Constitution, By-Laws & Handbook
AFT 1493 Constitution (revised version approved May 2018) (pdf)
AFT 1493 By-Laws (revised version approved May 2018) (pdf)
AFT 1493 Union Handbook (job duties of officers)
AFT LOCAL 1493 CONSTITUTION
San Mateo Community College Federation of Teachers
Local 1493, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
Article I – Name
This organization shall be known as the San Mateo Community College Federation of Teachers, Local 1493, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.
Article II – Objectives
1. To promote the welfare of students and the advancement of community college education in the public interest;
2. To promote the highest standards of professional services in education;
3. To obtain for faculty their rightful voice in shaping educational policy and in establishing the conditions under which they teach;
4. To promote the welfare of faculty by obtaining full and just compensation for services rendered;
5. To serve as the exclusive representative of faculty in collective bargaining as a necessary means for achieving the substantive aims and purposes of this organization.
Article III – Membership and Dues
Section 1. Membership shall be open to all certificated full-time and part-time faculty of the San Mateo County Community College District, as listed in the collective bargaining agreement. Membership shall also be available to retired faculty on post-retirement contracts. Faculty members on extended leave may also continue their membership.
Section 2. Membership dues of Local 1493 for all members, as listed in Section 1, shall be 1.2% of gross income.
Section 3. Full-time faculty members on unpaid leave and part-time faculty members who are no longer district employees but who remain on the Part-Time seniority list may elect to be members of AFT Local 1493. They shall pay dues at the rate of $1 per month, plus any special assessments required by the CFT; dues are payable in advance for six months at a time.
Section 4. Dues shall be established by the Executive Committee and approved by a majority of votes cast.
Article IV – Officers, Executive Committee, and Chapters
Section 1. Elected and appointed officers of Local 1493, union representatives to committees, councils and task forces, and delegates to councils and conventions must be union members at the time of election or appointment and for the entire time they serve as officers,representatives or delegates.
Section 2. The elected officers of Local 1493 shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, a Chairperson for each Chapter, an Executive Committee Member for each Chapter and a Part-time representative for each Chapter. Each elected position may be held by one or two faculty members (for example, there may be one Vice-President, or two co-Vice-Presidents); if two faculty members wish to share a position, they must run together for such position in the election, and the position (not each faculty member) will have one vote on the Executive Committee.
Section 3. The appointed officers of the Local shall be the Grievance Officer, the Chief Negotiator and the Newsletter Editor. The President, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the elected officers of the Local, shall appoint the faculty members to serve in these offices. An elected officer may also serve as an appointed officer.
Negotiating Team members shall be non-voting members of the Executive Committee. An elected officer may also serve as an appointed Negotiating Team member.
Section 7. Chapters shall be established for each College. Chapter members shall include all union members employed in the jurisdiction of the Chapter. A member of the Local may act as a member of more than one Chapter. Each Chapter may establish its own officers and policies, provided that such policies do not conflict with the policies of the Local as a whole.
Article V – Elections
Section 1. Nominations for elected officers shall be made at a membership meeting to take place during the Spring Semester of even-numbered years. Notice shall be provided to each member at least two weeks prior to the meeting that nominations are in order. Nominations may be submitted by e-mail to the Chapter Chairperson or to the Secretary of the Local, or at the designated Spring Semester membership meeting, as noted on the agenda for such meeting.
Section 2. Officers shall be elected in even-numbered years during the month of April, for a term of two years. Part-time Representatives shall be elected by the part-time members in their respective Chapters by secret ballot. Chapter Chairpersons and Executive Committee Members shall be elected by their respective Chapters by secret ballot. The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be elected by secret ballot of the union membership.
Section 3. For each elected position, the candidate(s) with the highest number of votes is(are) elected to the position, provided that this number represents at least 15% of the votes cast for such position.
This threshold applies both to candidates whose names appear on the ballot as well as to write-ins.
Section 4. The elected officers of the Local shall take office at the last membership meeting of the Spring semester of even numbered years, unless otherwise specified in the By-Laws of this organization. The appointed officers shall take office upon concurrence with their appointment by the President.
Section 5. Officers may be recalled by a two-thirds majority of the union membership in a special election. Upon receipt of a petition signed by twenty-five percent of the union membership, the Executive Committee must call a special election within two weeks for the recall of an officer. The recall ballot must state the reasons for the recall and give the response of the officer in question, and must include a nominee for the office whose holder is the object
of the recall. If the election results in the successful recall of an officer, then the provisions in Section 3 of this Article are to be followed for the election of the new officer.
Article VI – Meetings
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a month at a regular time and place during the academic year. A quorum shall consist of half the voting members of the Executive Committee. Decisions shall be made by majority vote. For the purpose of establishing quorum and when voting, if a position is held jointly by two faculty members, they shall count as one. These meetings are open to all union members, except for agenda items designated as closed session of the Executive Committee.
Section 2. Special meetings of the general membership may be called by the Executive Committee or at the request of any of the Chapters.
Section 3. Special meetings of the Executive Committee may be called by the President or by any four members of the Executive Committee.
Section 4. The Chapters shall establish their own meeting schedules.
Section 5. Robert’s Rules of Order (revised) shall govern in all cases in which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution, By-Laws, or procedural rules adopted by the Local.
Article VII – Committees
Section 1. For each election, regular or special, an Election Committee composed of at least three union members will be constituted by the Executive Committee to tally results and report such results to all faculty through the Executive Committee. No candidate for office may serve on the election committee.
Section 2. In cases involving an inquiry into the financial state of the Local, an Audit Committee will be established by the Executive Committee to report to union membership through the Executive Committee. Members of the Executive Committee cannot serve on the Audit Committee.
Section 3. The President, with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, sh all appoint AFT representatives to college and district committees as may be deemed appropriate.
Article VIII – Affiliations
Section 1. Local 1493 shall be affiliated with the following organizations: American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers (CFT), California Labor Federation, San Mateo Central Labor Council, and the CFT Community College Council. The Local shall pay the required dues for affiliation with these organizations and shall send delegates to their meetings and conventions.
Section 2. Delegates to the San Mateo Central Labor Council, to the convention of the California Federation of Teachers and to the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers shall be elected at the same election where officers of this Local are chosen.
Section 3. The President of Local 1493 shall be a delegate by office to conventions of the American Federation of Teachers and the California Federation of Teachers, as well as to the San Mateo Central Labor Council.
Section 4. The President and Secretary of Local 1493 shall certify the election of the delegates to the California Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers conventions, and they shall forward the credentials of all elected delegates and alternates to the National Office of the American Federation of Teachers no later than ten days prior to the convening of the National Convention.
Article IX – By-Laws
In order to provide additional procedures, duties, or methods of operation, By-Laws for the Local may be established by two-thirds of the votes cast by union members. Any amendment to such By-Laws, either submitted by signed petition of twenty-five percent of the union membership or by majority vote of the Executive Committee, will be submitted to the union membership for ratification by a simple majority of votes cast.
Article X – Amendments
Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution and to the By-Laws must receive a majority vote of the Executive Committee, and must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the union members voting in a secret ballot, which shall be available two weeks before the ballots are to be counted.
Section 2. This Constitution shall become effective on January 1, 2018 after approval by the union membership.
Section 3. Three copies of this Constitution and all future amendments shall be submitted to the National Office of the American Federation of Teachers. Copies will also be made available to other affiliated organizations and to the membership.
– revised version approved May 2018 –