BYLAWS OF WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE PROFESSIONALS
(Rev. December 8, 2006)
The name of the organization shall be the Washington Association of Fish and
Wildlife Professionals (and shall be referred to throughout these Bylaws as the
Association).
Jurisdiction shall be determined by the Washington State Public Employment
Relations Commission (PERC). All persons employed by Washington State Department
of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and who are in the Association’s bargaining unit are
eligible for membership in the Association.
Section I. RIGHTS OF MEMBERS. Every member in good standing shall have
the right to attend any Association general or Executive Board meeting and to
participate in such meeting in accordance with the Bylaws of the Association.
Membership shall consist of all dues paying members. Good standing members are
those who are current in payment of the duly-assessed Association dues.
Section II. This Association, its officers, representatives, and members
shall recognize, observe and be bound by the provisions of these Bylaws and the
Association’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by and between the State of
Washington.
Section III. With the exception of an individual who has a bona fide
religious tenet, any person who is employed as a permanent employee within the
jurisdiction of the Association shall become a member in good standing within
sixty (60) days of becoming a permanent employee (full members), or shall make
appropriate fair share payments to the Association in lieu of dues (fair share
members). All other persons engaged in service within the jurisdiction of the
Association will be eligible for active membership. Failure to make fair share
payments or to join the Association and make dues payment will result in the
employee’s termination from employment.
Section IV. FULL MEMBERS. A Full Member is an employee who is a member
of the bargaining unit as defined by PERC, who is current with monthly dues
payments and any other Association assessments regardless of part time or career
seasonal status. Full Members are considered members-in-good-standing and are
entitled to vote and participate in the Association.
Section V. FAIR SHARE MEMBERS. A Fair Share Employee (Member) is an
employee who is a member of the bargaining unit as defined by PERC but who does
not wish to be a full member of the Association. These members must pay their
fair share of the Associations’ costs of acting as the exclusive bargaining
agent for the bargaining unit. This amount is set by the Association Executive
Board. Fair Share members of the Association shall not be entitled to
participate or vote in the Association.
Section VI. DELINQUENT MEMBERS AND DISPUTED MEMBERSHIP. Members who fail
to pay their dues, assessments, or in-lieu-of-dues payments, within other
existing contract between the Association and any member(s), shall be notified
by the Treasurer of the Association that they are delinquent and will be
automatically suspended and lose their good standing if payment is not made
within sixty (60) days following such notification. Delinquent, suspended, and
fair share members are not entitled to participate or vote in the Association.
1. New Members. New bargaining unit employees will have sixty (60) days to join
the Association after their date of employment. If they fail to join, the
Association will instruct the employer to terminate the employee in accordance
with the procedures outlined in the CBA, and outlined in this Section (VI) of
Article III.
All new members will have fifteen (15) days from the date they receive the
information described in this Article to inform the Association in writing that
they object to the amount being deducted from their wages and the reasons for
these objections. Failure to inform the Association in a timely manner will be
considered a waiver of the right to so object.
Upon receipt of this objection the Association Executive Board will review the
objection and inform the member within fifteen (15) days of its decision. If the
board agrees with the new member, the dues will be adjusted accordingly. If the
board rejects the new member’s objection, then the new member has ten (10) days
in which to inform the board that he or she desires to have a dispute settled by
arbitration.
2. Fair Share Members. If a member of the bargaining unit refused to join the
Association, he or she will be assessed his or her fair share of the cost of
negotiating and maintaining the CBA, and will be called a Fair Share member.
This amount will be determined by the Association’s Executive Board after an
independent auditor has examined the Association’s detailed budget for the year.
The accounting must designate the amount of funds which are to be clearly used
for ideological purposes, those which are clearly to be used for the cost of
negotiating the maintaining the contract, and those which are not clearly in
either category. This accounting must also include all funds sent to state or
national affiliates.
The Fair Share Member will instruct the employer to deduct the amount equal to
all funds not clearly to be used for ideological purposes. The Association will
then place in escrow the amount which is not clearly either for ideological
purposes or for negotiating or maintaining the CBA. The amount which is clearly
to be used for negotiating
and maintaining the contract may be used immediately by the union. The amount in
escrow can only be used after members have had an opportunity to register their
objections by utilizing the appeal process described below (Section VI (3)).
Fair share members shall be provided with a copy of the budget along with an
explanation of the amount of dues to be deducted from their paychecks. They will
also be provided with a copy of the procedures described in this article whereby
they may register their objections to the amount deducted.
3. Dispute Resolution. Upon receipt of a request for arbitration, the
Association will request as soon as possible, a list from the American
Arbitration Association of the five arbitrators to be submitted to the
Association and the appealing member. Within ten (10) days of the receipt of
this list, the Association representative will meet with the affected member and
each will alternatively strike names until a single arbitrator is left. The
Association representative and the affected member shall determine by lot who
will strike names first. The Association will inform the Arbitrator of his or
her selection and schedule a hearing as soon as possible within the parameters
of the parties’ schedules. The Arbitrator will have thirty (30) days from the
date of the hearing to render his or her decision. The decision will be final
and binding upon both parties. The cost of the Arbitrator will be born by the
Association.
4. If the Arbitrator sustains the objection by the appealing member, then the
Association will refund to that member, the amount designated by the Arbitrator.
If the Arbitrator rejects the objection and supports the Association, then the
disputed amount of the member’s dues deducted and in escrow may be withdrawn and
used by the Association.
Section VII. MEMBERS LEAVING THE BARGAINING UNIT. Members who transfer or
promote to positions within WDFW, which are not represented by the Association,
must notify the Association Treasurer, in writing, within thirty (30) days of
assuming the new position, that they have transferred out of the Association.
Members who fail to notify the Treasurer shall forfeit any dues collected by the
Association after they have transferred to the new position. Notification to the
WDFW payroll office about an employee’s change of position and dues status is
the responsibility of the employee.
Section VIII. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE TO THIS ASSOCIATION
OR FOR DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE. Persons may be elected Honorary Members
by a majority vote of the members of the Association. Honorary Members shall not
pay initiation fees, dues or other charges and shall have no voice or vote in
the Association. Such membership may be revoked for cause.
Section IX. RETIRED MEMBERS. Any member in good standing who retires from
employment with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
automatically becomes an Honorary Member of the Association as defined in
Section VIII.
Section X. DISABLED MEMBERS. Any member in good standing who is on
long-term disability and has not retired, retains his/her full membership status
and has all the rights and benefits pertaining thereto with the exception that
he/she is not required to pay dues to the Association as long as he/she is on
disability status.
Section XI. INACTIVE MEMBERS. Any member in good standing who takes a
leave of absence without pay from their employment with the Department of Fish
and Wildlife for longer than thirty (30) days shall be placed on inactive
status. Such inactive members shall not be required to pay dues and shall have
no vote in the business of the Association or be eligible to hold office while
on inactive status. All other membership rights shall remain in effect. Upon the
employee’s return to paid employment status with the Department of Fish and
Wildlife from such a leave, the member’s active status shall be automatically
reinstated. Career Seasonal employees shall not be considered inactive during
their seasonal layoff period.
Section I. ANNUAL MEETING. The meeting shall be held at a time and place
determined by the Association Executive Board and announced at least one month
in advance of the meeting. The Annual Meeting(s) may be for the purpose of
reviewing the business of the Association during the past year, and/or to elect
officers. A single meeting per annum, or two meetings held in separate locations
of the State, east and west of the Cascades, with identical agendas, shall
constitute an Annual Meeting(s).
Section II. SPECIAL MEETINGS. Special Meetings may be called in three
ways:
1. By a majority vote of the Executive Board.
2. By an aggrieved member for the purpose of appeal to a decision by the
Grievance
Committee regarding any grievance filed by said member.
3. Ten (10) members in good standing may petition the Executive Board to call a
special meeting.
Any request for a special meeting under #2 or #3 above shall be in writing and
shall specifically state what business shall be included on the agenda and no
other business shall be in order at that meeting. It shall be the responsibility
of the Executive Board to notify, in writing, all members in good standing of
the time and place of the meeting, and the agenda, at least fifteen (15) days
prior to the meeting. Proxy votes shall be allowed on business discussed at
special meetings only to the extent that the advance notification meets the
requirements set forth in Article VI, Section XI, Special Elections.
Section III. QUORUM. The quorum for any meeting of this Association shall
be ten percent (10%) of the members in good standing except that no vote shall
be effective unless twenty percent (20%) of the members in good standing cast
ballots. For the purpose of a vote taken at the Annual Meeting(s), the combined
attendance of these meetings shall constitute a quorum count.
Section IV. RULES OF PROCEDURE. Unless otherwise stated within the Bylaws
or CBA of this Association, all meetings shall be governed by a procedure
designated by a majority vote of the Executive Board.
Section V. DISSENT. A member who is present at any meeting of the
Association at which action on any Association matter is taken shall be presumed
to have assented to the holdings of the meeting and action taken unless his/her
dissent or objection shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless
he/she shall write his/her written dissent or objection to such action with the
person acting as the Secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof, or
shall forward such dissent by registered mail to the Secretary of the
Association immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right of
dissent shall not apply to a member who voted in favor of such action.
Section VI. EXECUTIVE SESSION. At any regularly called meeting of the
Association the officers may by majority vote, elect to go into Executive
Session excluding there from all members not designated in the motion from the
Executive Session. The purpose of the Executive Session shall be to achieve
harmony among the officers as to the Association business and direction. No vote
on any matter shall be considered binding when taken during Executive Session.
Section I. DESIGNATION. The officers of this Association shall consist of
President, Vice- President, Secretary, Treasurer, one program specific board
member from each program with members in the Association, and one at-large
member, which will constitute the Executive Board. These officers shall be
selected by a quorum vote of the membership.
Section II. ELIGIBILITY FOR OFFICE. Any full member in good standing
shall be eligible to hold any office in the Association.
Section III. TERM OF OFFICE. Officers shall hold office for two (2) year
terms and until the election and installation of their successors, unless
recalled from office as provided by these Bylaws. The President, Fish Program
board member, Wildlife Program board member, and Secretary shall be elected on
alternate years from the Vice President, Treasurer, Habitat Program board member
and at-large member.
Section IV. RECALL FROM OFFICE. Officers and Board Members of this
Association can be recalled from office for acts which would discredit the
Association and prevent the Association from carrying out the best interest of
its membership. A recall election may be initiated by a petition to the
Executive Board signed by at least twenty-five (25) percent of the members in
good standing in the Association. Such a petition shall contain any allegations
against any Officer(s) and any other justification for such recall election.
Recall elections shall be by secret written ballot according to the provisions
of Article VI.
Section I. METHOD OF NOMINATION. The methods of nominations for officer
candidates are as set down under the duties of the Nominating Committee.
Section II. RIGHTS OF CANDIDATES. Every candidate for office shall have
the right to request distribution of campaign literature, by mail or otherwise,
to all members in good standing, at the candidate’s own expense. There shall be
no discrimination in favor of or against any candidate with regard to the use of
the membership list.
Section III. USE OF FUNDS PROHIBITED IN ELECTIONS. No funds received by
this Association through initiation fees, dues, or assessments or otherwise,
shall be contributed or applied to promote the candidacy of any person in
election of officers. This section does not prohibit the expenditure of
Association funds for notices, factual statements of issues and other necessary
expenses to conduct elections so long as they do not involve promotion of any
candidate or issue.
Section IV. METHOD OF VOTING. Elections of officers shall be by secret,
written ballot, even if only one candidate is nominated for a given office.
There shall be no voting by proxy in the election of Association officers. Mail
ballots are permitted. The candidate receiving the highest number of ballots
cast shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie, the balloting shall
continue through a run-off election.
Section V. BALLOTS. For the election of officers, ballots will be
available to each member of the Association in good standing, at least seven (7)
days prior to the Annual Meeting(s), or otherwise designated election date, in
the form prescribed elsewhere in these Bylaws. Association members in good
standing may then cast their vote for candidate of their choice and deliver
their ballots in person or by mail to the Secretary.
Votes may be placed in the ballot box or sent to the Secretary from the time
of delivering the ballots until noon on the day of the Annual Meeting(s), or by
a specified date, if an election is conducted by mail. The Secretary will bring
the ballots, unopened, to the Annual Meeting(s) to be counted, if the election
is to take place at the Annual Meeting(s). At the Annual Meeting(s), members who
have not yet cast their votes will be given the opportunity to do so. In the
event of a run off, ties will be broken by secret ballot cast by a majority of
the membership present at the Annual Meeting(s).
Section VI. FORM OF BALLOT. Each ballot shall be in a form prescribed by
the Executive Board and shall contain the name of every candidate, showing the
office the nominee is running for; and/or shall show each issue to be voted
upon. Each member shall be furnished a ballot and two envelopes. One envelope
shall be plain and one shall contain the printed name of the member. Members
shall insert the ballot in the plain envelope and insert the plain envelope in
the envelope with his/her name thereon. The member will then sign by the printed
name with his/her signature and place the ballot in the ballot box or return to
the Secretary in the time for the annual meeting.
Provisional ballots may be submitted to the Secretary prior to the official
counting of the ballot per Section VII. Provisional ballots shall not count
towards the final tally until confirmation from the Department of Fish and
Wildlife Personnel Office or Washington Department of Personnel provides
evidence that the voter was a member in good standing at the time of the
election. The Secretary may not delay Certification of the Results unless there
are a sufficient number of provisional ballots to cause a change in the outcome
of an election.
Provisional ballots cannot be accepted for elections that are statutorily time
sensitive such as Collective Bargaining Negotiation Tentative Agreements.
Section VII. COUNTING OF BALLOTS. At the time of counting of ballots, the
Secretary or designee in the presence of a volunteer member, shall open the
locked box and as each envelope is removed, shall verify that the name thereon
is that of a member in good standing and eligible to vote. The Secretary shall
remove the unmarked envelope and segregate it. When all the signed envelopes
have been opened and verified, the Secretary and the volunteer member shall then
open and count the ballots contained in the unmarked envelopes.
Section VIII. CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS. The Secretary or designee and
witnessing volunteer member(s) shall sign the tally sheets, which constitute the
official results of the election. Ballots shall be preserved by the Secretary
for one (1) month following notification of the membership of the election
results. If an election is contested, the Secretary or designee shall not
destroy the ballots until the election is resolved.
Section IX. VACANCIES IN OFFICE. The Executive Board may appoint an
Association member in good standing to a position that becomes vacant until the
next annual meeting. When an office becomes vacant the members shall elect a
successor for the remainder of the officer’s term by majority vote of those
present at the next meeting from the date the office is vacated, or by election
through the mail, except in the case of the President, in which the order of
attrition shall take precedence.
Section X. ORDER OF ATTRITION. In the case that the President shall be
unable to complete a term of office, he/she shall be succeeded by the
Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, in that order, provided that the
successor shall be an office holder by election of the membership and not by
appointment.
Section XI. SPECIAL ELECTIONS. Votes on initiation fees, increase in
membership dues, reinstatement fees, special assessments and recall of an
officer shall be by secret written ballot and follow the methods set forth in
Section V, VI, VII and VIII of this article, except that the time limits shall
apply to the next scheduled meeting. All other votes of regular Association
business may be, at the option of the presiding officer, by voice or show of
hands during a regular or special meeting.
Proxy votes will be permitted in special elections provided that they are in the
proper form and signed, and that the business to be voted on was included in the
official agenda and posted for a period of seven (7) days prior to the meeting.
Proxy votes will not be allowed for the elections of Officers, amendments to the
Bylaws, on offers for settlement of collective bargaining negotiations or on
issues affecting financial assessments to the members as listed above in
paragraph 1.
A proxy vote shall consist of the following form: Each vote shall be specified
on a separate sheet of paper (approximately 3" x 5") and shall contain either a
blanket proxy votable by the bearer, or shall specify the issue and the desired
vote. Each proxy shall be signed by the maker and endorsed by the bearer. The
results of the ballot shall be subject to verification of the proxies. Any proxy
that is unclear as to how a vote is to be cast shall be void.
Section XII. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NEGOTIATION TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS. All
members in good standing shall be provided as much time as possible to vote on
Collective Bargaining Tentative Agreements. The Association shall notify members
in good standing of where the Tentative Agreements may be viewed.
The Association shall make a good faith effort to notify all members in good
standing by mail. The Association shall not be responsible for disenfranchising
members that have failed to notify the Association of changes in mailing address
or that do not show up as members in good standing on the last list of paying
members received by the Association from the Department of Fish and Wildlife at
the time the ballot is mailed.
Section XIII. CONTESTED ELECTIONS. Any Association member in good
standing who objects to an election must register their objection, in writing,
with the Association Secretary within seven calendar (7) days after election
results are announced. The Secretary will convene the Election Committee, review
the merits of the objection, and notify the membership of findings within seven
(7) calendar days of receipt of the objection.
Failure of a member to maintain up to date information with the Department of
Fish and Wildlife, or the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s failure to provide
the Association with an updated membership list prior to an election shall not
be grounds for contesting an election.
Section I. PRESIDENT. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at
all meetings of the Association and at meetings of the Executive Board. The
President shall be the executive head of the Association. The President shall be
a member ex officio of all committees. The President shall appoint such
committees as may be provided for in the Bylaws and such special committees as
may be authorized by the Executive Board of Association. The Treasurer or the
President may sign orders and checks lawfully drawn. The President shall enforce
strict observance of any Collective Bargaining Agreements, Contracts and the
Bylaws of the Association. The President shall have general supervision of the
other officers and chairs of committees.
The President shall discharge on behalf of the Association such duties as may be
imposed upon him/her applicable by law, including the execution and filing of
any reports to the Federal or State authorities, and the President shall cause
to be maintained by the Association such reports as the law requires to be kept.
The President shall report to the Association on the activities of the
Bargaining Unit.
Section II. VICE-PRESIDENT. The Vice-President shall assist the President
in such a manner as the President may determine. In the absence of the
President, the Vice-President shall preside at the meetings of the Association
and of the Executive Board. The Vice-President shall be chair of the Grievance
Committee and shall organize the annual meeting(s). The Vice-Pesident shall be
the primary contact between the Executive Board and Job Representatives.
Section III. SECRETARY. The Secretary shall discharge on behalf of the
Association, such duties as may be imposed upon them by the President or by
applicable law including the execution and filing of any reports to Federal or
State authorities, including, but not limited to the following:
1. Maintain and have custody of all documents, records, books and papers
belonging to the Association and/or required by law. Files pertaining to
concluded grievances, disciplinary actions, or other private matters for
individual members may be stored with the Association attorney at the
president’s discretion.
2. Keep an accurate record of the meetings of the Association and the Executive
Board.
3. Attest all official documents with his/her signature.
4. Conduct the correspondence of the Association promptly
5. Serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee.
6. Appoint and supervise a Newsletter Editor
7. Appoint and supervise a Website Manager
Section IV. TREASURER. The Treasurer shall discharge on behalf of the
Association, such duties as may be imposed upon them by the President or by
applicable law including the execution and filing of any reports to Federal or
State authorities, including, but not limited to the following:
1. Receive all money due the Association, from whatever source, and disburse the
same only by check signed by him/her and/or the President or Vice-President.
2. Maintain and keep current and accurate records of members’ dues payments,
assessments and all other financial transactions.
3. Maintain the official list of current members of the organization in an
accurate manner; including retired and honorary members, upon written request of
those persons; and members not in good standing.
4. Be prepared to exhibit receipts and vouchers upon the audit of the
Association’s books.
5. Present to the membership at each regular meeting, an accounting of the past
month’s financial transactions to provide accountability and justification of
any disbursements.
6. Shall serve as the primary contact for the Certified Public Accountant,
Auditor and Book Keeper.
Section V. MEMBER-AT-LARGE. The member-at-large shall discharge on behalf
of the Association, such duties as may be imposed upon them by the President and
shall participate as a voting member of the Executive Board.
Section VI. FISH PROGRAM BOARD MEMBER. The fish program board member
shall discharge on behalf of the Association, such duties as may be imposed upon
them by the President and shall participate as a voting member of the Executive
Board. Only persons employed in the WDFW Fish Program and who are in the
Association’s bargaining unit are eligible for this board position.
Section VII. WILDLIFE PROGRAM BOARD MEMBER. The wildlife program board
member shall discharge on behalf of the Association, such duties as may be
imposed upon them by the President and shall participate as a voting member of
the Executive Board. Only persons employed in the WDFW Wildlife Program and who
are in the Association’s bargaining unit are eligible for this board position.
Section VIII. HABITAT PROGRAM BOARD MEMBER. The habitat program board
member shall discharge on behalf of the Association, such duties as may be
imposed upon them by the President and shall participate as a voting member of
the Executive Board. Only persons employed in the WDFW Habitat Program and who
are in the Association’s bargaining unit are eligible for this board position.
Section IX. EXECUTIVE BOARD. The Executive Board shall consist of
President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, one Fish Program board member,
one Wildlife Program board member, one Habitat Program board member and one
at-large member. It shall be the duty of the Executive Board to exercise general
supervision and control of the invested funds and property of the Association.
The Association’s funds may only be invested in accounts or funds which are
either federally insured or which are backed by the full faith and credit of the
U.S. government. It shall have the authority to act in the name of the
Association during intervals between meetings, such acts being subject to
confirmation by the membership at the next regular meeting of the Association or
by mail ballot. It shall meet at the call of the President or on a call signed
by a majority of the membership or in the case of Special Meetings, by a written
request of at least ten (10) members in good standing. A majority of the
Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of any decision by
the Executive Board.
Section I . ELECTION COMMITTEE. The Election Committee is a standing
committee for the purpose of presenting a slate of candidate officers to the
Association and to resolve contested elections. The Election Committee may be
appointed by the Secretary to serve for a term of one (1)year. The Secretary
shall chair the Election Committee and the committee shall consist of up to
three (3) Association members in good standing. Incases of dispute among the
Election Committee, the Secretary will break tie votes. Committee members in
conflict with contested elections will excuse themselves from the Committee.
Any member in good standing may make nominations for officers of the
Association.
Nominations shall be in writing and delivered to the Election Committee not
less then fifteen (15) days before the Annual Meeting(s) or mail election.
Nominations will be closed fifteen (15) days before the Annual Meeting(s) or
mail election. The Election Committee will then present to each Association
member in good standing a ballot as prescribed in Article VI, Sections V and VI
of the Bylaws. Voting shall be conducted as specified in Article VI, Sections
IV, V, VII and VIII.
Section II. BARGAINING COMMITTEE. The Bargaining Committee shall be
appointed by the Executive Board and will consist of the President and at least
two (2) Association members in good standing. The committee shall conduct
contract negotiations with the Office of Financial Management. The members shall
be responsible for the gathering and formal presentation of any and all
supportive or resource material deemed necessary for the productive pursuit of
negotiations. The President shall keep the membership apprised of the status of
negotiations. The appointment of the Bargaining Committee members expires upon
ratification of the CBA by the members.
Section IV. ISSUES COMMITTEE. The President may appoint, at any time,
three (3) members in good standing to review issues brought to the Association.
The members shall be knowledgeable on the issue at hand and will provide input
to the Executive Board. Members involved with issue review will change with the
topic and will serve only until the review is complete.
Section V. In addition to the above listed standing committees, the
President may appoint temporary committees as necessary to conduct the business
of the Association. Committee members shall be appointed from Association
members in good standing and shall serve as long as necessary to conduct the
business of the committee they were appointed for. The chair of any active
committee will provide a report of that committee’s activities at the Annual
Meeting(s) or by other means determined by the President.
Section I. Dues and fair share and other assessments shall be paid by the
payroll deduction plan as set forth in the CBA between the Association and the
State of Washington.
Section II. Dues and other assessments shall be set by a majority vote of
the membership.
Section III. The Executive Board may reimburse any member conducting
Association business not covered in a CBA for time, travel, and other expenses.
The rate of reimbursement shall be established by a vote of the membership for
time, and shall be equal to State Agency reimbursement rates for mileage and per
diem. Other expenses incurred shall be reimbursed at face value or real cost.
Section IV. The Association, by vote of a majority of the members present
at the Annual Meeting(s), may designate an annual budget for lobbying. Should
the Association introduce its own legislation, Association members will be
notified of the proposed legislation at least seven (7) days prior to the Annual
Meeting(s) or a special election. Approval shall be by a majority vote of the
membership present at the Annual Meeting(s), or of members responding to a mail
vote or special election. Within two (2) weeks of the Annual Meeting(s), members
objecting to lobbying activities will notify the Treasurer in writing of their
objection to the proportion of their dues being spent on lobbying. The Treasurer
will than proceed as outlined in Article III, Sections V and VI.
Section V. Any Association member who objects to Association dues being
utilized for lobbying must register their objection, in writing, with the
Association Treasurer within thirty (30) days of the Annual Meeting(s). The
Association will pro-rate that member’s portion of the lobbying expenses and
issue that member a refund at the end of each calendar year. New members will
have thirty (30) days from date of joining to notify the Treasurer of their
intent not to contribute to lobbying.
Section I. The Association, if permitted by law and after a majority vote
of members may call a strike. Procedures for calling a strike are as follows:
1. The executive Board, by a majority vote, will call for a Strike Authorization
Vote by the membership.
2. Authorization to call a Strike will be made by a majority vote of those full
members in good standing of the Association.
3. The Executive Board will notify all members of the time and manner of the
Strike upon receiving a positive authorization vote from the membership.
The financial records of this Association shall be reviewed by a CPA annually
and subjected to an audit every ten (10) years commencing in 2008. The method
may be by committee or professional firm as directed by the Executive Board.
Results of audits will be provided to members upon written request to the
Treasurer.
Amendments, revisions and repeal amendments; revisions and repeal of these
Bylaws, may be made by a majority vote of those full members in good standing of
this Association, which are present at any Annual or Special Meeting, or by mail
vote, provided that notice of such meeting set forth at least fifteen (15) days
prior to the meeting or mail election, stating such amendment, revision or
repeal to be considered at the specified meeting or election at which the vote
will be taken.
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