CONSTITUTION OF THE LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE 1 - NAME
1.1 The name of the organization shall be the Lane Community College Education Association (LCCEA).
ARTICLE 2 - OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the organization shall be:
2.1 to represent the instructional staff in all matters bargainable under Oregon Law,
2.2 to provide a common voice for the LCCEA members in matters pertinent to the general welfare of its members,
2.3 to promote understanding and communication between instructional staff, administration, students, classified staff, and community,
2.4 to promote concerted for an inclusive, democratic organization action,
2.5 to promote instructional excellence,
2.6 to coordinate with organizations on issues of legislative concern to community colleges, including OEA and NEA,
2.7 to participate in the promotion of education candidates for elective office.
ARTICLE 3-MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Membership in LCCEA is open to members of the instructional staff, i.e., those included in the bargaining unit.
ARTICLE 4 - AFFILIATION
4.1 The LCCEA shall be affiliated with the Oregon Education Association (OEA) and the National Education Association (NEA.)
ARTICLE 5 - LCCEA BOARD
5.1 The Board shall consist of the LCCEA officers.
5.2 The Board shall be responsible for the management of the LCCEA as specified in the Bylaws and is empowered to act for the membership consistent with the Constitution, Bylaws, and Policies of the Association.
5.3 A quorum of the Board shall consist of a majority of all officers.
ARTICLE 6 - OFFICERS
6.1 The officers shall consist of President, Vice-President for Transfer Credit Faculty, Vice President for Part-Time Faculty, Vice President for Adult Basic Education / High School Completion / English as a Second Language, Vice President for Professional Technical Faculty, Vice President for Off-Campus Faculty, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President. The Immediate Past President shall serve for one year upon the election of a new president.
6.2 Officers shall be elected by the membership and shall be chosen from Association members.>
ARTICLE 7 - AMENDMENTS
7.1 Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by the Board or by a petition signed by 20% of the LCCEA membership.
7.2 Amendments to the Constitution shall be ratified by ballot by a majority of the membership voting.
END OF CONSTITUTION
Last Revised: May 2006
BYLAWS OF THE LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE 1 - GENERAL MEETINGS
1.1 General meetings of the Association shall be held once a term excluding summer. Additional meetings of the general membership may be called by a majority vote of a quorum of the Board or by a petition of 20% of the LCCEA membership. General meetings will be held only at times and places which are customary and accessible to the Association membership and will be announced in advance to members by written notice.
ARTICLE 2 - LCCEA BOARD
2.1 The Board shall advise the President or any Association committee.
2.2 In the event of a disagreement between the President and the Board, the Board, by a majority vote of all of the sitting officers, shall prevail.
2.3 A quorum shall be a majority or more of the sitting officers.
2.4 When a vote is required, it shall carry by a majority except as noted.
ARTICLE 3 - OFFICERS
3.1 Term of office for all LCCEA Executive Board officers shall be two years from September 1 of the academic year following elections to August 31 of the second academic year.
3.2 Duties of the Executive Board Officers shall be:
3.2.1 to assist the President in the performance of duties,
3.2.2 act as liaison as needed to Standing Committees,
3.2.3 to assume specific responsibilities as requested by the President with the consent of the Board,
3.2.4 to be knowledgeable on the collective bargaining agreement and ensure that LCCEA bylaws are followed.
3.3 Duties of the President shall be:
3.3.1 to act as a spokesperson for the Association,
3.3.2 to conduct all meetings of the general membership,
3.3.3 to appoint all standing or ad hoc committees and/or advisors except as otherwise noted in the Constitution and/or Bylaws, with the advice of the Board,
3.3.4 to act as chairperson of the Board and as an ex-officio member of standing committees,
3.3.5 to consult with, advise, oversee, and coordinate the activities of the standing committees,
3.3.6 to supervise construction of an annual budget and submit it to the membership for approval during the spring academic quarter in order to establish dues for the following year,
3.3.7 to be a liaison with the administration,
3.3.8 to be the LCCEA representative to the Community College UniServ Council or to appoint such a representative,
3.3.9 to maintain liaison with the Lane County UniServ Council,
3.3.10 to insure that Office of Instruction Administration Procedures (OIAP) and Board Policy conforms with the collective bargaining agreement,
3.3.11 to perform all other functions usually attributed to this office and consistent with these Bylaws, Constitution and with contractual requirements,
3.3.12 to assure continuity of LCCEA functions during the summer months,
3.3.13 to keep an account and inventory of the Constitution and Bylaws and all other papers, records, and property of the Association,
3.3.14 the President shall sign official documents for the Association. The President may delegate this authority to any officer or standing committee chair in writing and for specified and limited application,
3.3.15 to ensure Association representation at the OEA Representative Assembly and keep members informed of OEA and NEA activities.
3.4 Duties of the five (5) vice-presidents shall be (see: 3.2)
3.4.1 to ensure that issues from their constituencies are brought to the Executive Board and addressed.
3.5 The Board shall designate one of its members to preside over Board meetings in the absence the President, and to serve as Interim President until an election can be held if the Presidency becomes vacant.
3.6 Duties of the Secretary shall be (see 3.2):
3.6.1 to provide members notice of meeting places and times,
3.6.2 to keep an accurate record of all proceedings,
3.6.3 to assist the President with Association correspondence,
3.6.4 to help create and maintain a roster of committee members.
3.7 Duties of the Treasurer shall be (see 3.2):
3.7.1 to account for all dues collected,
3.7.2 to hold and dispense the funds of the Association in accordance with guidelines established by Executive Board policy,
3.7.3 to be a liaison to the Membership Committee to ensure membership rolls are up-to-date,
3.7.4 to prepare and provide regular financial reports to the Executive Board and ensure a full review by the Executive Board before the yearly elections,
3.7.5 to construct an annual budget and to submit it to the President for presentation to the membership for approval,
3.7.6 to ensure compliance with Federal, State, and Local government reporting requirements and be responsible for filing the appropriate forms and reports,
3.7.7 to arrange for the smooth transferring of accounts to the successor Treasurer and cooperate with an annual academic/fiscal year-end audit.
3.8 Any Officer has the power to appoint work committees to assist in carrying out responsibilities.
ARTICLE 4 - STANDING COMMITTEES
4.1 Standing Committees are advisory and are responsible to the President and/or to the Board.
4.1.1 All standing committees shall report to the Board at times designated by the Board.
4.1.2 In all committees of the LCCEA, a quorum shall be a simple majority of the members of the committee.
4.1.3 Committee chairs and membership shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Board.
4.2 Committee titles, duties, and membership are:
4.2.1 The Negotiations Committee
4.2.1.1 Membership shall consist of five (5) members. At least two members should, if possible, serve a two-year term. The Negotiations Committee chairperson may appoint subcommittees.
4.2.1.2 Duties shall be:
a. to negotiate collective bargaining contract terms and reach tentative agreements for the bargaining unit,
b. to advise the Board on contractual matters and bargaining activity,
c. to inform the membership of the status of contract negotiations,
d. to submit tentative agreements to the Board for review prior to ratification by the membership.
4.2.2.1 Membership shall consist of a minimum of three (3) members,
4.2.2.2 Duties shall be:
a. to implement the grievance procedures provided for in the collective bargaining agreement,
b. the Grievance Committee chairperson may appoint subcommittees.
4.2.3 The Legislative / Political Action Committee
4.2.4 The Membership Committee
4.2.4.1 Membership shall consist of three (3) LCCEA members.
4.2.4.2 Duties shall be:
a. to be responsible for membership promotion,
b. to assist in the determination of dues,
c. to keep membership records on file or the organization.
ARTICLE 5 - NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
5.1 Eligibility of Voters
5.1.1 All persons who are members in good standing shall be entitled to vote in all regular and special elections and are eligible to be elected to office.
5.2 Elections
5.2.1 All officers shall be elected by secret ballot during the last two weeks of May and shall hold office for a term of two (2) years beginning September 1 and ending August 31 of the second year. The elections for Vice Presidents and Treasurer will be held on alternate years from the elections for President and Secretary.
5.2.2 In the first election cycle the Vice Presidents and Treasurer will be elected for a two-year term, and President and Secretary will be elected for a one-year term. The following year, elections for two-year terms for President and Secretary shall be held. Subsequent elections shall group President/Secretary elections in one year, with Vice Presidents/Treasurer elections in alternate years.
5.3 Nominating Committee
5.3.1 Annually, during the first Executive Board meeting of March, the Executive Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee composed of not less than three (3) members of the LCCEA in good standing, of which no more than one (1) shall be an officer of the Executive Board.
5.3.2 The chairperson of the Nominating Committee shall convene the first meeting of the Nominating Committee no later than ten (10) working days after its appointment.
5.3.3 At the Spring Term General Membership Meeting of the LCCEA, additional nominations may be made from the floor or by mail received by a member of the Nominating Committee prior to the Spring Term General Membership Meeting for all offices. No one shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee, by mail, or from the floor without having first obtained his or her written consent.
5.4 Election Supervisory Committee
5.4.2 It shall be the duty of the Election Supervisory Committee to:
5.4.2.1 supervise the LCCEA election;
5.4.2.2 supervise the establishment of appropriate procedures for conducting the election in accordance with the Constitution/By-Laws and policies of the LCCEA, in order to protect the right of each member of the LCCEA to cast his or her ballot properly and have it counted;
5.4.2.3 create a complete ballot and voters pamphlet containing candidates for each office and their statements in alphabetical order;
5.4.2.4 prepare the ballot and voters’ pamphlet in both online and paper format, and this ballot shall be the only ballot used at the election. The ballot and voters’ pamphlet shall be sent to faculty through campus e-mail. Paper ballots and voters’ pamphlets will be made available to eligible voters upon request.
5.5 Notice of Spring Term General Membership Meeting and May Election
5.5.1 Written notice of the Spring Term General Membership Meeting and May election must be distributed to each member of the LCCEA of the time, place, and purpose of the Spring Term Meeting and election.
5.6 Ballots
5.6.1 All officers shall be elected by secret ballot.
5.6.2 The Election Supervisory Committee shall appoint tellers to count the ballots.
5.6.3 No officer of the LCCEA or candidate for office shall serve as a teller.
5.7 Eligible Voters
5.7.1 The eligible voting members of the LCCEA shall be established before voting begins. Each eligible voter will receive only one vote either by online or paper ballot as verified by the Election Supervisory Committee. The right to vote is personal and shall not be exercised by proxy.
5.8 Online Voting, Polling Booths, Locations, Voter Lists, Ballots and Voters’ Pamphlets
5.8.1 Polling booths, locations, voter lists, online and paper ballots, online voting mechanisms, and voters’ pamphlets must be established by appointees of the Election Supervisory Committee in accordance with the Constitution/By-Laws and Policies. The minimum amount of time for online polling will be five working days.
5.9 Members in Good Standing
5.9.1 A member in good standing is one whose name has appeared on the dues paid list for at least seven (7) days prior to the date the election is held or the nominating petition is filed.
5.9.2 Members in good standing shall be eligible to run for office or vote in an LCCEA election.
5.9.3 For purpose of running for office, a member in good standing is one whose name appears on the roll of the LCCEA as a bona fide member of the LCCEA as of the date nominations are made.
5.10 LCCEA voting shall be decided by a majority vote of those voting.
ARTICLE 6 - REMOVAL OF OFFICERS
6.1 An officer may face removal from office for acts detrimental to the LCCEA, based upon malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance of duty of the office.
6.2 The accused officer upon presentation of written charges signed by twenty percent of the General Membership in good standing of the LCCEA shall receive a hearing by an appropriately appointed special committee of the LCCEA Executive Board to review the charges against the accused officer. After a hearing has been held by the special committee appointed by the LCCEA Executive Board, the findings of the special committee shall be forwarded to the Executive Board for action. If the LCCEA Executive Board finds that sufficient grounds for removal from office are necessary, the accused officer shall be removed from office immediately following a majority vote of the LCCEA Executive Board.
6.3 The accused officer may appeal his/her removal from office to the LCCEA general membership upon request. If a request is made by the accused officer for an appeal the LCCEA Executive Board shall call a special general membership meeting for the purpose of hearing the appeal within 30 (thirty) days of the request. The LCCEA general membership attending the special meeting hearing the appeal shall vote to affirm or deny the removal of office by the Executive Board. If the vote of the general membership is to affirm the removal of the accused officer by the Executive Board the action of the Executive Board shall stand and be final. If the vote of the general membership is to deny the removal of the accused officer, the officer shall be immediately reinstated.
6.4 Oregon Education Association and/or National Education Association specified regulations may supersede this Section.
ARTICLE 7 - DUES
7.1 Local dues of the LCCEA shall be set by the Board and shall be in accord with the LCCEA's projected yearly budgetary requirements.
END OF BY LAWS
Last Revised: May 2006