Constitution -- APBU©

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CONSTITUTION OF
L'ASSOCIATION DES PROFESSEUR(E)S DE
BISHOP'S UNIVERSITY
Changes ratified April 29, 2010

    1. Name
    2. Affiliations
      3. Goals of the Association
    4. Dues
      5. Membership
    6. Officers
      7. Nomination and Election of Officers
    8. Vacancies in the Executive
    9. Powers and Functions of the Executive
    10. Meetings
    11. Finances and Verification of the Financial Statement
    12. Grievances
    13. Negotiations
    14. The Stewards Councils
    15. Ratification of Collective Agreements
    16. Formation of Standing and Ad Hoc Committees
    17. Formation of By-Laws and Amendments to the
          Constitution and to By-Laws

1. Name

The name of the association shall be "L'Association des Professeur(e)s de Bishop's University."

2. Affiliations

(a) The Association shall be a member of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and shall pay the dues as set by the CAUT.

(b) The Association shall be a member of la Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d'université (FQPPU) and shall pay the dues as set by the FQPPU.

3. Goals of the Association

The goals of the Association are

(a) to promote the interests and the welfare of the Association and its members, and to uphold the dignity of all of its members in the workplace;

(b) to represent its members in employer-employee relations, and, in particular, to bargain collectively on their behalf, including negotiating policies and working conditions on matters such as hiring, firing, salaries, fringe benefits, pensions, promotion, tenure, leaves and grievances and the uniformity and consistency of job classifications;

(c) to promote the professional development of all of its members, and, in particular, to provide them with a working environment free from discrimination and harassment, to protect their freedom of expression and their academic freedom, and to promote excellence in teaching, scholarship, research, and creative and other activities with the university;

(d) to provide a democratic form of government within the Association which allows free voice and vote to all members without discrimination;

(e) to seek the fullest representation of all of its members in the operation of the University, and to provide an effective means of communication between members of the Association and other members of the University community and relevant groups external to the University; and

(f) to promote the joint interests of the APBU and its affiliated associations (FQPPU, CAUT).

4. Dues

All members of the bargaining units are required to pay membership dues. For Full Members these dues shall be collected through payroll deduction and shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. Associate Member dues are as stated in section 5.2(b).

5. Membership(Eligibility, induction process, rights and privileges)

5.1. Full Members

a. Full membership in the Association is open to all persons who are members of any of the bargaining units as defined by certificates of accreditation of APBU.

b. To become a Full Member of the Association, a candidate must sign an application form, pay an initiation fee and be accepted by the association. The initiation fee is the minimum allowed by the law.

c. All further references to "member" in this document refer to Full Member (as opposed to Associate Member), unless otherwise specified.

d. Members who wish to withdraw from the Association may do so by writing to the Secretary of the Association.

e. A member who has voluntarily withdrawn in the past may return as an active member by indicating, in writing, their wish for re-instatement, by filling out a new application form and by paying an initiation fee.

f. Eligible members shall retain the rights and responsibilities of membership during periods of paid leave. During periods of unpaid leave, eligible members may retain such rights and responsibilities as long as they continue to pay appropriate dues to the Association.

g. In cases of doubt or dispute as to eligibility for membership, the Executive Committee will make a ruling.

h. Members of the Contract Faculty bargaining unit shall be eligible to continue as members of the Association in good standing for a period of twenty-four months following the last month in which they held a contract appointment.

5.2. Associate Members

a. Associate membership shall be open to all retired members who pay their annual dues.

b. Annual dues of an Associate Member are $1.00.

c. Associate Members have voice at General Meetings and may serve to provide information to the Association.

d. Associate Members are not eligible to vote or to serve on the Executive, on the Negotiating Team or on any Association committee.

e. Associate Members may not propose or second motions on any matters related to collective bargaining, and are not eligible to make nominations for the Executive Committee.

6. Officers

a. The officers of the Association shall be a President, a First Vice-President, a Second Vice-President, a Third Vice-President, a Fourth Vice-President, a Fifth Vice-President, a Sixth Vice-President, a Seventh-Vice-President, an Eighth Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Academic Negotiations Officer and a Staff Negotiations Officer. Unless otherwise specified in this article, these positions may be held by members of any bargaining unit in the Association.

b. The First Vice-President shall be the Fulltime Faculty & Librarians Grievance Officer. The Second Vice-President shall be the Communications Officer. Both of these positions shall be filled by members of the Fulltime Faculty & Librarians unit. The First and Second Vice-Presidents shall also be the representatives of the Association on the Joint Committee for the administration of the Collective Agreements for the academic units. For that portion of the meeting dealing with Contract Faculty issues, the Second Vice-President shall be replaced by one of the Contract Faculty representatives.

c. The Third Vice-President shall be a Librarian.

d. The Fourth Vice-President shall be the Contract Faculty Membership Officer. The Fifth Vice-President shall be the Contract Faculty Grievance Officer. Both of these positions shall be filled by members of the Contract Faculty unit.

e. The Sixth Vice-President shall be the Staff Grievance Officer. The Seventh and Eighth Vice-Presidents shall be the Staff Membership Officers. All three of these positions shall be filled by members of the Staff unit. The Sixth and Seventh Vice-Presidents shall also be the representatives of the Association on the Joint Committee for the administration of the Collective Agreement for the staff unit. In addition, the Eighth Vice-President may sit at this Joint Committee as an alternate or as deemed necessary by the Executive. Also, the Eighth Vice-President shall sit as the Chair of the Staff Stewards Council.

f. The President, the Treasurer and the Academic Negotiations Officer shall be members of the Fulltime Faculty & Librarians unit.

g. These officers, with the exception of the Negotiations Officers, shall be elected annually and, together with the immediate Past President of the Association, shall constitute the Executive Committee of the Association. In the event that there should be no immediate Past President or should the immediate Past President not be willing to serve on the Executive Committee, then the Executive may appoint a previous past president to serve in this position.

h. The Executive, with the exception of the Negotiations Officers, shall assume office on the first day of the month following the Annual General Meeting.

i. Any Executive member who has a direct involvement in, and thus a potential conflict of interest with regard to, an issue coming before the Executive should withdraw from discussion of, and abstain from voting on, that issue.

j. Any Executive member holding an office, or chairing a committee, which must adjudicate an issue which involves that individual (or his/her spouse, spousal equivalent, child, or parent) should temporarily step down from that position, withdraw from the discussion of, and abstain from voting on, that issue.

k. When a possible conflict of interest on the part of the Executive or committee member is perceived by any member of the Association, said Association member shall bring the situation to the attention of the Executive. The Executive or committee member may then be required, by majority vote of the members of the Executive, to abide by the appropriate provisions directly above in 6 (i) and (j).

l. When any provisions in 6(i) and (j) above are in force, the quorum of the Executive or committee in question shall be reduced accordingly.

7. Nomination and Election of Officers

7.1. Nominations

a. A call for nominations of candidates for the positions of Executive Officers shall be made no less than two weeks before the Annual General Meeting.

b. Nominations of candidates for the position of each of the above-named officers shall be made in writing. Each nomination shall bear the signatures of two members of the Association other than the nominee, and must also be signed by the nominee. The President, Secretary and Treasurer may be nominated by members of any unit of the Association. The Fourth and Fifth Vice-Presidents must be nominated by members of the Contract Faculty unit. The Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Vice-Presidents, and the Staff Negotiations Officer, must be nominated by members of the Staff unit. The remaining positions shall be nominated by members of the Fulltime Faculty & Librarians unit.

c. All nominations shall be placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Association no less than four full working days prior to the Annual General Meeting.

d. A list of all nominees shall be posted no less than two working days prior to the Annual General Meeting.

7.2. Elections

a. Elections shall be carried out at the Annual General Meeting.

b. Elections shall be by secret ballot normally under the supervision of the retiring President. The Academic Negotiations Officer shall be elected by the members of the two academic units, and shall require the approval of the members of both units to be elected. The First, Second and Third Vice-Presidents shall be elected in a general vote by all the members of the Fulltime Faculty & Librarians unit. The Fourth and Fifth Vice-Presidents shall be elected by the members of the Contract Faculty unit. The Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Vice-Presidents, and the Staff Negotiations Officer, shall be elected in a general vote by all the members of the Staff unit. The remaining Executive positions shall be elected by the members of all the units.

c. The retiring President shall appoint two scrutineers.

d. If elections cannot be held at the Annual General Meeting for lack of a quorum, a new Annual General Meeting must be scheduled within two weeks.

e. Election of officers of the Executive Committee shall be by a simple majority of those who have voted. If no candidate receives a majority on the first ballot there shall be a run-off election between the two leading candidates at the same meeting, with members present at the meeting voting.

7.3. Terms of Office

The Executive Officers of the Association, with the exception of the Negotiations Officers (see Clause 13.3), shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting in each year and shall serve from the first day of the month following the Annual General Meeting until the last day of the month of the next Annual General Meeting.

8. Vacancies in the Executive

a. If, at any time, the office of the President of the Association shall become vacant, the first Vice-President shall become President of the Association.

b. If an office of the Executive, other than President, shall become vacant, the executive shall appoint a member of the Association to this office to serve until the next Annual General Meeting of the Association or, if deemed necessary by the Executive, until an election for that office can be held.

c. The position of an elected member of the Executive Committee shall be declared vacant if the member is absent for a period of time or number of meetings, to be decided by the Executive, unless a leave is approved by the Executive.

d. If a simultaneous vacancy for both the President and First Vice-President occurs, the Executive Committee shall call a special election. Until the election is held, the immediate Past President shall be President.

9. Powers and Functions of the Executive

a. It shall be the duty of the Executive to carry on the business of the Association as directed by the members and to investigate and report on matters of interest to the Association.

b. The Executive shall designate one or more Association members to represent the Association on the CAUT, FQPPU and other external associations. These members shall be responsible for attending meetings, for dealing with correspondence with such organizations and for maintaining liaison with the Executive by making regular reports.

c. The Executive shall call regular and special meetings of the Association in the manner set forth in 10.1(a).

d. The Executive shall prepare and circulate the agenda of meetings of the Association.

e. The President and Treasurer shall each make a report of his or her administration at the Annual General Meeting.

f. In the event that it is necessary for the Association to proceed to arbitration under the Collective Agreement, the Executive shall act on its behalf.

g. The Executive may appoint ad hoc committees as required.

h. The Executive shall decide upon any question regarding the status of a member.

i. The Secretary shall maintain a complete and up-to-date set of minutes of all general Executive Committee Meetings.

j. The Secretary shall provide an up-to-date copy of the Constitution and By-Laws to each new member and, upon request, to any existing member.

k. The duties of the Grievance Officers (First, Fifth and Sixth Vice-Presidents) shall be as outlined in Clause 12.1.

l. The duties of the Communications Officer (Second Vice-President) shall be to receive, organize and distribute incoming information to
the appropriate individuals or bodies within the Association.

m. The duties of the Negotiations Officers shall be as outlined in Clause 13.3.

n. The duties of the Contract Faculty and Staff Membership Officers (Fourth, Seventh and Eighth Vice-Presidents) shall be to advise the
Executive Committee on the implications for their respective units of the policies and activities of the Association, to monitor the
membership in their respective units, to develop and communicate with their respective Stewards Councils, and, when necessary, to
assist in organizing meetings of their respective units.

10. Meetings

10.1. General Meetings

a. The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be called by the president in April. One week's notice in writing must be given to all members of the Association of the Annual General Meeting. Other separate general meetings for each bargaining unit, of which there shall be held not less than two per annum, shall be called from time to time at the discretion of the Executive. The Executive may call a general meeting of all units if necessary. Normally seven calendar days' notice in writing will be given to all members of the Association of such meetings.

b. Only Full Members and Associate Members may attend meetings. Members of one unit may attend general meetings of the other unit as observers.

c. At all meetings, 15% of the relevant membership is required to form a quorum.

d. An agenda shall be provided with the notice of a general meeting and shall provide the following order of business: 1. Call to Order and Verification of Quorum; 2. Approval of Agenda; 3. Approval of Past Minutes; 4. Business Arising from Past Minutes; 5. New Business; 6. Any Other Business; 7. Motion to Adjourn.

e. All meetings shall be chaired by the President or a deputy.

f. Procedures at all meetings shall be according to Robert's Rules of Order.

g. A special general meeting shall be called at any time on demand of 15% of the members of the unit concerned, served upon the Secretary and stating in writing the reason for calling such a meeting. One week's notice in writing must be given to all members of the Association of such a meeting.

h. At general and special meetings, voting shall be by show of hands, except where otherwise stated. Motions shall require a simple majority to be passed, except where otherwise stated. The President shall not vote except in the case of a ballot, or where the vote will change the outcome as in Robert's Rules.

i. A vote shall be held by secret ballot if a formal motion to this effect is passed at a meeting.

j. Where a general meeting or the Executive Committee so decides, and in accordance with the Quebec Labour Code, mail ballots can be carried out except for elections to the Executive Committee.

k. Members of the Contract Faculty and Staff units shall be permitted to cast advance ballots for their representatives on the Executive Committee.

l. Minutes shall be taken at all general meetings. They shall include each motion, the names of the mover and the seconder, and the numerical results of the vote. Minutes of all general meetings shall be distributed to all members within two weeks of each meeting. Minutes shall also be made available to Associate Members upon request.

10.2. Executive Committee Meetings

a. Executive Committee meetings shall normally be held every two weeks. Minutes of each meeting shall be taken. They shall include each motion, the names of the mover and the seconder, and the result of the vote.

b. The Executive Committee may permit a member to attend an Executive Committee meeting upon request.

c. Quorum for meetings of the Executive Committee shall be at least four members, one of whom must be the President or First Vice-President.

d. At Executive Committee meetings voting shall be by show of hands. Motions shall require a simple majority to be passed.

11. Finances and Verification of the Financial Statement

a. The fiscal year of the Association shall be May 1 to April 30.

b. The Executive Committee shall authorize all expenditures of the Association.

c. All money collected shall be deposited to one or several accounts in the Association's name.

d. Financial transactions of, by, and on behalf of the Association shall require the signatures of two duly authorized signing officers. These
officers should normally be the Treasurer and the President or the Acting Treasurer and/or the Acting President.

e. Books and records of the Association may be inspected by any member at any time.

f. The Executive Committee will provide for the acquisition, management, and disposition of the property of the Association.

g. The Treasurer shall present an interim financial report which shall be circulated with the mailing announcing the Annual General Meeting.

h. The Executive Committee shall provide for an independent audit of the financial accounts of the Association as of the end of the fiscal
year. A report of this audit shall be circulated to the membership with the notice of the first fall general meeting.

12. Grievances

a. Three Grievance Officers shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting. Their term of office shall be one year.

b. Each Grievance Officer shall provide initial advice to members from their respective units who are considering whether to lodge an
individual grievance, and to the Executive Committee when it is considering whether to lodge an Association grievance.

c. Initial individual requests concerning grievances are confidential to the Executive Committee.

d. When a grievance is resolved, the outcome shall be reported at the next general meeting.

13. Negotiations

13.1. The Negotiations Issues Committees

a. The Negotiations Issues Committees shall be Standing Committees of the Association.

b. The Fulltime Faculty & Librarians' Committee shall consist of five people: the President, a librarian and three members elected by and from among the fulltime faculty and librarians.

c. The Contract Faculty Committee shall consist of five people: the President, the Contract Faculty Membership Officer and three
members elected by and from among the members of the Contract Faculty unit.

d. The Staff Committee shall consist of five people: the President, the Eighth Vice-President, and three members elected by and from
among the Staff unit.

e. Elections for the Negotiations Issues Committees will take place at the same Annual General Meeting as that for the Negotiations
Officer. Elections for these positions shall be conducted as specified in 7.2. (a) to (c). Members retain their positions on their respective Negotiations Issues Committee until the negotiations for their respective Collective Agreements have begun.

f. The mandate of each Negotiations Issues Committee is to gather information and to develop negotiating objectives on the basis of
consultation with APBU members.

g. The committees shall solicit written proposals concerning their next Collective Agreement from APBU members. In addition, they may
consult with other university associations and review other collective agreements. The committees shall then formulate lists of issues of concern.

h. This information shall be presented for discussion at a general meeting called for this purpose. This meeting must take place at least three months prior to the beginning of contract negotiations.

i. Following the general meeting, the committees will review written proposals and points raised in discussion at the general meeting, and formulate lists of negotiating objectives that reflect the concerns of the Association. The committees shall present this list to the Executive Committee within one month of the general meeting, and shall inform the members of these objectives.

j. The work of the Negotiations Issues Committees shall be completed once they have presented their negotiating objectives to the
Executive Committee.

13.2. The Role of the Executive Committee

a. The Executive Committee shall receive the list of negotiating objectives developed by each Negotiations Issues Committee. From this, the Executive shall formulate negotiating positions and priorities, and shall inform members of these positions and priorities, where such information and/or consultation does not compromise the ability of the Negotiating Teams to negotiate effectively on the Association's behalf. The Executive shall then direct the Negotiating Teams on the basis of these positions.

b. During negotiations, the Executive Committee shall keep members informed of developments, consulting them if necessary, where such information and/or consultation does not compromise the ability of the Negotiating Team to negotiate effectively on the Association's behalf.

13.3. The Negotiations Officers

The Academic Negotiations Officer and the Staff Negotiations Officer chair their respective Negotiating Teams and are also members of the Executive Committee. The Negotiations Officers shall be elected specifically to these positions on the Executive at the appropriate Annual General Meeting that follows the signing of a Collective Agreement. The Negotiations Officers shall serve in these positions until the next Collective Agreement is signed. It is the responsibility of the Negotiations Officers to try to ensure that no conflicts exist between their respective contracts.

13.4. The Negotiating Teams

a. The Negotiating Teams shall conduct negotiations on the Collective Agreement on behalf of the Association under the direction of the Executive Committee of the Association. There shall be one team for each bargaining unit.

b. The Negotiating Team for the Fulltime Faculty & Librarians unit shall consist of four people: the Academic Negotiations Officer, two members of the full-time faculty duly elected by full-time faculty members of the Association and one librarian duly elected by University Librarians.

c. The Negotiating Team for the Contract Faculty unit shall consist of three people: the Academic Negotiations Officer and two Contract Faculty members duly elected by and from among the Contract Faculty members of the Association.

d. The Negotiating Team for the Staff Collective Agreement shall consist of four people: the Staff Negotiations Officer and three Staff members duly elected by Staff members of the Association.

e. Members of the Negotiating Teams will be elected at a General Meeting to be called by the Executive at the appropriate time. Elections for these positions shall be conducted as specified in 7.2. (a) to (c). Members retain their positions on the Negotiating Team until their Collective Agreement is signed.

f. During the period of contract negotiations, the Negotiating Teams will receive direction from and give advice to the Executive. For this purpose, all members of the Negotiating Teams will attend the part of Executive Committee meetings dealing with issues relating to contract negotiations. The work of the Negotiating Teams shall be completed when the Collective Agreements are signed.

g. As the occasion arises, other non-member resource persons may be contacted to help the Negotiating Teams.

14. The Stewards Councils

a. The Contract Faculty Stewards Council and the Staff Stewards Council shall be Standing Committees of the Association.

b. The Contract Faculty Stewards Council shall be composed of volunteer representatives of the Contract Faculty teaching in the different program areas of the University appointed by the Fourth and Fifth Vice-Presidents. The mandate of the Stewards Council is to serve as a liaison between the Contract Faculty members in their areas and the Contract Faculty Membership Officer.

c. The Staff Stewards Council shall be composed of one representative from each sector of Staff at the University. The Staff Stewards shall be elected by the members of their sector at the Annual General Meeting of the Association. Should a seat become vacant between Annual General Meetings, the Staff Stewards Council shall be empowered to choose a replacement from that sector to finish out the term. The Eighth Vice-President shall sit as the Chair of the Staff Stewards Council.

15. Ratification of Collective Agreements

a. A General Meeting of at least one week's notice shall be held to ratify a Collective Agreement, which will be distributed in its totality or be made available with or without comments by the Executive to all members of the Association who belong to the bargaining unit concerned one week in advance.

b. A vote to ratify a Collective Agreement shall be by secret ballot of Association members in that unit.

c. The Secretary will verify that the voter is a member of the Association. The names of those voting in writing shall be announced but not the vote.

d. Two scrutineers elected by those present at the meeting will count the ballots for and against and will announce these numbers.

e. To be ratified, the contract must be approved by a 50% majority of the members of the unit concerned. Postal ballots received prior to the beginning of the meeting shall be counted towards the 50% majority.

f Should the number of members of a particular bargaining unit in attendance at or voting in writing before the general meeting to ratify not be a representative number of the total membership, the Executive reserves the right to extend the deadline for voting on the ratification of that bargaining unit’s collective agreement until a suitable number of votes is attained.

16. Formation of Standing and Ad Hoc Committees

Standing and ad hoc committees may be formed on the basis of passage of a formal motion at a general meeting. The motion shall include the name of the committee, its mandate and its composition.

17. Formation of By-Laws and Amendments to the Constitution and to

By-Laws

a. Codified practices not covered by the Constitution shall be defined by By-laws. By-laws refer to codified practices that are deemed to be less important, and easier to amend, than those in the Constitution. Examples of codified practices that require a by-law may include definition of notice of meetings, definition of an agenda, definition of the usual order of business, procedure for absentee ballots for elections to the Executive Committee, and duties of standing and ad hoc committees not already covered in the Constitution.

b. Amendments to this Constitution, the formation of By-laws and amendments to existing By-laws may be proposed by the Executive Committee or by any two members of the Association. In the latter case, the proposals must be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the Association and signed by the two members.

c. The Constitution may only be amended and By-laws formed or amended at the Annual General Meeting or at a special General Meeting called for this purpose. Members must be informed of the proposed language and the time and place of the scheduled meeting at least one week in advance. The quorum for such general meetings shall be a number of members from any unit equal to 20% of the total membership of the Fulltime Faculty & Librarian and Staff units combined.

d. Members of the Association unable to attend the meeting and who wish to vote shall inform the Secretary in writing in a sealed, signed envelope. This envelope shall contain a vote and shall be submitted prior to the beginning of the official meeting. The member shall include a formal apology for absence.

e. To be adopted, amendments to the Constitution, new By-laws or amendments to By-laws must be approved by a 2/3 majority composed of the members present at the meeting and those who have provided a sealed, signed envelope containing a vote.

f. A current copy of the Constitution and By-laws shall be provided to all members of the Association and to new members upon joining.

As amended April 29^th, 2010