Revised April 27, 1999

Updated March 2002

Updated August 2005

Revised November 2005 

DIXIE STATE COLLEGE CLASSIFIED STAFF ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I - Name

The name of this organization shall be the Dixie State College Classified Staff Association (CSA) and will be referred to throughout this document as either “CSA” or the “Association”.  All full-time or part-time classified employees are eligible to become voting members. 

ARTICLE II -Purpose

The primary purposes of the Association are:

• To foster a harmonious and cooperative relationship between administration, faculty, exempt and classified staff members, to uphold the college’s mission in attaining the college’s goals and to further the role of recommending and implementing policy concerning classified employee affairs.
• To facilitate communication, understanding, and cooperation among classified employee members and the college.
• To provide an authoritative voice for expressing problems and concerns of association members.
• To provide an amicable method of settling differences or grievances that may arise between the college, the association and the employees. 
• To promote the mutual interests of the college, the association, and the employees.
• To promote professional and personal development and job improvement of association members.
• To promote the objectives, general welfare and good fellowship among the association members and the college.

ARTICLE III -Membership

Section 1:         Members:

Persons employed in a full-time classified position at Dixie State College, or persons in a less than full-time classified position, shall be eligible for membership in the Association.

Section 2:         Associate Membership:

Faculty, exempt employees and/or persons who work on the Dixie State College campus, but are employed by other entities, whose current dues are paid in full, are eligible for non-voting membership.

ARTICLE IV -Officers and Elections

Section 1:         All officers of the Association will be dues-paying CSA members.  Staff officers shall consist of a president, president-elect, immediate past-president, public relations specialist, secretary/treasurer, and a sufficient number of board members to ensure each area of campus are represented on the Executive Board.

Section 2:         The officers and board members shall constitute the Executive Board of the Association.

Section 3:         Nominations for Association officers will be held in April. A minimum of two candidates for the office of president-elect will be nominated.  Elections for Association officers will be held no later than May 31.  Elected officers will take office on July 1.

Section 4:         The president-elect shall serve in the capacity for one year following his/her election and shall automatically become president of the Association beginning July 1 of the following year.

Section 5:         The board members shall be elected at the same time the election for president is conducted and shall take office beginning July 1of that year.

Section 6:         The secretary-treasurer shall be elected annually by the Association.

Section 7:         If a vacancy in an elective office occurs, the vacancy shall be filled as prescribed in Article VI, Section 7 of the by-laws.

ARTICLE V – Duties

The duties of the officers shall be prescribed in the by-laws.

ARTICLE VI -Affiliation

The Association shall affiliate with other professional organizations upon recommendation of the Executive Board and a two-thirds (2/3) voting majority of the Association membership.

ARTICLE VII -Constitutional Amendments

Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by any Association member.  Proposed amendments must be presented to the Executive Board before being presented to the general membership.  This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) voting majority of the Association membership.  Such action may take place at any regular or special meeting or by secret ballot submitted to all members throughout the campus providing that the proposed amendments have been submitted to the entire membership at least two (2) weeks prior to said vote.

BY-LAWS OF DIXIE STATE COLLEGE CLASSIFIED STAFF ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE I - Dues

Association membership dues, in such amounts as recommended by the Executive Board and approved by the Association membership, shall be paid to the Secretary/Treasurer by the membership during fall semester of each year, unless arrangements have been made in writing, to have dues deducted from the payroll.  Dues are $3.00 a month for voting membership.

ARTICLE II -Meetings

Section 1:         The Executive Board:

The Executive Board shall meet at least once each month.  Other meetings may be called by the president or at the request of two members of the board.

Section 2:         General Membership Meetings:

The Executive Board shall schedule at least one regular meeting of the membership each semester and may call other necessary meetings of the Association. The Executive Board shall state the time and place of the meeting. Notice of said meeting shall be given each member stating the place, day, and hour of the meeting and purposes for which the meeting is called. Said notice shall be delivered to each member not less than two days before the meeting. Attendance shall be restricted to Association members unless an invitation is extended by the Executive Board or a majority of the Association members.

ARTICLE III -Quorum

A quorum shall consist of a majority (more than 50 percent) of the membership of the Association who are present at any official meeting of the Association.  Motions may be acted upon and passed by a simple majority of votes of those present unless otherwise stated in the constitution or by-laws.

ARTICLE IV -Office Holding

The right to hold an elective office shall be granted to all CSA members who have paid the annual dues.

ARTICLE V- Voting

The right to vote on all matters relating to the Association is vested in its members.  All eligible voters shall be duly notified of all elections by the Executive Board and all votes shall be cast in person or by proxy.  All proxy voters must be submitted to the Association president at least twenty-four hours prior to that meeting.

ARTICLE VI -Terms, Duties, and Power

Section 1:         President

The president shall hold office for a term of one year beginning July 1 of the year after he/she is elected as president.  He/She shall be responsible for setting the time, date, and place of additional meetings of the Association.  He/She shall call these meetings as necessary or upon personal request from two members of the Executive Board.  He/She shall be co-signer of checks drawn from the funds of the Association.  The president shall represent the Association before the public, either personally or through other delegates, and shall perform all other functions usually attributed to this office.  The president shall also serve as a member of the College Council. The President will be compensated with a stipend equal to that given to the Faculty Senate President and the Exempt Staff Association President. 

Section 2:         President-Elect

                        The president-elect shall be elected for a term of two (2) years beginning July 1 of the year elected, and shall serve as vice-president of the Association for the first of those years.  He/She shall perform the functions usually attributed to the vice-president and shall assist the president in the performance of duties and shall engage in every activity that is necessary to maintain continuity of Association business.  He/She shall become president at the expiration of one year or when the presidency becomes vacant.  He/She shall also serve as a member of the Executive Board.

Section 3:         Immediate Past-President:

The immediate past-president shall act as advisor to the Executive Board and assist the president at his/her request.  He/She shall also serve as a member of the Executive Board. The past-president shall also serve as chair of the CSA Staff/Reclassification Salary Committee.

Section 4:         Secretary/Treasurer:

The secretary/treasurer shall keep a record of all proceedings of all meetings of the Association and Executive Board, and shall conduct secretarial duties connected with the Association.  He/She shall pay bills upon approval of the president and keep an itemized account of receipts on the academic year basis of July 1 through June 30, inclusive.  He/She shall present an annual financial report at the last Executive Board meeting of the year.

Section 5:         Public Relations Specialist:

The public relations specialist will be responsible to keep the Association=s web page current.  He/She will also be responsible to proof all flyers being distributed by the Association. 

Section 6:         Area Representatives:

                        Areas to be represented will be determined by the number of eligible CSA employees working in said areas and will be adjusted based upon numbers.  Area representatives shall be elected by dues-paying staff association members working in their respective areas.  The area representatives shall serve for a term of two years, with four (4) representatives voted in each year.  Only members of each represented area may vote for their area representative.

                        The area groups are defined as follows: Area 1: SSC Whitehead Bldg, Student Services, Financial Aid, Career Center - one (1) representative.  Area 2:  Gardner Center, Gym, Avenna Center, Security - one (1) representative.  Area 3: Custodial – one (1) representative.  Area 4:  SSC Whitehead Bldg Business Area – one (1) representative.  Area 5:  Science, Jennings, Browning, UHB, Eccles, NIB - one (1) representative.  Area 6:  Library, McDonald, EFS, South & North Administration – one (1) representative.  Area 7:  Campus Services, Grounds – one (1) representative.  Area 8:  Heating Plant – one (1) representative.   The voting rotation is as follows:  Odd year voting on odd years (area 1, 3, 5, and 7) and even year voting on even years (area 2, 4, 6, and 8).  

Section 7:         Vacancies:

If the office of president becomes vacant, it shall be filled by the president-elect.  If the remaining term of the officer as president exceeds one-half of the year, it shall be considered a full term.  If less than one-half of the year, it shall not be counted as the term of office.  If the office of president-elect becomes vacant, it shall be filled by special appointment of the Executive Board.

If the office of secretary/treasurer becomes vacant, it shall be filled by an individual appointed by the association president.

If the position of area representative becomes vacant, a special election shall be held to fill the vacancy.

ARTICLE VII -Powers and Duties of the Executive Board

Section 1:         The Executive Board shall be responsible for managing the Association, approving expenditures, carrying out policies, and reporting its transactions to the members.

Section 2:         The Executive Board may represent the Association in negotiating personnel policies established by the general membership.

Section 3:         The Executive Board shall appoint members of committees and task forces.

ARTICLE VIII CSA Salary/ Reclassification Committee

Section 1:         Purpose:

The CSA Salary/ Reclassification Committee shall act as a recommendation board to the Staff Executive Committee.  The Salary /Reclassification Committee will work on salary related issues that are assigned to them by the Association=s Executive Board.  The CSA Salary/Reclassification Committee will function as an appeals board for reviewing a CSA staff member=s appeal on his/her job classifications.

Section 2:         Structure and Duties:

The CSA Salary/Reclassification Committee shall consist of a chairperson who shall be the past-president, the president, and the president-elect of the Association along with four (4) elected members from the CSA membership.   The members of the CSA Salary /Reclassification Committee are nominated and approved by the Executive Board.  Members will serve a three (3) year term.  Resignations will be filled by the Executive Board. 

Section 3:         Meetings:

The committee shall meet at the call of the Executive Board, and shall hold special meetings at the call of the past-presidents.  The committee shall be expected to function throughout the year and to report to the Executive Board when requested to do so by the Executive Board.

Section 4:         Reports:

All business transacted in committee meetings shall be officially reported to the Executive Board.  Upon the completion of a committee assignment, the chairman shall, upon request, file a written report with the Executive Board of the work done by the committee.  At the end of the year, the chairman of the committee shall submit to the Executive Board a report of the year=s activities, which shall include recommendation to improve the effectiveness of that committee in future years.       

ARTICLE IX – CSA Development Committee

Section 1:         Purpose:

The purpose of the CSA Development Committee is to raise funds for the support of CSA training and professional development activities, disburse those funds to individual CSA on the basis of application to the committee, coordinate with general college and other training or development efforts. Specific criteria for the disbursement of funds, application materials, and evaluation methodology will be the responsibility of the Development Committee as approved by the CSA Executive Board.

The committee shall consist of a chairperson appointed by the Executive Board.  An Executive Board representative shall also serve on the committee.  A secretary shall be appointed to record minutes for a permanent record of meeting proceedings. Other members from the Association may be appointed to the committee as needed for the items being considered.  The committee will serve until new membership is appointed.

Section 3:         Meetings:

The committee shall meet at the call of the Committee=s Chairman and/or Member.  The committee shall be expected to function throughout the year and report to the Executive Board or general membership when requested to do so by the Executive Board.

Section 4:         Reports:

All recommendations and findings of the committee shall be officially reported in writing to the Executive Board where it will be reviewed, approved and the necessary action, if any, initiated.  The recommendation and findings of the committee shall not be reported to any other person or organization unless directed by the Executive Board.  All recommendations that affect the Association members shall be approved by the membership in an officially called meeting.  At the end of the year, the chairperson of the committee shall submit a report of the year=s activities to the Executive Board, which shall include recommendations to improve the effectiveness of that committee in future years.

ARTICLE XI - Parliamentary Authority

Amendments to these by-laws may be proposed by any association member.  Proposed amendments to the By-laws must be presented to the Executive Board before being presented to the general membership.  These By-laws may be amended by two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast by the members. Such action may take place at any regular or special meeting or by secret ballot or submitted to all members throughout the campus. Provided the proposed amendments have been previously submitted to the membership at least two (2) weeks before said vote.

ARTICLE XII -Adoption

This constitution and by-laws become effective when passed by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the voting CSA membership.

Record of Changes

October 31, 1997, Dues were changed from $2.00/month to$3.00/month.  Vote of the membership was 63 for and 14 against. - Rob Snow, President.

April 29, 1998, Created Public Relations Specialist.  Vote was 68 for and 6 against – Rob Snow, President.

April 29, 1998, Approved a Committee for Staff Development.  Vote was 64 for and10 against - Rob Snow, President.

September 24, 1998, Approved revision of constitution to include April changes and wording change from quarter to semester system – Vote unanimous with all attending (Approximately 100) - Linda Rogers, President.

April 27, 1999, Approved addition of salary committee duties.  Vote was unanimous with 95 members present - Linda Rogers, President. 

April 26, 2002, Approved change to Article VII of Constitution to add who may propose amendments and who must approve amendments; changed Article V of By-Laws to reflect correct deadline for proxy votes; added Article 6  (Building Representatives) to Section VI of By-Laws; added vacancy stipulation to Article VI, Section 7; Article VIII, Section2 – changed exempt  and non-exempt sub-committee members from three to four (each); deleted human resource representative on salary committee; deleted by-law and newsletter as standing committees in Article X; added appointment of secretary to record minutes to committee structure and duties; added Article XI, Staff Exempt and Non-Exempt Sub-Committees; changed Article XII to add who may propose amendments and who must approve amendments to the By-Laws; made various grammatical changes in Constitution and By-Laws.  Vote was unanimous.  Ed Rogers, President.

August 8, 2005, Created changes in the constitution, namely:  In Article I Name - the name of the Non-exempt Staff Association was changed to Classified Staff Association (CSA) and any reference as such throughout the document; throughout the document any reference to the Exempt Staff Association was removed, as a separate organization was created in the 2004-2005 academic school year; Article II Purpose – this statement was reworded to address CSA interaction with the college; Article III Membership – changed Social Membership to Associate Membership and revised the statement regarding membership; Article IV Officers and Elections – references/clarification of board members was noted; Article IV Office Holding – clarified who could hold office; renamed Article VIII Staff Salary Committee to Salary/Reclassification Committee and made changes to the number needed for representation; removed Article XI Staff Exempt and Non-Exempt Sub-committees; changed some wording and the number of representatives required to fulfill the responsibilities of Article IX Staff Development Committee; and in Article VI Terms, Duties & Power – noted compensation for the president and reorganized the building areas and the number of representatives of such areas.  Vote was unanimous on September 22, 2005.  Sheila Cannon, President.

November 17, 2005:  The constitution was presented to the Board of Trustees in its final form and it was approved by unanimous vote.  Sheila Cannon, President.