CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

UNITED FEDERATION OF SPECIAL POLICE AND SECURITY OFFICERS, INC.

 

 

ARTICLE I

 

     This organization shall be known as the United Federation of Special Police and Security Officers, Inc.  It shall be referred to in these By-Laws as the "Federation".

 

ARTICLE II

 

     The objective of the Federation shall be to promote the welfare of its members; and to aid them in their need for mutual benefits, and protection and improvement of their social and financial conditions, including:

 

A.  To strive through unity to promote greater acknowledgement of its members' professionalism, betterment of working conditions, and financial security for the individual members and their dependents, and

 

B.  Through active participation, to endorse, support and propose legislation beneficial to the members in its nature; and vigorously oppose any legislation contrary to the members' mutual well-being and financial security.

 

ARTICLE III,

 

     Section 1:  Eligibility for membership shall be restricted to those active or retired, armed or unarmed security guards, security couriers, public safety officers, law enforcement officers, peace officers, special police officers, detention counselors, custodian officers, or other employees charged with the custody, protection and/or trans­portation of people and/or property or, as supervisors, with the orderly administra­tion of such security services, who are employed in the United States of America under any of the separate laws of either the United States or any of its states and other appropriate groups of employees not specifically enumerated in this Article, whose employment is of such a type and nature that it is the same or similar to work frequently performed by security guards or security employees.  Employees within such classifications shall be eligible for the types of membership defined in the following sections of this Article.

 

 

     Section 2:

A. Dues for the active members of the Federation, who are also members of a bargaining unit local of the Federation, shall be designated by the Board of Directors and authorized by a majority of the Delegate body at the Annual Meeting.  These dues shall entitle such active members to representation for purposes of collective bargaining, to all legal services as set forth in the Federation Legal Plan, and to all voting rights as set forth in these By-Laws.

 

B.  Employees, who are included in a bargaining unit local of the Federation and, as such, receive the benefits and protections of such bargaining unit membership, and who elect to not become dues-paying members of the Federation, shall pay, each pay period, to the Federation a contract maintenance fee which shall be an amount of money equal to the amount paid by active Federation members under Section 2.A above.  The contract maintenance fee is equal to the amount paid by active Federation members under Section 2.A. above so as to reflect the services rendered to and benefits received by all members of the bargain­ing unit local.  This maintenance fee shall entitle such non-member bargaining unit employees to representation for the purposes of collective bargaining, and to all of the employment-related legal services as set forth in the Federation Legal Plan. 

 

  Such non-member bargaining unit employees shall have no voting rights, except   as set forth in   Article VIII of these By-Laws.

 

     Section 3:  Dues for active and retired members, who are not covered members of a bargaining unit local of the Federation partici­pating in the Federation Legal Plan, shall be twenty-six ($26.00) dollars annually.  Such active and retired members shall be entitled to all voting rights as set forth in these By-Laws.

 

     Section 4:  No assessments shall be levied upon the members of the Federation in addition to the dues herein provided for, except where the fiscal solvency of the Federation is threatened.  Any such assessments shall be divided equally among all Federation members. 

ARTICLE IV

     Section 1:  The Officers of the Federation shall consist of a President, a Vice President and a Secretary/Treasurer.

     Section 2:  The President shall be the Chief Executive of the Federation.  He shall preside at all meetings of the Federation.  He shall be responsible for the general management of the Federation and ensure that all orders and resolutions of the members are implemented.  The President shall have the authority to act in the best interest of the Federation and Local and have the power to execute all documents and bind the Federation and/or Local to collective bargaining agreements.

     Section 3:  The Vice President shall perform such functions and duties, as the President shall authorize.  If a vacancy occurs in the office of the President, the Vice President shall assume the office and duties of the President.

     Section 4:  The Secretary/Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all funds and securities of the Federation.  He shall deposit all funds of the Federation in such banks or trust companies authorized by the Board of Directors.  He shall sign and execute all contracts in the name of the Federation when countersigned by the President and authorized by the Board of Directors.  He shall sign all checks, drafts, notes and orders or payment of money, which shall be countersigned by the President.  He shall, at all reasonable times, exhibit the books and accounts of the Federation to any Director or member of the Federation upon request by said persons.  He shall, at the Annual Meeting of the Federation present an audit of the accounts in writing to the members and Board of Directors; said accounting shall be by a Certified Public Accountant.  He shall further set forth in writing a report addressing itself to the financial condition of the Federation.  He shall keep a written account of all meetings of the Board of Directors.  He shall maintain the minutes of these meet­ings at the Federation offices.

ARTICLE V

     Section 1:  The Board of Directors of the Federation shall meet in Executive Session at least every three (3) months, at a time and place designated by the President.  Every Federation member shall have the right to attend the meetings of the Board of Directors and to express any views, arguments, or opinions upon any business properly before the Board.

   Section 2:  All members of the Board of Directors shall have one (1) vote, except that members of the Board of Directors may grant, in writing, another member of the Board of Directors authorization to act as their proxy to vote in their stead in all matters necessitating a vote at a meeting of the Board which the granting Board member is unable to attend.  Provision of such a proxy will be considered as if the granting Board member were in attendance at the meeting, for the purpose of establishing that a quorum is present to conduct Federation business.  A roll-call vote shall be required on all items that necessitate a vote.

 

     Section 3:  Except for reasonable cause, a member of the Board of Directors shall not be absent from more than three (3) consecutive meetings of the Board of Directors.  If no cause is found, the Board member's office shall be declared vacant.

     Section 4:  A special meeting of the Board may be called at the request of the President, or by a majority vote of the Board of Direc­tors, or by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Federation membership.

            A.  When a special meeting is called, it shall be held within twenty (20) days of the notice of the             meeting.

            B.  A special meeting shall be held only to deal with matters that arise on an emergency basis and             whose disposition cannot wait until the next regular Board meeting.

            C.  When a special meeting is called, the sole item of business that may be heard is that emergency             for which the special meeting was called.  No other matter may be raised at the special meeting.

     Section 5:  Members of the Board of Directors shall receive salary and/or expenses reasonably necessary for the operation of the Federation.

     Section 6:  Robert's Rules of Order shall guide the Federation in all matters not outlined by these By-laws.

ARTICLE VI

     Section 1:  The Federation may employ such persons as may be necessary to ensure the proper administration of the Federation, and said employment shall be approved by the President.  Such persons shall not exercise any executive or policy-making authority or respon­sibility.

     Section 2:  The President shall assign to the Board members of the Federation duties and responsibilities necessary to carry out the goals of the Federation.

     Section 3:  The Board of Directors shall provide programs that will comply with Article II of these By-Laws.  Such programs shall be open to all Federation members in good standing.

ARTICLE VII

     Section 1:  The initial Officers of the Federation shall be Ralph M. Purdy, President, whose term of office shall expire on December 31, 2000; Nestor Gonzalez, Vice President, whose term of office shall expire on December 31, 1999; and Paul D. Hartman, Secretary/Treasurer, whose term of office shall expire on December 31, 1998.

     Section 2:  After the initial term of office, officers and direc­tors shall serve a term of three (3) years.  As the result of the 2004 change in this section of the by-laws, shortening the terms of office from five to three years, all three officer and six director positions shall be open in June 2005 for election for three year terms.

     Section 3:  A.  The Board of Directors shall be comprised of the President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer and six Directors.  The initial Board of Directors shall include Ralph M. Purdy President, Nestor Gonzalez, Vice President, and Paul D. Hartman, Secretary/Treasurer.  In addition, as initial Directors, shall be Raynold A. Arcuri Jr. and Frank Regan, whose terms of office shall expire on December 31, 2000; Robert D. Gordon and Robert Sweig, whose terms of office shall expire on December 31, 1999; and Jay Dowling and Jack Hawkonsen, whose terms of office shall expire on December 31, 1998. 

 

                        B.  Elections.  Elections, conducted by the Election Committee, will be held every three years at the Annual Meeting in June.  The Election Committee will be independent of, and not be comprised of any members of, or candidates for, the Board of Directors of the Federation.   An election notice will be mailed in the first week of April to the last known address of each member in good standing with the Federation.  Any member who, at the time of nomination, has been in good standing with the Federation for a minimum of the previous consecutive 24 months is eligible to be a candidate for any office.  Candidates are limited to seeking only one office in each election year, and no member local unit may have more than one member candidate on the ballot.   Candidates for office must submit an authorized nomination form in a timely manner to be included on the ballot.  All ballots received in a timely manner will be opened and tallied by the Election Committee at the Annual Meeting.   

 

     Section  4:  Elections shall be held during the month of June.  A plurality vote of the Federation members casting ballots shall be necessary for a candidate to be elected to the Board of Directors.

     Section  5:  A Federation member shall be entitled to vote upon the completion of one year as a dues-paying member of the Federation.

     Section  6:  If a vacancy occurs on the Board of Directors, or within the  Business Agents, the President shall appoint a candidate to fill the vacancy for the remaining term of office.

     Section  7:  Any or all of the Directors shall only be removed, with cause, by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Federa­tion membership.

     Section  8:  The Board of Directors shall establish regions, with each region being entitled to one  Business Agent for each 500 members or part thereof within that region.   Business Agents shall be appointed by the President on an annual basis in September of each year, and shall hold office for a term of one (1) year.   Business Agents shall not exercise any executive or policy-making authority or responsibility.

     Section  9:   Business Agents shall, at the Annual Meeting, recommend policy for the following year to the Board of Directors.  Business Agents shall have such other duties as may be delegated by the President.

ARTICLE VIII

     Section 1:  The Vice President shall forward a copy of all col­lective bargaining agreements negotiated by the Federation to each member directly affected by such agreement and shall maintain at the Federation's principle office copies of any such agreements made or received by the Federation, which copies shall be available for in­spection by any member, or by any employee whose rights are affected by such an agreement.

     Section 2:  Should the Federation negotiate a collective bargain­ing agreement for a member Local, the agreement shall not become final and binding until ratified in accordance with the By-laws of the member Local.  Should the member Local have no By-laws, or By-laws which make no provision for such ratification, the proposed collective bargaining agreement shall be presented to the members of the Local covered by the agreement at a meeting called for that purpose.  In the event that the members of a Local covered by such agreement are spread out geographically over an area too large (i.e., statewide) to fairly expect all such members to be conveniently able to attend a meeting called for ratification,  then the proposed collective bargaining agreement shall be presented to all members of such Local by direct mail sent to each member's last known address, together with a ratification ballot which will be completed and returned to a designated location and tallied to determine the result of the ratification vote.   A majority of those members of the Local voting shall be required to ratify the contract.

     Section 3:  The Federation shall not call for, condone, assist, or encourage a strike, walkout, slowdown, or job action by a member unit against an employer where such activity is prohibited by the law of the employer's jurisdiction.  Where a strike, is not prohibited by the law of the employer's jurisdiction, the Federation will only call for a strike of members of the Local where approval is received by a two/thirds majority vote of the membership from the Local in question.  If the strike is not authorized by the membership of the Local then the employers best and final offer shall be signed by the President. 

     Section 4: When called upon to negotiate a contract for a member unit, the Federation shall receive the approval of the unit's  Stewards as to any contract demands to be presented to the employer. 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE IX

     Section 1:  Any changes or amendments of the By-Laws require a two-thirds (2/3) majority  of votes cast by the Federation membership to become effective.  Any change or amendment to the By-laws, proposed by the Federation members, shall be first submitted in writing to the Secre­tary/Treasurer at least ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Meeting.

     Section 2:  The Secretary/Treasurer shall distribute proposed By-law changes or amendments to the Federation members, with recommenda­tions by the Board of Directors, at least sixty (60) days prior to the Annual Meeting.  A ballot shall accompany said proposed By-law change or amendment.  The executed ballots must be received by the Secretary/Treasurer five (5) days prior to the Annual Meeting.  Bal­lots shall be counted at the Annual Meeting, and the vote shall be announced to the members at said meeting.

     Section 3:  The Federation can only be dissolved upon a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Federation membership.

 

ARTICLE X

 

     The above by-laws are established effective September, 1995, and as amended January, 1999 , and January, 2005. House keeping changes regarding name and election dates presented at the March 26, 2008 Board of Directors meeting.

 

 

 

___________________________________

Robert D. Gordon

Secretary/Treasurer