BYLAWS OF THE STCC PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION

CONTENTS

ARTICLE  I  NAME 
ARTICLE  II OBJECTIVES 
ARTICLE  III MEMBERSHIP 
ARTICLE  IV OFFICERS AND MCCC DIRECTOR 
ARTICLE  V EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 
ARTICLE  VI MEETINGS 
ARTICLE VII  STANDING COMMITTEES
ARTICLE  VIII PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
ARTICLE  IX AMENDMENTS 

 
ARTICLE  I NAME
The name of the association shall be the STCC Professional Association, hereinafter referred to as the Association.

ARTICLE II OBJECTIVES
We, the members of this Association, in order to fulfill our responsibilities to society, to our profession, and to our students, do hereby adopt the following general objectives for the Association:
A. To maintain and improve the quality of education at Springfield Technical Community College.
B. To uphold high professional standards and to advance the socio-economic well- being of faculty and professional staff within the bargaining units.

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ARTICLE  III   MEMBERSHIP
Section 1.    Active Members
Active members are those who are employed within the Massachusetts Community College System engaged in teaching or related professional activities, who are in one of the bargaining units, and who hold membership in the Massachusetts Community College Council (hereinafter the MCCC).

Section  2.    Active Membership Status
A. Active membership shall be continuous until the member leaves, resigns from the Association, or fails to pay membership dues.
B. Only active members, as defined in this Article, shall have the privilege of       voting and holding office in the Association.

Section 3.     Retired Members
Retired members are those former active members who apply to the Executive Treasurer of the MCCC for retired member status.

Section 4.     Affiliation
No person shall be admitted to or be continued as an active member in the Association who is not also a member of the MCCC, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and the National Education Association.

Section 5.     Membership Year
The membership year of the Association shall coincide with that of the MCCC. 

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ARTICLE  IV OFFICERS AND MCCC DIRECTOR
Section 1. Officers
A. The officers of the Association shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
B. Officers shall take office on June 1st of the year in which regular elections are held and shall serve for a period of two (2) years until May 31st.
C. Officers may stand for re-election.
D. Election of officers shall take place in April of even numbered years.
 
Section 2. Powers and Duties of Officers
A. The President shall:
1. preside at meetings of the Executive Committee and membership;2. appoint the chair and members of the standing committees, other committees or teams, and representatives of the Association on committees formed under collective bargaining agreement or by the administration of the college;
3. be an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominations and Elections Committee;
4. chair the Association team on the Management Association Committee on Employee Relations (MACER) for the day unit and the parallel committee for the DCE unit;
5. ordinarily attend the meetings of the college’s Board of Trustees;
6. ordinarily represent the chapter as a delegate to the MCCC Delegate Assembly;
7. perform any other functions usually attributed to the office.
 
B. The Vice President shall:
1. preside at meetings of the Executive Committee and membership in the absence of the President;2. assume the duties of the President in case of the death, resignation, or retirement of the President, or in the event the President is unable to perform duties of that office;
3. function as Coordinator of the Association Representatives;
4. ordinarily represent the chapter as a delegate to the MCCC Delegate Assembly;
5. perform any other functions usually attributed to the office.
 
C. The Secretary shall:
1. keep minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee and the membership;
2. maintain official records and assist the President with the Association’s communications;
3. ordinarily represent the chapter as a delegate to the MCCC Delegate Assembly.

D. The Treasurer shall:
1. hold the funds of the Association and disburse them in accordance with appropriate authorization;2. keep accurate account of receipts and disbursements and report to each meeting of the Executive Committee and membership;
3. keep the President and the Executive Committee informed of the financial condition of the Association;
4. prepare and file an annual financial statement as directed by the Treasurer of the MCCC;
5. prepare and file statements with supporting documentation with the Treasurer of the MCCC to obtain reimbursement for office expenses in accordance with MCCC policy;
6. maintain a roll of the members and report changes in membership information to the Treasurer of the MCCC;
7. ordinarily represent the chapter as a delegate to the MCCC Delegate Assembly.

Section 3. MCCC Director
A. The Association’s representative on the MCCC Board of Directors shall be elected for a term of one (1) year and may stand for re-election.  The President of the Association shall not be precluded from election as the MCCC Director.
B. Election of the Director shall take place in April of each year.
C. The Director shall take office on June 1st of the year elected and shall serve for a period of one (1) year until May 31st of the following year.
1. attend scheduled meetings of the MCCC Board of Directors;
2. maintain close communications with the President of the Association;
3. report regularly to the Executive Committee and the membership;
4. ordinarily represent the chapter as a delegate to the MCCC Delegate Assembly.
 
Section 4. Vacancy
A. If an officer is unable to serve for any reason for a period of time longer than six (6) months, that office may be declared vacant by the recommendation of the Executive Committee and by majority vote of members present and voting at a membership meeting.
B. In the case of a declared vacancy or of the resignation of the President, the Vice President shall automatically serve the remainder of the President’s term of office.
C. If the Vice President replaces the President as a result of a vacancy or resignation, the office of Vice President shall not be filled if the remaining term of office until the next elections is six (6) months or less.  If, however, the remaining term of office is  more than six (6) months notice shall be given for an election to fill the Vice President’s position.
D. In the case of a declared vacancy or of a resignation of an officer other than the President or Vice President, notice shall be given for an election to fill the position for the remaining term of office.

Section 5. Resignation
A. An officer may submit a resignation – normally in writing – to the President (or in the case of the President’s resignation, to the Secretary).  The Executive Committee shall act on a motion to accept the resignation at its next regular meeting or at a special meeting.
B. The duties of a position must not ordinarily be abandoned until a resignation has been accepted or at least until there has been reasonable opportunity for it to have been accepted.

Section 6 . Recall
A. An officer may be removed from office in the following manner:
1. A petition bearing the signatures of twenty percent of the active members must be presented to the Executive Committee at a meeting or through one of the officers.
2. The petition must include the signatures of the petitioners, the name and office of the officer in question, and the reason(s) for the recall request.  It should be accompanied by supporting documentation.
3. The Executive Committee shall meet within ten working days of receipt of the petition to plan for a recall vote.  The recall vote must be conducted within twenty working days of the Executive Committee’s meeting.
4. The recall ballot shall ask for a “Yes” or “No” vote to the question “Shall ---------  be removed from office?”
5. If two thirds (2/3) of those casting ballots vote “Yes”, the officer shall be considered removed from office.
B. If an officer is removed by means of a recall vote, the office shall be considered vacant, and the provisions in Article IV for filling a vacancy shall apply.

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ARTICLE V   EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1. Members
A. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the officers, the immediate past president, and two members at large, one (1) of whom shall be a day unit member and ordinarily one (1) a Continuing Education unit member.  If the MCCC Director is someone other than the president of the Association, that person shall also be member of the Executive Committee.
B. At large members shall serve a two (2) year term of office and may stand for re-election. Election of “At Large Members” should take place in April of even numbered years and may be held at the same time as the election of officers.
 
Section 2. Powers and Duties
Within the STCC PA’s Bylaws and policies approved by the membership, the Executive Committee shall be responsible for the management of the Association.  It shall have the authority and responsibility to:
a. adopt procedures and rules for conducting the business of the Association;
b. appoint coordinators as needed to carry out the business of the Association and the MCCC
c. receive and act upon reports and recommendations from committees;
d. recommend policies or changes of policy to the membership;
e. implement changes of policy approved by the membership
f. adopt an annual budget for the operation of the Association.
g. employ staff as needed for the efficient management of the Association.

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ARTICLE VI  MEETINGS
Section 1. Executive Committee Meetings
The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice per semester during the academic year on a schedule to be determined by the Executive Committee.  Any two (2) members of   the Executive Committee may request additional meetings. 

Section 2. Membership Meetings
Membership meetings shall be held at least once per semester. 

Section 3.  Special Meetings
Special meetings of the membership may be held at the call of the president or upon written request to the Executive Committee from five percent (5%) of the membership. Business to come before special meetings must be stated in the call to meeting, which shall be sent in writing or e-mail to each member of the Association.  Business shall be  confined to those items. 

Section 4. Quorum
A. For Executive Committee meetings, the presence of a majority of its members shall constitute a quorum.
B. For membership meetings, the presence of ten percent (10%) of the members of the Association shall constitute a quorum.

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ARTICLE VII STANDING COMMITTEES
Section 1. Committees
There shall be the following standing committees:  Bylaws and Rules Committee and Nomination and Elections Committee.
A. Bylaws and Rules Committee
1. The purpose of this committee is to receive proposed amendments to the Bylaws for review and to make recommendations concerning them to the Executive Committee and the members.
2. This committee shall consist of at least three (3) members appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee.  The term of office shall be for two (2) years and shall begin on September 30th of the year of appointment.
B. Nominations and Elections Committee
1. The purpose of this committee is to provide equal access to nomination procedures to all members of the Association and to assure each candidate for office equal treatment in the election process.
2. This committee shall consist of at least three (3) members appointed by the President with the approval of  the Executive Committee.  The term of office shall be for two (2) years and shall begin on September 30th of the year of appointment.
3. This committee shall have the authority and responsibility to:
a. place in nomination candidates for office who have submitted a formal application;
b. publish the names of those candidates for elective office no later than two weeks preceding the date of the election;
c. prepare election ballots;
d. supervise the conduct of elections and certify the results;
e. safeguard the ballots for a period of one (1) year and allow inspection of the ballots by any active member of the Association.
 
Section 2.  Reports
The chair of each committee shall report to the Executive Committee and the membership on the work of the committee or on items requiring action.   Each committee shall choose a secretary who shall record the activities of the committee and assist the chair with communications as necessary.

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ARTICLE  VIII PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
 Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be the parliamentary authority of the Association insofar as they are deemed necessary by  the presiding officer and are not inconsistent with the bylaws of the Association.

ARTICLE IX  AMENDMENTS
 These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present and voting at any regular or special meeting of the Association.  The proposed amendments shall be made available to members of the Association at least two calendar weeks in advance of the meeting. 

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