(A note from the chair: These bylaws were passed by the membership in 1998 when we became a full-fledged ÒLocalÓ of the National Writers Union. As of the summer of 2003, locals are now called chapters and these bylaws will be amended to reflect some additional changes in our national governance since the 2003 delegates assembly. Rest assured, however, that the principle of democratic, grassroots leadership continues to prevail. )
I. JURISDICTION
The jurisdiction of the Vermont Local of the National Writers Union shall encompass the State of Vermont.
II. MEMBERSHIP
2.1 Membership Governs The highest level of governance of the Vermont Local lies with the general membership. All policies and decisions are ultimately the membership s authority. All officers, committees, etc. exist to promote the welfare of the membership and reflect their will. The final decision of the membership on any issue is decided by a mail referendum with ballots and arguments mailed to all members in good standing. Decisions of the Steering Committee and general membership meetings can be overturned by a mail referendum of the entire membership. Because of the random nature of who attends general membership meetings, votes taken at general membership meetings cannot over rule decisions of the elected Steering Committee. However, a majority vote of those members voting in a mail referendum is final and decisive.
2.2 Referendum Procedure Any 10 members in good standing can call for any issue to be submitted to a mail referendum of the entire membership. Upon receipt of a written petition containing the wording of the resolution to be voted on and the signatures of 10 members in good standing, the referendum shall be submitted to the membership. The referendum shall be mailed to the membership within four weeks of receipt unless all parties agree to a longer delay. The referendum can be included in a regular newsletter mailing or in a separate mailing. At least three weeks must pass from date of mailing before ballots are counted. In the referendum mailing both the pro and the anti side must be granted the same amount of space to argue their case without censorship. A special membership meeting to debate the relevant issues shall be scheduled upon request by 10 members in good standing. 2.3 Annual Membership Meetings There shall be four (4) general membership meetings held each year; at least two (2) shall be held in different geographic locations. One of these shall be the Annual Meeting.
III OFFICERS, DUTIES & QUALIFICATIONS
3.1 Terms. Elected officers and Steering Committee members shall serve for one year, or until the next regularly scheduled election, and be eligible to run again. All officers and Steering Committee members are expected to attend meetings, actively serve on committees, and participate in other Union work.
3.2 Eligibility. A person must be a Union member in good standing to run for, or hold, any office in the Local. Members of the Union's National Executive Board are not eligible to run for, or hold, titled office in the Local.
3.3 Chair. There shall a Chair of the Local, to be elected by the general membership in the annual elections. The Chair shall officially speak for the Local and appoint others to represent the Local as the need arises, shall be responsible for chairing general membership and Steering Committee meetings, or for appointing others to do so, and shall be responsible for appointing a recording secretary for each membership and Steering Committee meeting, and for conducting an orientation of new members. The Chair will be responsible for supervision of organizing and office staff that may be retained by the Steering Committee, with the sole exception of bookkeepers or other persons under the Treasurer's oversight. At each annual meeting, the Chair shall deliver a report on the Local's and National Writers Union's activities during the previous year.
3.4 Vice Chair. There shall be a Vice Chair of the Local, to be elected by the general membership in the annual election. The Vice Chair shall serve as Chair of the Membership Committee overseeing membership recruitment, scheduling of orientation of new members, and membership rolls, effectively serving as the Local's Secretary. The Vice Chair shall assume the duties of the Chair in the Chair's absence or, in the case of resignation, until the next annual election.
3.5 Treasurer. There shall be a Treasurer of the Local, to be elected by the general membership in the annual elections. The Treasurer shall have responsibility for the financial affairs of the Local and shall oversee the person or persons who keep the records and manage the Local's daily finances. The fiscal year of the Local shall be the calender year from January to December. The Treasurer shall provide or cause to be prepared a financial report on the previous fiscal year's activities to the general membership at each Annual Meeting, and supplement this report with updated quarterly reports at each of four membership meetings held during the year. The Treasurer shall submit the annual fiscal year's report to the national NWU Treasurer by February 1 of each year. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the proper maintenance of a bank account in the name of the Vermont NWU unit, and for signing, along with at least one other non staff Union member, all checks and other financial instruments, including the keeping of books and/or electronic accounting tracking all income and expenditures. Bank statements shall be sent to a Union address, not a member's business or personal address. All Union members are entitled to have access to the books for inspection and review.
3.6 Trustees. Oversight of the Treasurer's performance shall be the responsibility of three Trustees, who shall be elected annually by the general membership. A titled officer or Steering Committee member may be a Trustee.
3.7 Delegates. The Local's representatives to the Delegates Assembly shall also be elected by the general membership in the annual elections and shall serve on the Steering Committee as liaisons between the membership and NWU national divisions(Journalism, Book, Etc.). Following attendance at the Delegates Assembly, they shall file reports for distribution to the general membership and shall report at each general membership meeting. They shall make progress reports at Steering Committee meetings on the implementation on both national and local levels of division projects and programs passed by previous Delegates Assemblies and make evaluations and recommendations to the Steering Committee and to the national divisions in which they serve. At least two alternate Delegates shall be elected from the top vote-getting runner-up candidates, who shall serve as Delegates in the case of resignations or inability to attend the Delegates Assembly, or in the case subsequent Local membership growth entitles the Local to additional Delegates to the Delegates Assembly.
3.8 Steering Committee The Steering Committee is elected by the general membership annually. Steering Committee decisions may be overturned by a mail vote of the general membership. The Steering Committee shall consist of the three (3) titled officers: a Chair, a Vice Chair and a Treasurer, and up to ten at-large members, plus representatives of trade and other groups that shall be elected by their constituencies. Any Local member who has published in a trade or genre group shall be entitled to vote for that group's representative, and Union members may be a member of more than one group.
3.8.1 Voting On request of any two (2) members of the Steering Committee, a vote by electronic mail or phone may be deferred until the next scheduled meeting of the Steering Committee.
3.8.2 Communication The Steering Committee shall keep and have available to any member upon request the minutes of all Steering Committee minutes. The keeping of such minutes shall be the responsibility of each Steering Committee member on a rotating basis.
3.8.3 Participation and Quorum No Steering Committee member shall miss more than three (3) consecutive meetings or more than five (5) for the entire year. Should such occur, the Steering Committee shall invoke clause 3.10 on replacements. Fifty percent of the membership of the Steering Committee shall constitute a quorum for its meetings.
3.8.4 Ethics A. All Steering Committee members are elected to represent the interests of and promote the general well being of the general membership. As such no committee member or appointed officer shall impede or obstruct the will of the membership as expressed in referenda or general membership vote or the will of the Steering Committee as expressed by majority voting. At the same time the Steering Committee may not impede or obstruct a member s right to free speech and shall listen to and weigh all opinions with respect.
B. Each Union member shall be entitled to a full share in Union self-government. Each member shall have full freedom of speech and the right to participate in the democratic decisions of the Union. Subject to reasonable rules and regulations, each member shall have the right to run for office, to nominate and to vote in free, fair and honest elections, and to freely criticize the policies and personalities of Union officials; however, this does not include the right to undermine the Union as an institution; to vilify other members of the Union and its elected officials or to carry on activities with complete disregard of the rights of other members and the interests of the Union; to subvert the Union in collective bargaining or to advocate or engage in dual Unionism. Membership meetings shall be held at least four times a year, with proper and timely notice of time and place and shall be conducted in an atmosphere of fairness. All Union rules, regulations and procedures must be fairly and uniformly applied and disciplinary procedures for censure or expulsion, including adequate notice, full rights of the accused and the right to appeal, shall be fair and afford due process to each member. The Local and its units shall maintain adequate safeguards so that all of its operations shall be conducted in a democratic and fair manner. No corruption, discrimination or anti democratic procedure shall ever be permitted under any circumstances. [The above paragraph is based on the Ethical Practices Code of our parent Union, the United Auto Workers, as approved in 1989 by the UAW's Twenty-Ninth Constitutional Convention.]
C. No staff member or contracted individual service provider for the Local may serve on the Steering Committee. Any staff member or contracted individual service provider who is a Union Local member in good standing may be nominated for a Steering Committee and run for office providing that member resigns the staff position or withdraws as an individual contractee of the Local before accepting the nomination.
3.8.5 Waiving of Dues for Financial Hardship. The Steering Committee shall be empowered to waive or reduce a member or prospective member's dues if such would alleviate a financial hardship, and to pay the full amount of lowest dues category to the national Union for such purposes. The Treasurer shall also categorize in the Union's accounting all loans to members to help pay dues as a membership revolving loan fund. All such actions are subject to annual review by the Steering Committee and the state of the revolving loan fund shall be included in the Treasurer's annual report.
3.8.6 Annual Activities and Planning. Before undertaking any activity, the Steering Committee must first develop an annual plan detailing the activities it wishes to implement and specifying the resources: time, money, publicity etc. necessary to successfully implement said activities.
Steering Committee members are expected to participate in the planning and implementation of these activities.
3.9 At-Large Steering Committee Members. There shall be up to 10 people elected to the Steering Committee from the Local's membership at large. Steering Committee Members are expected to actively participate in Union work. When ever there are less then 10 At-Large Steering Committee members the Steering Committee can appoint additional At-Large members up to the maximum of 10. The appointment of additional At-Large members must be ratified by the membership in a mail ballot circulated with the next newsletter after the appointment is made. Appointed At Large members serve regular one-year terms, after which they must stand for re-election at the next regularly scheduled election if they choose to continue to serve.
3.10 Trade Group Steering Committee Members. Functioning trade groups of Union divisions shall each elect one person to serve on the Steering Committee. When new trade groups are organized, and have 10 or more members, they shall each have the right to elect a member to the Steering Committee.
3.11 Additional Steering Committee Members. By vote of the Steering Committee, other sub groups or committees of the Vermont Local may be granted the right to elect one member to the Steering Committee. These groups or committees may be organized on the basis of geography, issue, function, or other form that the Steering Committee decides will help build our Union.
3.12 Replacements. The Steering Committee is authorized to appoint replacements for titled officers, Steering Committee members, Trustees, and Delegates from our Local to the Union's Delegates Assembly, who resign or are unable to carry out their duties. Appointed replacements serve until the next scheduled Union election, and must be confirmed by the membership in a mail ballot circulated with the next newsletter.
3.13 Ad Hoc Committees, Task Forces, and Standing Committees. To meet the needs of the Union, the Steering Committee shall establish ad hoc committees and task forces in which membership shall be encouraged to participate and run in accordance with democratic principles and procedures. Should such committees seek to constitute themselves as permanent Standing Committees, they must draft an amendment to these bylaws in accordance with procedures described herein. Members are encouraged to form standing committees reflecting national Union divisions, the Delegates Assembly's Political Issues Committee, and such national campaigns and concerns as diversity in membership and women's rights against discrimination.
3.14 Personnel. Policy on personnel, whether hired as employees or contracted with individual contractees for defined services, shall be the purview of the Steering Committee, with the Chair or his/her designate shall act as liaison between the staff and the Steering Committee, with the sole exception of persons hired for financial services, whose oversight shall be maintained by the Treasurer, who shall liaison to the Steering Committee for hired financial service providers.
IV ELECTION PROCEDURES.
4.1 Candidacy.
a. Any Union member in good standing may run simultaneously for one of the titled offices, for At-large Steering Committee member, and for Trustee. Each eligible candidate in any election shall have the right to submit his/her commonly known name and a written notice of candidacy to the Election Committee having supervision over such an election, and to have that name appear on the ballot. Such notice and knowledge of such candidacy shall be freely accessible to any member in good standing.
b. A $7.00 filing fee to help defray some of the costs of the election must accompany the written notice of candidacy. If a candidate is unable to afford the $7 fee, and certifies this in the filing letter, the $7 fee will be waived.
c. Every candidate is entitled to a 250 word statement in a newsletter which will be mailed with the ballots. This statement may be used in whatever manner candidates choose to publicize their qualifications, positions, etc. Deadline for the office receiving these statements is stated in the yearly election calendar adopted by the Steering Committee. Statements received after that deadline will not be included in the mailing. Candidates are free to distribute their own additional campaign literature, and membership address lists shall be available to any candidate for campaign mailings.
4.2 Election Committee. There shall be an Election Committee elected annually by the general membership within six months of the annual elections. No candidate in an election shall be a member of the Election Committee having supervision over such an election. Otherwise, incumbent Trustees shall also serve as members of the Election Committee, which shall oversee the annual elections, plan the agenda for candidates' night, and meet at the time and place stated in the yearly election calendar adopted by the Steering Committee. All Union members who wish to help work on the election are urged to attend.
4.3 Candidates Night Membership Meeting. A special membership meeting for the purpose of hearing from the candidates and questioning them shall be held at the time and place stated in the yearly election calendar adopted by the Steering Committee. Notice of such meeting shall be included in the Local's newsletter mailed at least two weeks prior to the meeting. The newsletter containing candidate position statements shall be available at the meeting.
4.4 Ballots.
a. Ballots and the newsletter containing candidate position papers shall be mailed on the date stated in the yearly election calendar, but no later than three weeks prior to the election.
b. Included in the ballot mailing shall be a ballot envelope. After marking the ballot, the voter shall fold it and place it in the ballot envelope, which must remain unmarked. The ballot envelope containing the ballot must be returned to the Union office in a separate return envelope. The return envelope must include the member's name, address, and signature.
c. All ballots must be received at the Union office by the date stated in the yearly election calendar. Late ballots will not be counted. Absentee ballots (ie., ballots submitted before the voting period) are prohibited under the UAW constitution.
d. Returned ballots received at the Union office are to be kept secure and unopened until the counting date stated in the yearly election calendar. In no case shall the counting date be more than two days after the balloting deadline.
4.5 Ballot Count.
a. The counting of ballots shall occur on the date stated in the yearly election calendar. The count will be supervised by the Trustees or persons appointed by them. All Union members are welcome to attend and observe the counting of ballots.
b. On the counting date stated in the yearly election calendar, the trustees, or persons appointed by them, shall verify each return envelope against a roster of Union members and then remove the ballot envelope and place it in a pile. Local members who are designated by the election committee and who are not candidates for office shall remove the ballots from the ballot envelopes and count the ballots.
C. Following each election, the Election Committee shall report in writing the canvass of the results of the election in the Union Local's newsletter and at the next general membership meeting. No protest by a candidate to an election shall be considered unless raised within seven (7) days of the closing of the polls or at the next membership meeting, whichever is later. Protests prior to the membership meeting to be valid must be in writing and submitted to the Local Union to the office by mail receipt returned or in person to a member of the Election Committee, who shall provide a written receipt to the protesting candidate. The Election Committee shall promptly meet to review the protest and decide if a new election is warranted. If so, the election must take place within six weeks of the decision, following normal election procedures; incumbent holders of the contested seat(s) shall remain in office until the result of the new election is announced by the Election Committee. . If the protest is rejected by the Election Committee, the protesting member may appeal to the membership at the next general membership meeting and submit a petition for a membership referendum according to procedures explained in Section II of these bylaws.
4.6 Titled Offices.
a. Chair. To be elected Chair, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast for that office. If less than a majority is cast for the top vote getter, a run off will be between the top two vote getters not already elected.
b. Vice Chair. To be elected Vice Chair, a candidate must receive 50 per cent plus one of the votes cast. If no candidate receives that amount, there will be a run off between the two top vote getters.
c. Treasurer. To be elected Treasurer, a candidate must receive 50 per cent plus one of the votes cast. If no candidate receives that amount, there shall be a run off between the two top vote-getters.
d. Trustees. Of candidates for the office of trustee, the top three vote-getters shall be elected Trustees.
4.7 At-large Steering Committee Members.
a. After the 3 titled officers are elected (and thus already members of the Steering Committee) any votes for them as At large Steering Committee member shall be discarded.
b. Votes for At-Large candidates are on a Yes/No basis. All At-Large candidates who receive more Yes votes then No votes are considered elected up to a maximum of 10. If there are more then 10 At-Large candidates who receive more Yes votes then No votes, each candidate's No votes are first subtracted from their Yes votes, and then the 10 candidates with the highest number of Yes votes are declared elected.
4.8 Trade and Other Groups. Trade or other groups entitled to representation on the Steering Committee shall elect their representative in whatever manner, and using whatever qualifications, they see fit as long as the representatives are current dues paying members in good standing and that such procedures are above board, democratic, and otherwise in accordance with these bylaws and the National Writers Union's constitution. All members of the group must receive adequate advance notice (at least 2 weeks) of any election. Terms of office are one year or if the first election is held after the annual Steering Committee elections, for the remaining period until the next general Steering Committee election, at which time balloting for trade representative will be conducted during the general elections so that the representatives may assume their responsibilities with other Steering Committee members at the annual meeting.
4.9 Installation. The new titled officers, Steering Committee, and Trustees shall assume office at the annual membership meeting following the conclusion of the election. All other Steering Committee members subsequently elected or appointed shall commence their terms of office at the next Steering Committee meeting following their election or appointment.
4.10 Election of Delegates to Delegates Assembly Election of Vermont Local Delegates to the national Delegates Assembly shall take place by the same ballot and at the same time used to elect Local officers and other members of the Steering Committee. A notice of candidacy, accompanied by a $7.00 filing fee, must be received by the Local office according to the date stated in the election calendar; but if a candidate for Delegate also files for a Local office, he or she need not pay a separate filing fee for Delegate. The top vote getters up to the maximum number of Delegates allotted by the national office will be elected Delegates, with at least three top runner up remaining candidates elected as Alternate Delegates, to serve, in the order of votes received, as replacements for Delegates unable to attend the Delegates Assembly. One Delegate slot is to be reserved for each regional sublocal that may be established through procedures explained in Section VI of these bylaws. The Delegates from sublocals (if any) are to be elected by their regional membership by mail ballot, according to rules determined by the sublocal and in accordance with the democratic rights of members specified in these bylaws and the National Writers Union constitution. In the event a sublocal is unable to provide a Delegate, the next alternate Delegate will fill that slot.
V RECALL
All Local officers and all other members of the Steering Committee, including Trustees, and all National Delegates are subject to recall by a simple majority of the membership constituencies who voted them into office.
5.1 Recall Petition. Recall elections shall be conducted by the same procedure as all other referenda under Section II, Paragraph 2.2 of these bylaws.
5.2 Access to Members Addresses. In order that any Union member may communicate with the rest of the Local regarding Union issues, the performance of Union officers, or for circulation of recall petitions, the addresses of all members of the Local must be made available to any member who requests them. Such requests for addresses are to be used only for the purpose of Union affairs and such membership lists may not be disclosed to non members.
5.3 Trade and Other Groups. Trade and other groups entitled to representation on the Steering, Committee may recall their representative in whatever manner they see fit as long as it is done in an above board and democratic manner with adequate advance notice (at least three weeks) to all members of the group.
5.4 Policy Making Any policy development including the development or adjustment to these bylaws shall be developed by a committee designated by the Steering Committee. Said committee shall communicate with the membership to ensure optimal participation. All comments submitted by the membership shall be noted. Upon completion, the committee shall submit the document(s) to the Steering Committee with the memberships comments.
The Steering Committee shall decide, upon review and with a quorum present, whether to proceed with adoption.
Adoption shall involve three (3) separate readings of the policy at three (3) separate Steering Committee meetings, with approval obtained after each reading. VI SUBLOCALS
Upon approval by the Steering Committee of a petition by seven members in good standing residing within a defined region of Vermont, a sublocal shall be recognized as established in that region. The sublocal's members shall establish their own procedures and elect their own organizing or Steering Committee, one of whom shall be chosen by them as the sublocal's representative to the state wide Steering Committee.
VII RESIDENCY
NWU members residing outside of Vermont may choose to be members of the Vermont Local if they are not members of another local of the NWU. To further Union growth, NWU members may, upon approval of the Steering Committee, constitute themselves as a sublocal of the Vermont Local in accordance with the procedures defined in these bylaws, providing that the area in which the sublocal is located is not an area formally defined by another nationally approved local's constitution or bylaws as its own geographic responsibility.
VIII AMENDMENTS
Amendments to the Vermont Local's bylaws may be placed on a mail ballot for membership ratification by a vote of the Steering Committee or by a written petition signed by ten Vermont Local members in good standing. proposed All amendments to the Local's bylaws must be ratified by a majority of those voting in a mail ballot sent to all members who are current in their dues. Proposed amendments must be mailed to the membership within four weeks of the Steering Committee's vote approving the proposed amendments or within four weeks of the submission of the petition for the amendment to the Steering Committee at a regularly scheduled meeting. A special membership meeting may be scheduled by the Steering Committee on its own initiative or by it on request of the petitioners or any ten members in good standing within three weeks of the submission of the proposed amendment but no later than one week before the mail ballots on the amendment are mailed out. The amendment shall immediately go into effect upon ratification.
Submitted January , 1998 by the Bylaws Draft Committee Frank Murphy Jerry Colby