Page 13 - Work Force October 2018

transition following officer changes after elections and permit the appropriate administrators access following the election.
“Section 2. Guidelines prohibiting the use of using the CSEA logo or banner should be included in the By- Laws so that people can be held accountable. Inclusion of this ‘guideline’ into the ByLaws will strengthen what is presently a directive in the candidate’s handbook to a part of our By-Laws that all members will be required to follow. The CSEA Logo or banner should only be used on an official CSEA page/site and never on a page/ site that is created for the purpose of campaigning.
“Section 3. Political Candidates that CSEA PACs have endorsed are encouraged to be supported by
the membership on their official CSEA Social Media platforms. A CSEA-endorsed candidate may not be undermined on an official Unit/Local or Regional Social Media platform. Conversely, candidates not supported by CSEA should not be supported by the membership on their official CSEA Social Media Platforms.
“While the CSEA Candidate’s Handbook added a ‘Social Media’ section in 2016, those guidelines have not had the desired impact of members running for office consistently following those guidelines. As a result, the Statewide Election Committee has had to convene their committee members from around the state over and over again to address Social Media issues/protests, most often resulting in overturning
an election result and directing a new election to take place—both of which cost CSEA and the Locals more money. The addition of Social Media language to the By-Laws will further emphasize and give strength to the directives CSEA gives to its members in order to run fair and unbiased elections, treat CSEA-endorsed candidates fairly, and also the intended purpose of saving money for the Statewide Election Committee that handles the protests and the Locals/Units that are having to re-run elections. It will also help curb the period of ‘limbo’ that Locals and Units are left in during a protest period, not knowing who was actually elected to represent them.”
The Committee supports this proposal for the reasons set forth in the explanation of the proposers.
FOR THE PURPOSE OF PLACING THIS AMENDMENT BEFORE THE DELEGATES, ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE, I MOVE THE ADOPTION OF THIS AMENDMENT. THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS A “YES” VOTE.
Proposal 4
The following By-Laws proposal was submitted by the Constitution and By-Laws Committee:
ARTICLE III – Statewide Elections
Sections 1-4. Text Remains the Same.
Section 5. ELECTION PROTEST. Any member believing himself or herself aggrieved by any aspect of the nomination or election process may file a written protest with the Statewide Election Committee, Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210 [by certified mail, return receipt requested]. Such written protest must be postmarked within ten (10) calendar days after
the member first knew or should have known of the act or omission complained of. The protest must include the member’s signed statement, supported by necessary documentary proof, containing a short and
October 2018
plain statement of the facts upon which the member relies to show that he or she has been aggrieved. Each election protest must contain the name[, address and telephone number] and contact information of the member protesting the election. Notice of such protest must also be sent [by certified mail, return receipt requested,] to all other candidates, by the Election Committee, which Notice of Protest shall include a written statement that the affected candidates have
a right to respond to the protest by filing an answer, along with any supporting documentation [by certified mail] to the Statewide Election Committee, with copy to all other parties, within ten (10) days of receipt of the Notice of Protest.
Rest of Text Remains the Same.
The Committee supports this proposal for the following reasons.
This is considered a matter of housekeeping to codify the existing practice. The Statewide Election Committee is already using email and facsimile technology to communicate with members—whether they be protesters, respondents, or witnesses— involved in the election protest process. The current language specifies “certified mail, return receipt.” However, sending mail in this manner can be costly
for anyone. For example, the cost to mail a letter first class, certified, return receipt is $6.70 for just one average-sized ten inch envelope weighing one ounce or less. The cost can double for an oversized envelope or package, and election protests and responses often contain pages and pages of documents. Then the cost goes even higher when you multiply the cost for one by the number of parties who are entitled to receive copies. Further, requiring correspondence by certified, return receipt mail can delay action, particularly when a person must take the time to go to the post office to fill out the postal forms to do this.
The use of facsimile and email submissions has eased the burden on members and on the Statewide Election Committee, and thus should be reflected in the Election Procedures provisions.
FOR THE PURPOSE OF PLACING THIS AMENDMENT BEFORE THE DELEGATES, ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE, I MOVE THE ADOPTION OF THIS AMENDMENT. THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS A “YES” VOTE.
Proposal 5
The following By-Laws proposal was submitted by the Constitution and By-Laws Committee:
ARTICLE IV - Finance
Section 1. FISCAL YEAR. Text Remains the Same.
Section 2. DUES AND [SHOP] PRIVATE SECTOR CORE FEES.
(a)(1) Effective January 1, 1995, the annual membership dues[, agency shop fees] and [union shop] private sector core fees of the Association shall be as follows:
Rest of Subsection Remains the Same. (a)(2)-(a)(7) Text Remains the Same.
(a)(8) An annual amount of three percent (3%)
of the dues or [agency shop fee or union shop] private sector core fee paid by an individual shall be appropriated by the Association for political or ideological purposes. Such annual amount shall be collected and set aside on a bi-weekly basis in the
same manner as dues and private sector core fees are collected.
(a)(9) The Statewide Treasurer shall promulgate rules establishing [an agency shop fee or union shop] a private sector core fee refund procedure which satisfies the requirements of the United States and New York State Constitutions and [of §208 of the New York State Civil Service Law and of] Section 14(b)
of the National Labor Relations Act as applicable in that persons choosing not to belong to CSEA shall
not be compelled to participate in CSEA’s support of activities or causes of a political or ideological nature only incidentally related to terms and conditions of employment. The rules shall specify procedural details relating to notice, dispute resolution and distribution of [agency shop fee and union shop] private sector core fee refunds.
(a)(10) No local, unit or region has the right to assess additional dues from members [or agency fee payers or union shop fee payers].
Rest of Section 2 Remains the Same. Section 3. REFUND AND REIMBURSEMENT. (a) REFUNDS TO LOCALS.
(1) Each duly organized Local of the Association which has complied with all of the provisions of the mandated Local Constitution and this Constitution and By-Laws, shall receive from the Treasurer an annual payment of twenty-five percent of the membership dues and twenty-five percent of the [agency shop and union shop] private sector core fees collected from the employees in such Locals after the net per capita payment to AFSCME, based on the June 1 audit, has been deducted. Beginning with fiscal year 2014, such annual payment shall decrease by one- half of one percent each year, for a period of ten years, so that beginning with the fiscal year 2023, the annual payment described herein shall be twenty percent. Such refund to locals shall be reduced an amount equal to the net per capita paid to the appropriate AFL-CIO federations and labor councils in the State of New York. The expense of the delegates to regular or special meetings of the Association shall be paid by the Local from such funds as hereinafter provided.
(2) Text Remains the Same.
(3) Each Chapter existing under a duly chartered independent childcare provider local shall receive an annual $100 cash advance to be used for Chapter business expenses such as meeting expenses and/or communication costs. Upon submission to
the Office of the Statewide Treasurer of appropriate receipts and documentation for such expenditures, the Chapter will be reimbursed up to the initial advance. Any other Chapter expenditures must be submitted for prior approval and direct payment by the Office of the Statewide Treasurer.
(b) Where, as a result of reorganizing an existing Local or Locals, a new Local is created, the new Local shall be entitled to a payment from the reorganized Local or Locals. Such payment shall be in an amount equal to six (6) months refund as provided in subdivision (a) above for each member and [agency fee and union shop payer] each private sector core fee member reassigned from the reorganized Local to the new Local.
Continued on page 14.
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