Employee Assembly Draft Documents

Preamble

The Employee Assembly (the assembly) establishes these bylaws under the authority granted by its charter (the charter). Except where otherwise indicated, these bylaws are subject to amendment by a regular majority of the assembly. These bylaws are organized into chapters corresponding to articles of the charter.

Chapter 1: Establishment

Chapter 2: Authority

Reflect actual practice of assembly

1. Bylaw 2.3.aOnce a month representatives of the EA and the other constituent bodies will meet with the President, Provost, Senior Vice President, and Vice President for Student and Academic Services, for an informal exchange of information and views. The EA Chair will attend this meeting regularly, along with not more than two other EA members. The Chair will select these two other representatives in rotation, so that every EA member will have an opportunity to attend at least once a year.-}The Chair and up to two other EA members selected by the Chair participate in monthly assemblies leadership meetings organized by the Vice President of University Communications.
2. The Chair and the Executive Vice Chair participate in regular meetings organized by the Vice President for Human Resources with the editor of the PawPrint and the employee-elected trustee of the university.
3. Do not require delegates to attend all assembly meetings.Bylaw 2.9.a:Non-voting delegates to the SA, GPSA, and Faculty Senate will serve as liaisons. They will receive the agendas and minutes of those bodies. However, non-voting delegates need only attend meetings of the other constituent bodies when the agenda contains items that the delegate judges to be of employee interest.The assembly appoints one of its voting members to serve as a non-voting liaison to each constituent assembly with which it interacts. Delegates receive the agendas and minutes the constituent assembly to which they are assigned, but only attend those meetings where they anticipate business pertinent to this assembly.
4. Explicitly allow delegates from other constituent assemblies.Each constituent assembly with which the assembly interacts may appoint a non-voting delegate to receive updates, including agendas and minutes of meetings, on the assembly’s activities and to attend the open portions of the assembly’s meetings.

Chapter 3: Membership

Bylaw 3.0.1.a

An “underrepresented” group is one which the EA determines lacks fair representation, whether caused by general patterns of discrimination which are reflected in the Cornell community, by low awareness of a group’s needs, or by other factors beyond the group’s control. The purpose of allocating seats to “underrepresented” groups is to specially guarantee access to the campus governance system until such a time as changes in attitudes and/or behavior make this measure unnecessary.

Committee felt guidelines in bylaws were unnecessary, effect and meaning are preserved.

1. Bylaw 3.1.a:The Office of Human Resources (OHR) representative should possess broad familiarity with personnel policies and operations. The representative will provide specialized information to the EA through his/her own knowledge or research. Upon the request of the EA, or on his/her own initiative, the OHR representative may invite a person experienced with a particular topic to attend Assembly meetings dealing with that topic.
2. :Bylaw 3.1.b:The EAassembly may designate other ex-officio members deemed necessary and appropriate to expand the knowledge base and representation of ideas on the EA. These ex-officio members are to be added by virtue of their positions at the University and their interest in and knowledge of employee issues. Such ex-officio members shall be members without vote. The ex-officio position appointees or designees shall include but not be limited to: the Director of the Office of Workforce Diversity, Equity and Life Quality, the President of the Cornell Retiree Association, and a representative of Cornell affiliates.
3. :Bylaw 3.2.a:If more than five EA members of the assembly are nominated to fill the seats of the UAUniversity Assembly, selection will be done by secret ballot. The remainder of the seats will be filled in a manner recommended by the IOC and approved by the EA.The remaining vacancies may be filled in the same manner as provided for committees.

Chapter 4: Officers

1. Chair

2. Executive Vice Chair

1. Felt valuable to set explicit standard for notification.Notification of to affected parties includes:
   1. the chief contact for the for the resolution or committee action being undertaken; and,
   2. the charge to the committee conducting the business and the dates of meetings when the business will be considered, if applicable.

3. Vice Chair for Internal Operations

1. Moved procedural details from charter to bylaw.At this meeting, the guidelines and expectations for the efficient operation of all of these committees shall be spelled out, both verbally and in writing. The agenda for this meeting shall include, but not necessarily be limited to the following: The agenda orientation meeting includes:
   1. dissemination of written and verbal guidelines which articulate expectations for committee members and principles for efficient operation of committees;
   2. continual communication with the Chair and Vice Chair for Internal Operations of the EAassembly;
   3. the writing and dispersalconveyance of committee minutes to the EAassembly;
   4. the setting of priorities for committee study/action;
   5. the advisory role of the committee;
   6. the method for action/resolutions/concerns to be addressed to the EAassembly;
   7. the importance of efficient use of committee time;
   8. a review of the each committee’s charge;
   9. the hierarchy for reporting and taking action (chain of command);
   10. the expectations for how the committee should function;
   11. the content, function and time frames for annual and final reports; and,
   12. the expected date of the final report for all ad hoc committees.

4. Vice Chair for Finance

5. Parliamentarian

Chapter 5: Procedures

Chapter 6: Committees

1. Moved from Chapter 2The following policies apply to ad-hoc committees:
   1. Second sentence is unnecessary since all actions taken under this charter should reflect the group’s interest rather than a personal agenda.Bylaw 2.4.a: When establishing an ad hoc committee, theFor each ad hoc committee, the committee charge shall be written prior to the formation of the committee and the appointingment of its members. The charge shall be specific and shall reflect the intent of the entire EA, not just one individual.
   2. :Bylaw 2.4.b:Every ad hoc committee charge shall include a “sunset” clause with a specific date by which the committee is expected to report back to the EA.
2. Moved out of charter for flexibility.The Communications Committee may designate up to two of its members to serve as voting members on the editorial board of the PawPrint.

Chapter 7: Amendment

Chapter 8: Programs Administered by Employee Assembly

1. Cornellians Aiding and Responding to Emergencies Grant Fund

1. Move specific grant fund into bylaws.The assembly establishes the Cornellians Aiding and Responding to Emergencies (CARE) grant fund to support and assist employees and faculty experiencing financial hardship from non-medical catastrophic events beyond their control.

2. George Peter Award for Dedicated Service

1. Move specific award into bylaws.The George Peter Award for Dedicated Service recognizes employees who consistently demonstrate a high degree of excellence in the performance of their duties and who prove their willingness to extend themselves to help others and go above and beyond the normal expectations of their job responsibilities. It is awarded to one employee at a time and may be awarded up to four times per academic year. The Staff Recognition and Awards Committee is charged to develop and maintain criteria for review of nominations. Additionally the committee coordinates the event where the award is presented to its recipient.