Elgin Community College Faculty Association
Articles
ARTICLE I Name and affiliation
- Section 1. The name of this organization is Elgin Community College Faculty Association and hereinafter in this constitution is designated as ECCFA or the Association
- Section 2. ECCFA is affiliated with and participates actively in the American Federation of Teachers, Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Illinois State Federation of Labor, Chicago Federation of Labor-Industrial Unions Council, Elgin Federation of Labor, and the AFL-CIO.
ARTICLE II Purpose
- ECCFA is a professional association of college educators employed by Elgin Community College, District No. 509 of the State of Illinois and is authorized by its constitution to engage in any and all activities that promote educational processes and the welfare of its members. As the representative of the faculty of Elgin Community College, it seeks to effectively serve the educational needs of the residents of Community College District No. 509 by identifying and solving educational problems, by encouraging educational innovation, and by promoting and striving for a harmonious working relationship with the administration and Board of Trustees of Elgin Community College.
ARTICLE III Objectives
- Section 1. To promote within faculty the highest type of professionalism.
- Section 2. To encourage active participation of all faculty in the solution of college problems and community needs.
- Section 3. To defend the rights and responsibilities of academic freedom.
- Section 4. To promote faculty participation in educational management.
- Section 5. To secure and maintain adequate salaries and working conditions.
- Section 6. To support tenure, sabbatical leave, retirement policies, and other policies that encourage the highest level of faculty performance.
- Section 7. To represent faculty in a continuing review and revision of college policy.
- Section 8. To suggest new policy or request statements of policy from appropriate groups.
- Section 9. To communicate the position of faculty to the public, students, administration, and Board of Trustees of Community College District No. 509.
ARTICLE IV Membership
- Section 1. ECCFA membership is open to all full-time and eligible adjunct faculty who pay dues.
- Section 2. Full-time faculty and eligible adjunct faculty choosing not to join the Association are designated non-members (under Article II Section 2.10 of the ECCFA Agreement) shall not have voting privileges, hold office, or be eligible for ECCFA Senate membership: however such individuals are members of the bargaining unit and maintain all of the right and responsibilities named in the Contract.
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Section 3. Full time and adjunct faculty retirees who were members of ECCFA at the time of retirement can join a retiree chapter of ECCFA or form one if one does not exist.
Such chapter - from now on, "the retiree chapter" - defines its own constitution and bylaws.
However, no action, bylaw or provision of the retiree chapter shall be in conflict with policies and decisions of the membership or the Senate of ECCFA. The policies and decisions of the membership or the Senate of ECCFA shall take precedence when a possible conflict arises with the actions, bylaws, or provisions of the retiree chapter. As such, the initial constitution and bylaws of the retiree chapter must be presented to the Senate of ECCFA for approval prior to the retiree chapter taking effect.
A member of the retiree chapter shall be known as "retiree member."
The sole voting rights within ECCFA of retiree members are provided in Article VII, Section 1(b), of this Constitution.
ECCFA is committed to facilitate communications between the AFT, the IFT, and the retiree chapter.
The dues owed by the retiree chapter to ECCFA are approved by the senate of ECCFA after consultation with the treasurer of ECCFA and the retiree chapter, as per Article I, section 6(h)(i) of the bylaws of ECCFA.
ARTICLE V Officers and Staff
- Section 1. There are six officers (President, First Vice-president, Second Vice-president, Third Vice-president, Secretary, and Treasurer), a Communications Liaison, a Sentinel editor, a Membership Coordinator, a Webmaster, Volunteer Coordinator, and a Parliamentarian, all of whom must be full members of ECCFA.
- Section 2. The President is elected to a two-year term by a plurality of votes cast by the ECCFA membership. The newly elected President assumes office at the first Senate meeting after the election. A President may succeed herself/himself.
- Section 3. The First Vice-president is a Senator from the full-time faculty. The Second Vice-president is a Senator from the Unit Adjunct Faculty II. The Third Vice-president is a Senator from either the Unit Adjunct Faculty I or the Unit adjunct Faculty II if no UAF1 is available. The Secretary is a full member of the ECCFA. The Treasurer is a full member of the ECCFA. The First Vice-president, Second Vice-president, Third Vice-president, Secretary, and Treasurer are elected to one-year terms by a plurality of the Senators present and voting. They are seated immediately after their election.
- Section 4. The Communication Liaison, Sentinel editor, the Membership Coordinator, Webmaster, Volunteer Coordinator, and Parliamentarian are appointed by the President, with Senate approval, to a one-year term and seated immediately after the appointment.
- Section 5. In addition, the Senate may elect representatives to any state and/or national organization with which ECCFA is affiliated.
Notes: For dates and procedures, see Bylaws Article IV: Elections.
ARTICLE VI Powers and Authority of the Senate
- Section 1. Members of ECCFA empower the Senate to act as their representative and to communicate directly with the college administration and Board of Trustees in all matters.
- Section 2. The Senate establishes policy for ECCFA as directed by the membership, supervises activities of all faculty committees involved in governance, negotiations, welfare, professional development, elections, and the day-to-day operation of ECCFA.
- Section 3. The Senate has the authority to establish stipends for its officers and members.
ARTICLE VII Membership and Duties of the Senate
- Section 1. Membership:
- a. Senators are elected, during annual Senate elections in April, by ECCFA members. Full-time faculty members elect Senators in their respective divisions. Each division is entitled to one Senator per ten (10) faculty (rounded to the nearest ten)*. Unit adjunct faculty II members are entitled to one Senator per twenty (20) actively teaching unit adjunct members (rounded to the nearest twenty)*. Unit adjunct faculty I members are entitled to one Senator per forty (40) actively teaching unit adjunct I members (rounded to the nearest forty)*. The count of actively teaching unit adjunct II and unit adjunct I members is determined by the second month of each academic semester.
*(5 shall be rounded up) - b. Members of the retiree chapter are entitled to one Senator. Such Senator is entitled to all rights and privileges of a Senator except that such senator shall not be entitled to hold office outside of positions within the retiree chapter.
- c. The term of office for a Senator is two years, beginning at the first Senate meeting following the April election.
- a. Senators are elected, during annual Senate elections in April, by ECCFA members. Full-time faculty members elect Senators in their respective divisions. Each division is entitled to one Senator per ten (10) faculty (rounded to the nearest ten)*. Unit adjunct faculty II members are entitled to one Senator per twenty (20) actively teaching unit adjunct members (rounded to the nearest twenty)*. Unit adjunct faculty I members are entitled to one Senator per forty (40) actively teaching unit adjunct I members (rounded to the nearest forty)*. The count of actively teaching unit adjunct II and unit adjunct I members is determined by the second month of each academic semester.
- Section 2. The duties of the Senate are:
- a. To serve as an agency through which any member of the faculty, administration, or any committee may introduce matters involving faculty governance and educational programs for consideration;
- b. To serve as a body to appoint, approve and/or provide for the election of faculty on standing or ad hoc committees;
- c. To receive and evaluate reports from its standing and ad hoc committees and to submit reports passed by a majority Senate vote or a membership vote to the Board of Trustees or appropriate administrative organization(s) and to propose action relative to those reports;
- d. To organize and supervise the role of faculty in negotiation of contractual matters and policies affecting working conditions and educational programs of the college;
- e. To make recommendations to the administration and/or Board of Trustees in the formulation of policies and procedures.
- Section 3. The duties of the Senators are:
- a. To advise faculty of actions taken by the Senate.
- b. To inform faculty of actions taken by the Board of Trustees, college President, or administration on recommendations made by the Senate in so far as the Senate can be aware of those actions.
ARTICLE VIII Committees: There are three types of committees; Standing, Ad Hoc and Negotiations
- Section 1. Standing committees are: Grievance, Academic Affairs, Amendments and Sick Bank.
- a. Standing committee members are elected annually by ECCFA members from each division. Each division is represented by one faculty member. For the purposes of committee representation, Counseling, Learning Resources and Pre-Collegiate are considered one division, Unit Adjunct Faculty II shall be considered one division and Unit Adjunct Faculty I shall be considered one division.
- b. Standing committees are elected in April and hold their first meeting no later than October 15. The term for a standing committee member is two years, following the April election. The standing committee chairperson is elected by committee membership.
- Section 2. Ad hoc committees are appointed by the Senate President upon approval of a majority of the Senators. Ad hoc committees will consist of, but not be limited to the following:
- a. Elections -Elections Chair plus one full-time, one Unit Adjunct II and one Unit Adjunct I faculty.
- b. Amendments— One full-time, one Unit Adjunct II and one Unit Adjunct I faculty.
- Section 3.
At the request of the First VP, a Negotiation Committee will be elected. The Negotiation Committee shall serve until a new one is elected in the year the last negotiated contract or contract extension expires.
The Negotiation Committee shall be comprised of the following:
• Five Full-time faculty members, one full-time faculty member elected from each academic division as defined in the ECCFA Constitution.
• Three at-large faculty members elected from the UAFII, who are considered one division for election purposes as per ECCFA Constitution.
• Two at-large faculty members elected from UAFI, who are considered one division for election purposes as per ECCFA Constitution.
• First, second and third Vice Presidents of ECCFA.
• ECCFA President as Ex-Officio member of the committee.
•ECCFA Communications Liaison as Ex-Officio member of the committee.
• Any other person the Negotiation Committee deems necessary as Ex officio member.
• Lead Negotiator elected by the senate.
The Lead Negotiator should have completed Union Leadership Institute training on collective bargaining and preferably, but not required, have previous experience in collective bargaining. In the rare case that no one with the appropriate training volunteers as Lead Negotiator, the senate shall approve another member/individual with experience in collective bargaining negotiations. All voices in the negotiation committee shall be heard and considered during deliberation of matters related to negotiations. All decisions by the negotiation team must adhere to the democratic procedures of voting and the committee should always aim for consensus in the decision-making process. In the occasion where consensus is not possible, only decisions approved by a majority of vote by the negotiations committee members shall move forward in the negotiation process. In the event of a tie the union president will cast the deciding vote.
ARTICLE IX Amendments to the Constitution
- Section 1. All amendments must be submitted to the Senate Amendments Committee chair prior to the last regularly scheduled Senate meeting preceding a general membership meeting.
- Section 2. Amendments may be submitted by individual ECCFA members or committees.
- Section 3. Amendments to the constitution are adopted by a two-thirds affirmative vote of ECCFA members attending a general membership meeting.
- Section 4. The President, upon recommendation of the Senate or Senate Amendments Committee, may call a special general membership meeting for the consideration and vote on amendments to the constitution.
ARTICLE X Parliamentary Procedure
Roberts' Rules of Order (Revised) shall govern all meetings.
Bylaws: Articles
ARTICLE I Duties of the Officers of the Senate
- Section 1. IThe President in cooperation with other officers:
- a. calls and chairs meetings of ECCFA;
- b. plans meeting agenda with the advice of the Senate;
- c. represents ECCFA to the Board of Trustees and administration and other non-faculty groups or appoints other persons to represent ECCFA;
- d. makes appointments with approval of the Senate;
- e. submits all petitions of faculty concern to all members of ECCFA for consideration and follows membership direction as reflected in votes, in working toward the resolution and/or implementation of those concerns;
- f. together with other officers, the President keeps the membership of ECCFA informed on matters of faculty concern;
- g. appoints his/her substitute to attend meetings or particular functions on those occasions that the President or a Vice-President cannot be present;
- h. serves as an ex-officio member of the grievance and negotiations committees;
- i. shall be a delegate to the IFT and AFT conventions.
- Section 2. The First Vice-President in cooperation with other officer:
- a. performs duties of the President when the President cannot attend an Association, Senate, or other meeting;
- b. initiates election of Negotiations Chair and negotiation committee in ample time for negotiations to take place;
- c. facilitates the distribution of information and materials to Fulltime Faculty members;
- d. prepares constituent lists for all Fulltime Faculty senators.
- e. coordinates member engagement activities, to include advocacy, organizing, mobilizing, and recruiting;
- f. provides union leadership and professional development.
- Section 3. The Second Vice-President in cooperation with other officers:
- a. performs duties of the President when the President and First Vice-president cannot attend an Association, Senate, or other meeting;
- b. reports to the Senate the issues and concerns of Unit Adjunct Faculty II;
- c. works with the Membership Coordinator and Human Resources to identify adjunct faculty who qualify for membership as UAFII;
- d. facilitates the distribution of information and materials to Unit Adjunct Faculty II members;
- e. assists the Unit Adjunct Faculty II Senators in communication with the membership and acts as a contact person for Unit Adjunct Faculty II with questions or concerns;
- f. prepares constituent lists for all Unit Adjunct Faculty II senators.
- Section 4. The Third Vice-President in cooperation with other officers:
- a. performs duties of the President when the President, First Vice-president, and the Second Vice-president cannot attend an Association, Senate, or other meeting;
- b. reports to the Senate the issues and concerns of Unit Adjunct Faculty I;
- c. works with the Membership Coordinator and Human Resources to identify adjunct faculty who qualify for membership as UAFI;
- d. facilitates the distribution of information and materials to Unit Adjunct Faculty I members;
- e. assists the Unit Adjunct Faculty I Senators in communication with the membership and acts as a contact person for Unit Adjunct Faculty I with questions or concerns;
- f. prepares constituent lists for all Unit Adjunct Faculty I senators.
- Section 5. The Secretary in cooperation with other officers:
- a. records the minutes of all ECCFA and Senate meetings and distributes those minutes to the senators a minimum of 5 days prior to the next senate meeting;
- b. assists with distribution of information concerning ECCFA and/or the Senate as directed by the President or Senate;
- c. maintains records and files of all ECCFA matters other than finances;
- d. receives all petitions from ECCFA members, other than those for an elective office, or an amendment to the Constitution, for submission to the Senate;
- e. prepares and maintains a calendar of important dates, such as forthcoming elections, and keeps faculty informed of the calendar.
- Section 6. The Treasurer in cooperation with other officers:
- a. submits monthly financial reports to the senate;
- b. prepares a budget and maintains complete financial records of ECCFA;
- c. maintains the organization’s bank accounts;
- d. initiates an annual audit of the organization’s financial records;
- e. pays bills as authorized by the Senate.
- f. presents bi-annual financial reports to the general membership;
- g. develop, review, and recommend changes to “Financial Management Procedures” as necessary to support the organization’s financial practices and operational controls.
- h. computes and estimates costs that ECCFA will sustain for, or because of, the retiree chapter;
- i. recommends to the Senate of ECCFA, in cooperation with the retiree chapter, the dues for the retiree chapter.
ARTICLE II Duties of Communications Liaison, Sentinel editor, Membership Coordinator, Webmaster, Volunteer Coordinator, and Parliamentarian of the Senate
- Section 1. The Communication Liaison:
- a. attends Senate meetings regularly-issues press releases as directed by the Senate President or Chief Negotiator;
- b. acts as official Senate spokesperson to the press;
- c. assists in promoting the public image of ECCFA.
- Section 2. Sentinel Editor: attends Senate meetings regularly and oversees editing, printing and distribution of The Sentinel.
- Section 3. Membership Coordinator:
- a. attends Senate meetings regularly and reports the status of all unit members and non-members;
- b. works with Human Resources to collect information to maintain and update the ECCFA membership database;
- c. works with Human Resources to identify faculty who qualify for membership;
- d. distributes membership packets to qualifying faculty;
- e. coordinates the recruitment of new members of ECCFA.
- Section 4. The Webmaster:
- a. attends Senate meetings regularly
- b. maintains the official ECCFA website;
- c. archives Senate/ECCFA meeting minutes, Sentinel issues and major ECCFA related documents to the website;
- d. collects information for the website from the membership;
- e. reports ECCFA related business and information on the website;
- f. responds to e-mail that is communicated through the website.
- Section 5. Volunteer Coordinator:
- a. investigates and identifies community/charitable activities appropriate for ECCFA member participation
- b. proposes activities to the Senate for approval
- c. disseminates pertinent information about activities to the membership
- d. coordinates volunteers’ participation in activities
- e. recruits personal, as needed, to assist him or her in the effort
- Section 6. Parliamentarian:
- a. Attends all Senate and ECCFA meeting;
- b. Advises the Senate and ECCFA regarding compliance to Robert’s Rules of Order
- c. Serves at Sergeant at Arms at all Senate and ECCFA meetings.
ARTICLE III Duties of the Senators
- Section 1. Attendance at Senate meetings
- a. A Senator may arrange to have a substitute from his/her division attend a Senate meeting that he/she is unable to attend.
- b. If a Senator misses two consecutive duly called meetings, the Senate President may, with the approval of the senate, replace that Senator
- Section 2. Communication with constituents
- a. maintains consistent contact with constituents face-to-face, in writing, and electronically
- b. disseminate information from the Senate
- c. gather responses from constituents to issues, etc.
- d. request agenda space at a forthcoming for items brought to him/her by any constituent
ARTICLE IV Duties of ECCFA Committees
- Section 1. Standing Committees
- a. The Grievance Committee initiates action, in accordance with the grievance procedure, of any claim by the entire ECCFA or an individual member, that there has been a violation, misrepresentation, or misapplication of the terms of the current contract.
- b. The Academic Affairs Committee reviews then reports to the Senate issues and decisions related to academic policies and procedures.
- c. The Sick Bank Committee works with Human Resources to review Sick Bank requests and grants sick days to qualified applicants in accordance with established Sick Bank guidelines.
- Section 2. Ad Hoc Committees
- a. The Scholarship Committee is appointed by the Senate President with Senate approval each year in February. It supervises the disbursement of faculty sponsored scholarships.
- b. The Elections Committee is appointed by the Senate each year to conduct ECCFA’s elections. The Committee is responsible for receiving election nominations, preparing ballots, recruiting judges, collecting and tallying ballots and reporting the results to the Senate for confirmation.
- c. The Amendments Committee ensures all proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws are properly submitted to the members of ECCFA and voted on as specified by Article IX of the Constitution.
- Section 3. The Negotiating Committee prepares for, negotiates and provides oversight of the bargaining agreement for the membership and appoints a faculty team to serve as spokespersons for contract deliberations.
ARTICLE V Procedures for the Senate
- Section 1. The schedule for Senate meetings is determined by the Senate at the beginning of each semester. The Faculty is informed of the meeting schedule.
- Section 2. The Senate schedules a full faculty meeting at the beginning of each semester.
- Section 3. Additional general faculty meetings may be called as needed.
- Section 4. A quorum for Senate meetings is a majority of the authorized membership at that time (for ten members, six would be a quorum).
- Section 5. A plurality of affirmative votes is required to pass motions and/or approve action. All Senators have an equal vote.
- Section 6. When the Senate presents issues for a vote by the full ECCFA membership, the outcome is determined by a plurality of affirmative votes cast. Unit Adjunct II and Unit adjunct I member's have full voting privileges.
- Section 8. The Senate will respond to any petition signed by twenty percent of ECCFA membership and submitted to the Senate Secretary.
- Section 9. Senate meetings are open to all current and retired ECCFA members.
- Section 10. The Senate may invoke the right of closed session when the privacy of a faculty member would be violated by the anticipated discussion.
- Section 14. Procedures for conducting Summer business will be established by the Senate each year during the last meeting in May.
- Section 15. Official ECCFA/Senate business may be conducted by e-mail including:
- a. the communication of official ECCFA/Senate business.
- b. the casting of votes regarding official Senate business. The voting guidelines established in Article V, Section 5 and 6 of the ECCFA Bylaws will apply to e-mail votes.
- c. the nomination of ECCFA members to positions of service.
- Section 16. Communications from ECCFA Senators and ECCFA Committee chairs about ECCFA business should follow the following guidelines:
- a. Mass e-mails (to entire sections of the unit- UAF1, UAF2, Full Time, and/or college-wide) about ECCFA business are subject to a review process.
- 1. E-mails addressed an entire section of the unit need approval from the Vice President of that unit. If said Vice President is not available, the President may approve in lieu. Emails addressed to multiple units, all units, or everyone on campus need approval from the President of the Union.
- b. Informative emails about actions that have been approved by the senate or emails the senate at large has requested to be sent do not require an approval process (this applies both to mass emails and to constituency group emails)
- c. All emails being sent by an ECCFA Senator or ECCFA Committee chair about ECCFA business should start with **Official ECCFA Communication** at the beginning of the body of the email.
- d. When sending a mass email, the BCC field should be used to address the recipients.
- a. Mass e-mails (to entire sections of the unit- UAF1, UAF2, Full Time, and/or college-wide) about ECCFA business are subject to a review process.
ARTICLE VI Elections
- Section 1. Elections for Senators must be completed prior to April 30, of each year. In extreme circumstances, the Senate may extend the deadline for elections.
- Section 2. If the President resigns prior to March 1, and the position of First Vice-president is thereby vacated by succession, a special election is held for another Senator in the appropriate division. A new First Vice-president is then elected by the Senate. The same procedure is used to fill vacancies in the offices of the Second Vice-president, Third Vice-president, Secretary or Treasurer if the office is vacated for any reason.
- Section 3. If a senate or elected committee seat is vacant, the President may, with the approval of the Senate, appoint a member from the appropriate division to fill the vacancy until the next general election.
- Section 4. All elections are conducted by the Elections Committee.
- Section 5. Absentee Balloting
- a. Absentee Ballots shall be published by the elections committee following the closing of nominations.
- b. Absentee ballots, which may be electronic, shall be available for distribution to the ECCFA membership one week prior to the scheduled election dates in April.
- c. Absentee ballots must be returned to the chair of the Elections Committee or his/her designee not later than the close of the scheduled election dates in April; Absentee ballots received after that time will be considered spoiled and will not be used in the total count of votes cast.
ARTICLE VII Finances
ECCFA Dues and budget are approved by ECCFA members at the first general membership meeting of the academic year.
ARTICLE VIII Amendments to Bylaws
- Section 1. All amendments must be submitted to the Senate Amendments Committee prior to the last regularly scheduled Senate meeting preceding a general membership meeting.
- Section 2. Amendments can be submitted by an individual ECCFA member or committees.
- Section 3. Amendments to the Bylaws are adopted by a two-thirds affirmative vote of ECCFA members present and voting at a general membership meeting.
- Section 4. The President, upon recommendation of the Senate OR Senate Amendments Committee, may call a special general membership meeting for the consideration and vote on amendments to the bylaws.
