Page 13 - Work Force October 2020

President), Region Vice President, Region Secretary or Region Treasurer, by submitting a nominating petition carrying the signatures and [identifying information] the last four digits of their Social Security number
or their membership ID number of not less than 500 members in good standing eligible to vote in the election.
Remainder of Article Remains the Same.
EXPLANATION: This proposal was submitted with the following justification:
“1) To make the language consistent with that of Article III Section 2(b)(1) of the Statewide Constitution and By-Laws where it spells out the individual Statewide offices and requires the petitions have either the “...last four digits of their Social Security number
or membership ID number.” The current inconsistency causes confusion when circulating multiple petitions for the various State and Regional elections.”
“2) Not all members have immediate access to their membership ID numbers, particularly if they work in a facility where phones, and/or any online capacity is not allowed in the worksite. If petition circulators need to circulate in such worksites, they are not provided with a membership list with membership ID numbers.”
The Committee does not support this proposal.
If Proposal #7 above is adopted, the use of Social Security numbers will be removed from the Statewide Officer petitioning during this convention. Thus, consistency will be restored across elections.
Further, as stated in 2016, CSEA does not have every member’s Social Security number. This is due in large part to the fact that the State of New York no longer collects Social Security numbers and has not done so for some time. This fact alone will prevent CSEA from having the ability to utilize a member’s Social Security number for verification purposes. This issue will only get worse going forward as new state members join our Union.
In addition, the Region President is a Statewide Vice President and that is why that position is included in the CSEA By-Laws under Statewide elections. The other region positions are governed by the election article in the Region Constitution. The proposers mistakenly believed that the other region officer positions belong in the Statewide Constitution & By-Laws, but they do not. A separate Region Constitution proposal should have been made instead.
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 “NO” VOTE.
Proposal 10
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) & (2) Text Remains the Same.
(3) A member who is otherwise eligible may qualify as a candidate for the State Executive Committee or Local Government Executive Committee by submitting a nominating petition carrying the signatures and [identifying information] the last four digits of
October 2020
their Social Security number or their membership ID number of not less than ten percent (10%) of the members in good standing eligible to vote in their election provided, however, that in no event will more than [300] 150 valid signatures be required.
Remainder of Article Remains the Same.
EXPLANATION: This proposal was submitted with the following justification:
“1) To make the language consistent with that of Article III, Section 2(b)(1) of the Statewide Constitution and By-Laws where it spells out the individual Statewide offices and requires the petitions have either the “...last four digits of their Social Security number
or membership ID number.” The current inconsistency causes confusion when circulating multiple petitions for the various Statewide and Region elections.”
“2) Not all members have immediate access to their membership ID numbers, particularly if they work in a facility where phones, and/or any online capacity is not allowed in the worksite. If petition circulators need to circulate in such worksites, they are not provided with a membership list with membership ID numbers.”
“3) For Locals with multiple worksites, many
that are not easily accessible; it produces an undue hardship to gather the signatures needed. It can require seeking authorizations and access, potentially causing interruption during work hours as signatures cannot be obtained during membership meetings thus requiring scheduling multiple individual meetings in many departments over a wide location.”
The Committee does not support this proposal.
If Proposal #7 above is adopted, the use of Social Security numbers will be removed from the Statewide Officer petitioning during this convention. Thus, consistency will be restored across elections.
Further, as stated in 2016, CSEA does not have every member’s Social Security number. This is due in large part to the fact that the State of New York no longer collects Social Security numbers and has not done so for some time. This fact alone will prevent CSEA from having the ability to utilize a member’s Social Security number for verification purposes. This issue will only get worse going forward as new state members join our Union.
Further, of the 112 current Board seats, only 30 Board seats currently require more than 150 petition signatures. Of those 30 seats, only 7 are unfilled. The 7 unfilled seats are unfilled for various reasons and the Committee believes it is not related to the number of signatures required.
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 “NO” VOTE.
Proposal 11
The following By-Laws proposal was submitted by Lori Munio of Local 449 and Jim Jackson of Local 838: ARTICLE V – Judicial Board
Sections 1 – 2: Text Remains the Same.
Section 3. PROCEDURE. (a) Charges against individual members.
(1) - (12): Text Remains the Same.
(13) Upon suspension, all records, [and] documents, all other union property, including but not limited
to, electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and
cell phones, automobiles, office keys, and any administrative and ownership rights to webpages and/or social media platforms under the control of the suspended officer must be turned over to CSEA.
Rest of Article Remains the Same.
EXPLANATION: This proposal was submitted with the following justification:
“Upon suspension, it would be more inclusive if all information and records being turned over to CSEA included all CSEA owned electronic devices such as laptops and cell phones etc. under control of said officer; thus, assuring that a suspended officer would cease and desist the use of those devices for union or member related activities while suspension is served.”
The Committee supports this proposal for the reasons set forth by 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 12
The following By-Laws proposal was submitted by Mary E. Sullivan, Statewide President:
ARTICLE V - Judicial Board
Section 1. MEMBERS. Text Remains the Same. Section 2. JURISDICTION. Text Remains the Same. Section 3. PROCEDURE.
(a) Charges against individual members.
(1) Any member may file a complaint against any
member or officer of CSEA. Any Executive Board of a Unit, Local or Region may file a complaint against any member or officer of CSEA.
(2) Each complaint must be accompanied by
the Judicial Board Complaint Form and filed with
the Judicial Board, 143 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12210, [by certified mail, return receipt requested,] and a copy of the complaint must be served on any person against whom the complaint is made [by certified mail, return receipt requested].
(3) The complaint must contain the name, address, [last four digits of] the CSEA ID number, and Local
of the member making the complaint and the name, address, and Local of any party against whom the complaint is made. The complaint must set forth a clear, concise statement of the alleged wrongful conduct together with the dates and places where the conduct took place, and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses to the alleged wrongful conduct. If a violation of a CSEA constitution is alleged, the specific article and section of that constitution
must be included; if the complaint alleges a violation
of a mandate of the Board of Directors of the Statewide Association, the specific mandate must be stated. The complaint shall be accompanied by documentation and/ or a statement signed by the member which supports the complaint and must also contain a statement by the member making the complaint that the person against whom the complaint is made has been given a copy of the complaint.
(4) – (6)(a)(1), (2) and (3) Text Remains the Same.
6(b) Upon receiving any other complaint, the Judicial Board may dismiss the complaint or any part thereof
Continued on page 14.
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