In June, our membership overwhelmingly adopted amendments to the 32BJ ’s bylaws to make 32BJ more democratic and stronger by giving all members a full and equal opportunity to participate.

Among other changes, the amendments provide:

• each General Membership meeting will be a cycle of five meetings held throughout our jurisdiction – New York City, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and Connecticut.
• a new method for processing membership proposals for future bylaw amendments.

Under the new bylaws, our Joint Executive Board (E-board) was required to adopt rules for submitting membership motions to General Membership meetings, conducting membership meetings, and submitting proposed bylaw amendments. At its September meeting, the E-board adopted rules regarding these matters.

One important goal of the bylaw amendments was to expand member participation. 32BJ has more than 100,000 members spread over six states and more than 200 miles. Under the old bylaws, General Membership meetings were held in a single location. Under the new bylaws, each General Membership meeting will consist of a series of five meetings held at locations throughout our jurisdiction, making the meeting more accessible to more of our members.

Holding each General Membership meeting as a series of five meetings requires that debate and consideration of union business be handled differently, since all five meetings must consider the same issues and debate the same propositions. And, because we expect increased attendance and participation at each meeting, we need rules to ensure that meetings are efficient and orderly, so that members have a real opportunity to speak and be heard.

These rules replace the Rules for the Debate in the Manual of Common Procedure (published in the SEIU Constitution), except for Rules 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 22, 28, and 29 of the Manual.

I. GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS

1. Any motion must be in writing and submitted to the Secretary of 32BJ. The motion must be received by the office of the Secretary by hand-delivery, certified or registered mail, or facsimile to (212) 388-3660, at least fourteen calendar days prior to the Joint Executive Board meeting at which the motion is first to be considered. If submitted by facsimile, the motion may only be submitted to the stated facsimile number and a hard copy must be submitted the following day.
2. At the time it is submitted to the offices of the Secretary, any such motion must contain the name, address, and signature of the member submitting the motion and the name, address, and signature of the member seconding the motion.
3. No motion shall be considered or acted upon if it calls for action inconsistent with, or is otherwise inconsistent with, the SEIU 32BJ, AFL-CIO Constitution and Bylaws, the SEIU Constitution, or with any federal or state law or regulation, or legal obligation of 32BJ.
4. No motion shall be considered or acted upon if it is not materially different from a motion which has been considered and rejected in the 12-month period preceding the submission of the motion. No motion shall be considered or acted upon unless it is comprehensible. The Joint Executive Board shall determine whether a proposed motion is not materially different from one which has been considered and rejected in the 12-month period preceding its submission and shall determine whether a proposed motion is comprehensible.
5. A member’s motion shall be submitted to the membership for consideration at a cycle of General Membership meetings only if it has been considered and rejected by the Joint Executive Board. If the Board adopts the member’s motion, that action shall be reported at the next General Membership Meeting.
6. Any motion considered in a General Membership meeting cycle shall be considered and voted upon in the New Business section of the meeting, unless the Presiding Officer, in the exercise of his/her discretion, shall decide that the motion shall be considered and voted upon in some other portion of the meeting.
7. If a motion contains more than one part or relates to more than one matter, the Joint Executive Board may, in its discretion, sub-divide the motion for consideration by the General Membership.
8. In the debate upon any pending matter, including upon a member’s motion, at the General Membership Meeting, a speaker who is a member from a District outside the District or Districts whose members are permitted to vote at that meeting, shall not be permitted to speak until all intending speakers who are eligible to vote at the meeting have been recognized and permitted to speak. Notwithstanding this rule, one member who is a submitter or seconder of the motion shall be permitted to speak in favor of the motion at each meeting and, if no such member is a member eligible to vote at the meeting, then one such member from other Districts shall be permitted to speak in favor of the motion even before all intending speakers from within the voting Districts have been recognized and permitted to speak. The Presiding Officer, or the officer presenting the Joint Executive Board’s Report or recommendation on any motions, shall have the right to speak on such motions.
9. In any General Membership meeting, no member shall be permitted to speak more than two minutes on the matter then pending.
10. A member’s motion may only be withdrawn prior to the commencement of debate at the first membership meeting in the General Membership Meeting cycle in which the motion is considered.
11. No motion to overrule a ruling of the Presiding Officer on the handling of a member’s motion or debate on a member’s motion shall be in order or considered.
12. No motion to lay on the table consideration of a member’s motion shall be in order or considered. No motion to refer or commit a member’s motion to a committee or other body for consideration shall be in order or considered. No motion to amend a member’s motion shall be in order or considered. This shall not preclude the membership’s consideration of a recommendation by the Joint Executive Board Rule, pursuant to Rule 16 and 19, below, to defer action on a motion. No motion to reconsider a member’s motion shall be in order or considered.
13. In speaking at any General Membership Meeting, the speaker shall speak only at a microphone designated for speakers. Each speaker shall introduce himself/herself by stating his/her name and place of work. Each speaker's comments during the debate on a member’s motion shall be germane to the subject of the motion. No speaker shall engage in threats, intimidation or discourtesy of any other member, whether present or not.
14. A member ordered to be seated three times by the Presiding Officer without complying shall be removed from the hall and barred from participating in any further business of that meeting and any other remaining meeting of that General Membership Meeting cycle.
15. The length of each meeting in a cycle of General Membership Meetings shall be limited to two hours unless the Presiding Officer, in his discretion, determines to extend the time. The Presiding Officer shall set the time for each portion of each meeting, including the length of time for debate on any motion or motions, and the Presiding Officer shall have the right, at his/her discretion, to extend the time set for any such portion, including the time set for debate. A ruling of the Presiding Officer to extend time shall be applicable only at the meeting of the General Membership Meeting cycle in which it has been made.
16. All votes on a member’s motion shall be taken by a division of the house. The vote shall be taken first on the Joint Executive Board’s recommendation or report regarding the motion, and if that does not resolve the question, then on the motion or motions as such.
17. Any literature distributed in connection with a member’s motion shall be done outside the meeting room, or hall, as the case may be, in accordance with procedural rules established by the Presiding Officer.
18. The seating at each meeting in a cycle of the General Membership Meeting shall be such that members from the District or Districts who are eligible to vote at that meeting shall be seated separately from any other members in attendance.
19. The Joint Executive Board may determine the order of presentation of motions for consideration in a General Membership Meeting. If there is more than one motion for consideration by the general membership, the Joint Executive Board may, in the interests of efficiency, issue to the general membership a report containing the Joint Executive Board’s recommendations on the motions, and the membership shall first vote on whether to accept or reject that report. If the report is rejected, the motions shall be presented as otherwise provided in these rules. If in its judgment, the Joint Executive Board determines that all of the members’ motions submitted for consideration cannot be heard within the next General Membership Meeting cycle without impairing the members’ opportunity for fair consideration and debate, then the Joint Executive Board, in its sole discretion, may determine to delay consideration of one or more motions to the succeeding General Membership Meeting cycle. In doing so, the motion or motions delayed shall be those among the pending motions which were last received by the Secretary.

II. ADDITIONAL RULES RELATED TO PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENTS

20. Any proposal for the amendment of the SEIU 32BJ, AFL-CIO Constitution and Bylaws must be in writing and submitted to the Secretary of 32BJ. Such proposed Bylaw amendments must be received by the office of the Secretary by hand-delivery, or certified or registered mail at least sixty calendar days prior to the Joint Executive Board meeting at which such proposed Bylaw Amendments are to be considered.
21. At the time it is submitted to the offices of the Secretary, any proposed Bylaw Amendment must contain the name, social security number, and signature of the member submitting the proposal and the name, social security number and signature of the member seconding the proposal
22. If the proponent of the proposed Bylaw Amendment seeks to have membership consideration of the proposal irrespective of whether the Joint Executive Board approves of the proposal, then there must accompany the proposal at the time of its submission to the Secretary, a petition signed by the number of members sufficient to satisfy Article XVII(b) of the SEIU 32BJ, AFL-CIO Constitution and Bylaws. The petitions must be submitted in person to the office of the Secretary at 101 Avenue of the Americas, in Manhattan, in order for the petitions to be catalogued and receipted. In addition, in order for the names of members appearing on such petitions to count toward the minimum needed to satisfy Article XVII(b), such names must appear on a page which contains the following:
    1. The text of the proposed Bylaw Amendment; and
    2. The signature of the signing member, the date on which he/she signed which must be within six months of the date of submission of the petition, and the member’s social security number; and
    3. The name of a witness who observed each member’s signature, together with the date the witness observed, and the witness’ social security number. The names of members which appear on pages which do not conform to these requirements shall not be counted toward the minimum needed to satisfy Article XVII(b).
23. The Joint Executive Board shall consider a proposed Bylaw Amendment at the first meeting of the Joint Executive Board which occurs sixty days or more following receipt of the proposal. At that meeting, the Board shall decide (i) whether to submit the proposal to the General Membership for a vote, pursuant to and in accordance with Article XVII(a), if the proposal is submitted without a petition which satisfies Article XVII(b); and (ii) whether a vote by the General Membership on the proposal, if one is to be taken, shall be conducted at a General Membership Meeting or by mail ballot referendum.
24. No proposed Bylaw Amendment shall be considered or acted upon if it calls for action inconsistent with, or is otherwise inconsistent with, the SEIU 32BJ, AFL-CIO Constitution and Bylaws, the SEIU Constitution, or with any federal or state law or regulation, or any legal obligation of 32BJ.
25. No proposed Bylaw Amendment shall be considered or acted upon if it is not materially different from an amendment which has been considered and rejected in the 12-month period preceding the submission of the proposal. No proposal shall be considered or acted upon unless it is comprehensible. The Joint Executive Board shall determine whether a proposed amendment is not materially different from one which has been considered and rejected in the 12-month period preceding its submission and shall determine whether the proposed amendment is comprehensible.
26. At any General Membership Meeting in which a vote is to be conducted on proposed Bylaw Amendments, debate upon such proposals shall be conducted in the same manner and pursuant to the same rules as those which apply to member motions.
27. In the event that proposed Bylaw Amendments affect more than one Article or section of the SEIU 32BJ Constitution and Bylaws, the proponent shall include a written statement with the proposed amendments, at the time that the proposal is submitted to the Secretary, as to whether such amendments are to be voted upon in a single vote which will govern all of the proposals, or whether the amendments are to be voted upon separately. The voting will be conducted in accordance with that declaration unless the Joint Executive Board determines that a vote conducted in such manner might create inconsistent obligations or might otherwise create a non-comprehensible result. In the event proposed Bylaw amendments are submitted without such a declaration, the Joint Executive Board shall determine whether the vote conducted shall be a single vote upon all of the proposed amendments or, instead, a series of votes.