ARTICLE I TERMINOLOGY
The name of Portland Federation of Teachers shall be retained within the name of PFTCE, reflecting the 1919 founding of the Organization of that name and its historical significance as the oldest teacher organization in Portland.
ARTICLE II ORDER OF BUSINESS
1. Call to Order
2. Reading of Minutes
3. Financial Report
4. Reports of Officers
5. Reports of Committees
6. Reports of delegates, conferees, and others traveling on PFTCE business
7. Recommendations of the Executive Board
8. Unfinished Business
9. New Business
10. Remarks for the Good of the Order
ARTICLE III REPRESENTATIVES
Delegates and alternates to the conventions of the Oregon AFL-CIO, AFT-Oregon, and American Federation of Teachers shall include the President of this organization as ranking delegate. Executive Board members, elected by secret ballot to their Executive Board positions, may also be voting delegates to state, national and international conventions. Such other representative delegates and alternates, to whom it is entitled, shall be elected by secret ballot at the January meeting preceding such conventions. Votes allocated to PFTCE shall be distributed as evenly as possible among the delegates present, at the time of voting, at any convention, but votes shall not be fractioned. All additional votes shall be assigned by lot with no delegate receiving more than one of the additional votes.
Trustees and Alternates to the Portland Public Schools Health and Welfare Trust shall be appointed at the discretion of the President, and approved by the Executive Board. The Trustee(s) shall serve as non-voting member(s) of the Executive Board. Expenses and travel related to Trust meetings shall be covered by the Trust.
ARTICLE IV TRAVEL
Section 1. Persons representing this organization attending workshops, conferences, conventions, or meetings sponsored by PFTCE, or its affiliates, or other non-affiliated organizations, for which there is reimbursement shall:
A. have the approval of the President, and the Executive Board, herein after known as Board, prior to the departure;
B. submit an itemized list of estimated expenses to the President for the Board’s approval;
C. give a post-event report, and expense summary, to the Board at its first meeting following the event; and
D. comply with Article XVI of the Constitution, and these By-Laws.
Section 2. For non-budgeted travel, the traveler shall compile a cost estimate of the travel and expense and present it to the Board for approval prior to departure. Items C and D above shall apply to all officers and staff.
Section 3. The President and Executive Board of this institution must approve all travel.
A. When PFTCE is responsible for funding travel and expenses, a budget and itinerary shall be submitted to the President and Executive Board with, if appropriate, a request for either per diem or expenses, thirty (30) days in advance of departure. Exceeding the submitted budget must be approved by the Board. If PFTCE is to be reimbursed by another organization or affiliate, a statement itemizing the reimbursement must accompany the budget and itinerary.
B. The traveler is responsible for providing documentation of expenses. Failure to do so will require reimbursement by the traveler. All travel must be included in the Treasurer’s monthly report to Board and indicate against which budget item the travel and expense has been charged.
C. Any trip or portion of a trip not related to Union business shall be reimbursed by the traveler if Union funds have been used.
D. Reimbursement requests to affiliates or other organizations shall be submitted by the office staff to the appropriate organization not more than thirty (30) days following the completion of the travel.
E. Travelers shall provide PFTCE office staff with an itinerary so that they may be contacted for instructions or information related to union business.
F. At the Board meeting following completion of the travel, the traveler shall give the Board a brief summary of the travel
G. If travel has not been approved by the President and Executive Board, or if the travel expense has been denied by the Executive Board, the traveler may appeal the decision by requesting a hearing within thirty (30) days of notification that an expense is denied. If a hearing request is made, the hearing will be placed on the agenda of the following Executive Board meeting and the traveler shall appear and present his/her arguments and documentation. A vote will be taken immediately after the hearing and the decision will be final. The vote shall be majority of all the Board members.
ARTICLE V DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section I. President: This position shall be a full-time elected contractual position which includes all benefits accorded to the employees of Portland Public Schools. This contract will be negotiated by a Contract Committee representing the Board, and will be ratified by a majority vote of all members of the Board. A job description shall be a part of the negotiated contract, which shall include the position requirements as stated in the Constitution and the Guidelines for PFTCE Executive Board Members.
Section 2. Officers: The duties of all officers of this organization shall appear in the Guidelines for PFTCE Executive Board Members.
ARTICLE VI STAFF
The Board shall have the power to authorize the employment of other salaried and contracted officers or staff within the provisions of Article XIV of the Constitution,
A. as financially able, and in accord with specific needs of the Organization;
B. for a period of time, as designated by the Board, and subject to contractually negotiated terms; and,
C. the Contract Committee, representing the Board, shall negotiate all contracts. With a majority vote of the Board, it shall be approved.
ARTICLE VII BUILDING REPRESENTATIVES
Section 1. Building Representatives shall be appointed by October 30th of each school year, or when a vacancy occurs, by the Field Representative. In order to serve as Building Representative, a person must be an active member in good standing of the PFTCE.
Section 2. In the event that two members wish to act as the Building Representative for the same worksite, the Building Representative shall be elected by plurality of the votes cast by that site’s members. The person receiving the second highest number of votes shall serve as the alternate for that worksite. In the event of a tie, a run-off election shall be held.
Section 3. Disputes in such elections shall be referred to the Election Committee for determination, provided that any aggrieved person may appeal to the Membership.
Section 4. If two members at the same worksite choose to work as co-Building Reps, they may be appointed as such by the Field Representative.
Section 5. Each worksite is also entitled to one alternate. One Building Representative may be added for every additional ten unit members in excess of 15. The Field Rep shall inform worksites of the number of Building Representatives to which they are entitled no later than October 31st of each school year based on the membership as of October 15th .
Section 6. Building Representatives:
A. shall be responsible for the distribution of all information from the local office to members in their school or work location;
B. shall be responsible for the union bulletin board in their school or work location;
C. shall be responsible for recruitment of new members in their school, whenever possible, and for maintaining old members in good standing.
D. shall assist members in enforcing the contract by reporting any violations to the PFTCE staff, or by directing members to contact the PFTCE staff.
ARTICLE VIII FAIR SHARE CONTRIBUTORS
Section 1. Persons contributing on a fair-share basis are not eligible to vote in elections, nor contract ratification, and may not hold office.
Section 2. Fair Share contributions shall be consistent with the dues members pay to the local, and will include per capita to affiliates.
Section 3. The President shall be responsible for prompt and fair hearing of complaints and problems regarding fair share contributions and shall inform the Board of the complaint, negotiation and resolution. An appeal process will be on file in accordance with the most recent laws.
ARTICLE IX COMMITTEES
Committees shall be formed and guided as prescribed by these By-Laws and Article XV of the Constitution. Committees may make rules governing the committee, provided these rules do not conflict with the Constitution and By-Laws. If appropriate, committee chairpersons must submit a budget to the Treasurer in March for inclusion in the next fiscal year budget. Short term committee fund requests shall be presented to the Board by the committee chairperson. Committee Chairperson will summarize the activities of their committee periodically before the Board. Chairpersons will submit minutes of all committee meetings and a list of committee members to the PFTCE Secretary. Correspondence to AFT and AFT-Oregon shall be copied to the President.
ARTICLE X STANDING COMMITTEES
Standing committees shall be chaired by the members of the Board, and committee members shall serve terms coinciding with the term of the chairperson on the Board which is two (2), years.
Section 1. THE HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE:
The Chair of this Committee shall be appointed by the Board. Committee members shall:
A. arrange social functions and assist the office staff with workshops, conferences, and other special events.
B. maintain a file of persons, places and other information for reference in planning social and informational events.
Section 2. COMMITTEE FOR POLITICAL EDUCATION:
The Political Education Vice President shall chair this committee, and shall:
A. assist in establishing endorsement procedures for candidates.
B. develop a yearly plan for COPE activities and act as liaison for this organization with our affiliates and other political bodies.
C. organize and execute political fundraising.
D. coordinate political activities.
Section 3. FUNDRAISING & SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE:
The Chair of this Committee shall be appointed by the Board, and shall:
A. organize and execute fundraising for scholarships.
B. notify members of scholarship availability.
C. make scholarship requests available to applicants.
D. work with the Committee to review applications.
E. Present recipients with their scholarships.
Section 4. THE CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE:
The Executive VP shall chair this committee, which shall:
A. periodically review, and update, the Constitution, By-Laws, and Guidelines of this Organization.
B. prepare these changes for presentation, and vote, to the Membership.
C. notify the Membership, in writing, that discussion is scheduled at two regular meetings prior to the vote.
Section 5. THE BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE:
The Treasurer shall chair this committee. Also serving on this committee, of not less than 3 and not more than 5 persons, shall be the President, and at least one person from the membership. The Committee shall meet in March, and meet thereafter at least monthly; shall report the budget status at each Board Meeting, concluding with a report of the proposed budget at the August Executive Board meeting for recommendation to Members for adoption at the September Membership meeting. The committee shall:
A. periodically monitor the budget to determine if expenditures have exceeded the prescribed limits.
B. recommend one of the following, if expenditures exceed the amount of monies budgeted for items.
1. Close the account showing the deficit, permitting no further cash flow.
2. Request the permission of the Board to transfer funds within the budget lines.
3. Request permission of the Council to transfer funds outside of budget lines.
C. conduct a full review of the budget, and inform the Board of the result, at the request of the Board.
D. instruct the President to hire an independent auditor yearly to conduct an audit of the financial records of the Organization.
Section 6. THE CONTRACT COMMITTEE:
The Treasurer shall chair this committee, which shall include three members, excluding the President. The Committee shall meet in April to discuss expiring contracts for all contractual employees, including the President. The committee shall:
A. review, and update salaries, and other contractual issues.
B. present recommended changes to the contracts to the Board for approval.
C. negotiate such contracts, as necessary
ARTICLE XI SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Special committees may be appointed by the President, Executive Board, or the Membership as needed, and are subject to all the rules which apply to committees as prescribed in the Constitution and elsewhere in these By-Laws.
Section 1. Chairpersons shall submit a budget when applicable, committee member list, purpose, goals, and termination date to the Board.
Section 2. Those Committees excepted from Presidential and Board review are those appointed by the membership.
Section 3. NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE:
The President shall serve as chairperson of this committee, which is for the purpose of collective bargaining. The committee shall include one person representing each job classification grade as is necessary to complete the committee.
Section 4. ELECTION COMMITTEE:
For the purpose of conducting elections, this committee will assist the President and consist of not more than five (5) members who are not holding office or are not a candidate for office. The chairperson shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the committee. All of the provisions in Article VII of the Constitution and of committees as set forth in the Constitution and these By-Laws shall apply.
A. Committee members shall be elected at the November meeting by the membership to serve a term of one year beginning immediately following their election.
B. It is the duty of this committee to verify membership and issue ballots, tally votes and report the results to the membership, seal the ballots in an envelope with the date and purpose of the election. The participating members shall sign the envelope and give it to the Secretary.
ARTICLE XII THE BUDGET
The Budget and Finance Committee shall be subjected to the rules prescribed in Article X, Section 5 of these By-Laws.
Section 1. The officers of this Organization shall have the power to spend money within the limits of the budget, however, expenditures that cannot be made within the budget must be approved by the Membership.
Section 2. Fund Raising, as prescribed in the Constitution and these By-Laws, must be for a purpose, and must be approved by the Board and the President. Any funds raised shall be included in the appropriate budget account, and shall be administered for the intended purpose.
Section 3. Budget deficits shall be reported immediately to the President and Board, who may make recommendations for reduction or elimination of activities related to the deficit, or that additional funds be raised, or a transfer of funds be made.
Section 4. Budget and financial records shall be kept in accordance with AFT standards and as specified in the AFT Financial Manual for Local Unions, dated February, 1986, or any later revised editions. The President or the Board may request AFT to conduct an audit of the local’s financial records.
Section 5. The issuing of checks shall require two signatures and a signature stamp may not be used. Disbursement of funds shall require documentation in the form of invoices, receipts, or verified statements of expenditures.
Section 6. Release time shall be charged to the budget line account for which the release time has been granted and shall be considered as an expense of the activity toward which it is charged.
ARTICLE XIII ANNUAL PLANS AND OBJECTIVES
The President shall submit the Annual Plans and Objectives, as proposed by the Board, to the Membership at the September PFTCE meeting. The Annual Plans and Objectives must be in harmony with the goals of the Organization and within the limitations of the Budget, and must include a calendar of events for the fiscal year. The goals of the Organization are considered as part of the Annual Plans. The Plans and Objectives may be revised at the request of the President or a member of the Board, and approved by a majority vote of all of the members of the Board.
ARTICLE XIV BONDING OF OFFICERS
All officers of the AFT local, who handle money, should be bonded through a Fidelity Bond sponsored by AFT, as stated in the AFT Financial Manual.
ARTICLE XV INITIATIVE AND REFERANDUM
Ten percent (10%) of the active members may initiate a proposition, or may demand a referendum, on any action of the Membership. The Board shall submit same to the entire membership within thirty (30) days following certification thereof. The Board shall take no more than two (2) weeks to certify signatures.
ARTICLE XVI UNIT RULE
Delegates to all conventions of organizations, with which PFTCE is affiliated, shall vote by unit rule, as directed by the membership. On those issues for which the delegation has no instruction from the membership, a majority vote of the delegates shall determine the unit vote of the entire delegation.
ARTICLE XVII FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year of this Organization shall begin July 1st and end June 30th.
ARTICLE XVIII AMENDMENT OF THE BY-LAWS
These By-Laws may be amended at any regular meeting by a two thirds vote of Full Members present. The membership shall be notified in writing that discussion is scheduled at two regular meetings prior to the vote. The vote may be taken, following discussion, at the second meeting.
ARTICLE XIX GOVERANCE
These By-Laws shall govern the Organization in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution.