Page 12 - Work Force October 2020

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 7
The following By-Laws proposal was submitted by Mary E. Sullivan, Statewide President:
ARTICLE III – Statewide Elections
Section 2(b)(1). A member who is otherwise
eligible may qualify as a candidate for Association President, Executive Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer by submitting a nominating petition carrying the signatures and identifying information [the
last four digits or their Social Security number or their membership ID number] of not less than 1,000 members in good standing eligible to vote in the election.
Rest of Article Remains the Same
EXPLANATION: This proposal was submitted with the following justification:
“The 2020 election cycle was the first statewide election where the use of Social Security numbers was permitted on statewide officer petitions since its reintroduction in the By-Laws. As predicted, because CSEA does not obtain Social Security numbers from employees of the State of New York, many petition signatures could not be verified and were therefore deemed invalid causing undue stress and hardship on candidates who then had to obtain additional petition signatures in order to qualify.”
“With the CSEA App, a member has unfettered access to their own CSEA membership ID number and there should really be little to no reason for any member to not be able to sign a petition for any candidate due to not ‘knowing’ their number.”
“Further, this proposal eliminates the inconsistency between petitioning for statewide office and all of the other CSEA officer positions.”
The Committee supports this proposal for the reasons stated by the proposer.
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 8
The following By-Laws proposal was submitted by Mary E. Sullivan, Statewide President:
ARTICLE III - Statewide Elections
Section 1. ELECTION TERMS.
[1.] (a) The term of office for the Association President, Executive Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, [and] the six (6) Vice Presidents and the Board of Directors shall be four (4) years.
[2.] (b) [Commencing with the election cycle in year 2004, e] Elections for the ten (10) officers of the Association and for the Board of Directors shall be held in such manner as to allow for the commencement of four year concurrent terms of office as of March 1 of the election year.
Section 2. ELECTION PROCEDURE. The Election Committee shall have the responsibility for supervising
elections of the officers of the Association, members of the State Executive Committee, members of the Local Government Executive Committee, and members of the Retiree Executive Committee, who shall be elected by secret ballot. Persons running for office may petition and appear on a ballot as a slate or individually. Where candidates run as a slate, there must be an opportunity for members to vote for the whole slate and/or individuals. The Election Committee shall supervise the distribution, receipt, and verification of nominating petitions, and the drafting, distribution, verification and counting of the ballots. The ballot must clearly recite the date, place and time for the return of ballots and must be accompanied by instructions as to how a secret ballot may be cast. The names of the candidates shall appear on the ballot in the order in which they were drawn by lot. Such drawing shall be conducted by the Election Committee upon notice to all candidates. [Commencing with the year 2000 election cycle, b] Balloting is to be conducted for all elective offices between January 15 and February 15 of the election year. The distribution of ballots and the return of completed ballots shall be accomplished in a manner which will assure each member in good standing a
fair opportunity to vote. Only CSEA members in good standing as of December 1 of the year preceding
the election will be eligible to vote in the election.
All candidates or their designees may be present to observe at each stage of the election process, including the ballot count and tally processes. The member receiving the greater number of votes for the office shall be declared elected. The Board of Directors of
the Association shall establish rules and regulations concerning the conduct of the elections. Such rules and regulations shall be adopted by a simple majority of the Board of Directors and may be amended thereafter. Printed copies of the rules and regulations shall be mailed to any potential candidate, upon request, at any time and to Local Presidents on or before December 1 of the year preceding the election. Write-in votes are prohibited.
(a) ELIGIBILITY. Remains the Same.
(b) NOMINATIONS. Remains the Same.
(c) ANNOUNCEMENT. Remains the Same.
(d) TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT. Remains the Same. (e) OATH. Remains the Same.
Section 3. ASSOCIATION OFFICERS. Remains the
Same.
Section 4. ELECTION AGENCY. 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. Such written protest must be postmarked or filed electronically 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 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 and contact information of the member protesting the election. Notice of such protest must also be sent 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 to the Statewide Election Committee, with copy to all other parties, within ten (10) days of receipt of the Notice of Protest.
If the Statewide Election Committee determines that the signed statements and supporting proof establish that the member has been aggrieved by an aspect of the election process, it shall sustain the protest and take any other action which it deems appropriate in order to remedy the situation. If the Statewide Election Committee determines that the signed statements and supporting proof fail to establish a violation of any of the election procedures, it shall dismiss the protest and so notify the member. If the Statewide Election Committee determines that the signed statements and supporting proof raises a question of fact which, if resolved in favor of the member, would establish that there has been a violation of the election procedures, it shall hold a hearing to determine whether in fact the protest is valid.
At the hearing, the protester shall bear the burden
of proof. The Statewide Election Committee may also invite other interested parties to appear and present evidence. All interested parties will be entitled to bring witnesses and present evidence in support of their positions. All personal expense incurred relative to the hearing must be borne by the individuals involved. No member of the Statewide Election Committee will be permitted to vote on a protest which involves his or her own Department or Local.
If the Statewide Election Committee determines that the protester has failed to establish a violation of the election procedures, the Committee shall so notify the protester. If the Statewide Election Committee sustains the protest, the Committee shall notify the protester and all affected candidates. The Statewide Election Committee may take any action it deems appropriate in order to remedy the situation.
EXPLANATION: This proposal was submitted with the following justification:
“This is largely housekeeping, in that there is no need to refer to the year 2000 and year 2004 elections. Further in 2016, the Delegates approved the change
to allow electronic filing of protests and this change recognizes the electronic filing date or postmark as appropriate.”
The Committee supports this proposal for the reasons stated by the proposer.
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 9
The following By-Laws proposal was submitted by Jim Jackson of Local 838, Betty Jo Johnson of Local 827, and Ian Spencer of Local 334:
ARTICLE III - Statewide Elections
Section 2. ELECTION PROCEDURE.
(a) ELIGIBILITY. - (b) NOMINATIONS (1) Text Remains the Same.
(2) A member who is otherwise eligible may qualify as a candidate for Region President (CSEA Vice
Continued on page 13.
12 The Work Force
October 2020