board; and to the membership when appropriate.
K. The Treasurer shall:
1.
Receive all funds belonging
to the Association and be responsible for their safekeeping and
accounting;
2.
Pay out such funds upon
orders of the President;
3.
Prepare a written financial
report for each regular meeting of the Representative Council and
Executive Board;
4.
Be responsible for an annual
audit of the books of the Association and distributing a summary
of this audit to the membership by June 25;
5.
Submit membership and financial
reports to CTA, NEA, and other agencies as required by law; and
6.
Prepare the preliminary
budget for consideration by the Executive Board.
L. The Attendance Area Representative
shall:
1.
Act as the liaison and communication link between the Executive
Board and the Faculty Representatives;
2.
Be members in the area
they represent at the time of their election; and
3.
Be elected by membership
vote at-large.
4. Mission and Irvington
Attendance Areas shall be elected in the odd-numbered years and
Kennedy, Washington, and American in the even-numbered years.
M. The State Council Delegate
shall:
1. Perform analogous duties
to and from the state organization similar to those duties assigned
to Faculty representatives to be performed to and from the Association.
2. Alternates shall be
selected in order of their runner-up position in the General Election.
Should the positions not be filled, a Special Election will be held.
IX.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
A. The Executive Board
shall be composed of the officers and 5 members elected at large
from the membership to serve as Attendance Area Representatives,
as long as this complies with the ³one-person-one-vote² rule.
B. All members of the Executive
Board shall be and remain currently paid-up local, state, and national
(Active) members as a condition for nomination to and service in
these positions.
C. The at-large members of the
Executive Board shall be elected with open nominations and by secret
ballot.
D. The at-large members of the
Executive Board shall be elected for a term of 2 years, commencing
on the 27th of
June.
E. Vacancies in the position
of at-large members of the Executive Board shall be deemed to exist
in the case of death, resignation, or inability to serve in these
positions. If there
is a vacancy occurring in a position, a special election to fill
the vacancy shall be held within thirty days.
F. The Executive Board shall
meet before each regular meeting of the Representative Council and
at such other times as the President may deem necessary, or upon
written petition of a majority of the members of the Executive Board.
G. The duties of the Executive Board
shall be to:
1. Coordinate the activities
of the Association;
2. Act for the Representative Council
when school is not in session;
3. Direct the bargaining activities
and grievance processing of the Association, subject to policies
set by the Representative Council;
4. Approve appointment and removal
of bargaining team members;
5. Recommend a budget for
the Association to the Representative Council;
6. Approve Committee appointments;
7. Adopt the Standing Rules
for the Association; and
8. Exercise all the business
and organizational powers and duties for the Association as prescribed
by law and these bylaws, subject to any restrictions that may be
imposed by the Representative Council.
H. A quorum for
all meetings of the Executive Board shall consist of a majority
of the members of that body.
X.
MEETINGS OF THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
A.
Meetings of the Association may be called by the President, the
Executive Board, or by written petition of twenty percent (20%)
of the membership.
B. Notices of the Association
meetings including date, place, time, and purpose of the meeting
shall be made available to all members of the Association at least
two days before the meeting except during crisis situations.
C. For emergency meetings during
crisis situations, the Executive Board shall adopt procedures to
notify the Association membership of meeting dates, places and times.
D. A quorum for meetings of
the Association shall be 33% of the active membership or of the
members present as determined by the chair.
XI.
BARGAINING TEAM
A. The Bargaining Team
and such alternates as the Executive Board deems necessary shall
be appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board.
B. The President shall
appoint all members and the chairperson of the Bargaining Team with
the concurrence of the Executive Board and Representative Council.
C. Vacancies created by
resignation or inability to serve shall be filled by the Executive
Board from the list of alternates.
D. The Executive Board,
by two-thirds (2/3) majority, may remove a member of the Bargaining
Team.
E. The duties of the Bargaining
Team are to represent and to bargain for the bargaining unit(s).
F. Responsibility and authority
for directing the bargaining process on behalf of the Association
are vested in the Executive Board subject to policies established
by the membership.
G. Employees in each appropriate
bargaining unit shall be surveyed by the Bargaining Team and/or
Contract Construction Committee to determine contents of the proposed
contract demands, and the contract proposal for each appropriate
unit shall be approved by Association members in that unit.
H. The Bargaining Chair
is responsible for reporting activities to the Executive Board and
for maintaining complete and accurate records of all matters related
to bargaining. Said records are the property of the Association
and a copy of the records shall be kept at the Teachers Association
office at all times. Within thirty (30) days of the signing of the
contract, all bargaining records and related materials shall be
properly and permanently filed in the Association office.
I. The Executive
Board shall provide for the dissemination of information regarding
bargaining and the activities of the Bargaining Team to the general
membership.
J.
Agreements reached between the Bargaining Team and the school board
or its representatives shall be tentative and not binding upon the
Association until such agreements have been ratified by the bargaining
unit.
K.
Upon reaching a Tentative Agreement with the Fremont Unified School
District, the Associationıs Bargaining Team shall submit the proposal
to the Executive Board for approval. It will then be sent to the
Representative Council for review and recommendation. After this
review the Tentative Agreement will be sent to the bargaining unit
for a vote by secret ballot.
XII.
GRIEVANCE PROCESSING
A.
The Executive Board shall adopt, with the approval of the Representative
Council, the procedures for grievance processing.
B. These procedures shall include,
but not be limited to, the following:
1. Provide for representation
to assist all members of the bargaining unit(s) in processing grievances;
2. Training for handling grievances;
and
3. Evaluation of the Associationıs
grievance policies and procedures.
XIII. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
A. There shall be an appointed Elections
Committee.
B. Elections shall be conducted
with:
1. Open nomination procedure;
2. Secret ballot;
3. All member vote; and
4. Record of voters receiving
or casting ballots.
C. State Council Representative
elections shall be conducted in accordance with CTA guidelines after
the Chapter or Service Center Council has been notified to do so by the CTA Elections Committee.
D. NEA State Delegate elections
shall be conducted in accordance with CTA guidelines.
E. NEA Local Delegate elections
shall be conducted in accordance with NEA/CTA guidelines.
F. The duties of the Elections
Committee shall be to:
1. Ensure that all FUDTA/CTA/NEA
election codes and timelines are followed;
2. Establish election timelines;
3. Develop and carry out timelines
and procedures;
4. Prepare ballots for election
of officers and such other elections as may be necessary;
5. Count the ballots and certify
the results; and
6. Handle initial
challenges.
XIV.
COMMITTEES
A.
Committees, except as otherwise provided in these bylaws, may be
established and discontinued by the Executive Board, subject to
approval by the Representative Council.
B. Each committee shall keep
a written record of their deliberations and recommendations and
submit periodic reports to the Executive Board and Representative
Council.
XV.
GOVERNANCE DOCUMENTS
A.
All types of classes of governance shall be conducted in accordance
with the Governance Documents. These shall be as follows, in the
order of their rank and precedence:
1. ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.
This shall be the lawfully constituted authority for the structure
and existence of the Association as a legal entity. Custody over
this document is reserved by the active membership to itself.
2. BYLAWS. The Bylaws shall be the blueprint for the representative
policy-making machinery and the related organizational structure
of the Association. Custody over the Bylaws is delegated to the
Representative Council except as may otherwise be directed by the
Active membership.
3. POLICIES, PROCEDURES
AND STANDING RULES. The Standing
Rules shall a written means by which the daily organizational business
of the Association is accomplished. They also may be used where
appropriate to implement the Bylaws and those policies of the Representative
Council to which they can be applied. Establishment and custody
over the Standing Rules is delegated to the Executive Board except
as may otherwise be directed by the Representative Council.
B. Parliamentary Authority:
Where not otherwise prescribed within the Governance Document, the
latest edition of ³Robertıs Rules of Order² shall be prescribed
authority for the conduct of the meetings of all Governance Bodies.
C. Availability of Governance
Documents and Record of Proceedings: Copies of the Governance Documents
and Record of Proceedings (Minutes) of the Governance Bodies shall
be readily available to members at the organizationıs principal
office of business.
XVI.
AMENDMENTS/PROCEDURES:
A.
Amendments of the Bylaws: The Representative Council and/or the
Active membership shall have final ratification authority for amendments
to these Bylaws in accordance with the following procedure:
1.
Proposal. By majority vote, the Executive Board or the Representative
Council may propose an amendment to these Bylaws during any meeting.
2.
Notice. At least seven (7) days notice to the Active membership
shall be required prior to final consideration of the proposed amendments
of the Representative Council.
3.
Adoption. The proposed amendment shall be debated, and by majority
vote be amended in any manner which does not increase its scope
or impact prior to final vote in the Representative Council. The
Council may, by majority vote, refer amendments to a Referendum
General Election for final decision by Active membership whenever
such amendments are deemed to be substantial in nature. If acted
upon directly by the Representative Council, at least two-thirds
(2/3) of those voting at a valid meeting shall be required for ratification
of the amendment. The effective date shall be the date of the ratification,
unless a later date is specified at the time of such ratification.
