Section 1 - Annual Conference - The OSEA annual meeting, known as the Annual Conference, shall be held at such time and place as determined by the Conference delegates for 1 or more years in advance.
- At the appropriate Annual Conference, the Conference Committee shall propose a maximum of 3 possible location options for the ensuing Annual Conference(s).
- Conference delegates in attendance shall, by secret ballot plurality vote, select the Conference location from among the 3 options presented by the Conference Committee for as many years in advance as are proposed by the committee.
- In the event the delegates fail to select the time and place of the next Annual Conference, the Board of Directors shall do so.
- Upon recommendation of the Conference Committee, the Board of Directors shall be authorized to change a Conference date and/or location in the event of unforeseen circumstances that may or will negatively impact the Association.
- Additionally, in the event a state of emergency exists, as declared by a state or national governing authority, which would preclude the holding of an in-person Annual Conference, the Board of Directors shall be authorized to schedule and hold a virtual Conference. Rules and procedures including quorums, nominations, secret ballot voting, motions, debate and amendments shall be consistent with the rules and procedures of an in-person Conference, whenever possible.
Section 2 - Special Conferences – A special Conference may only be called by a ⅔ vote of the Board of Directors. Any special Conference shall require not less than 45 days’ prior notice to the membership and shall specify the subject(s) on which delegate action is needed. Any issue(s) not germane to the specified subject(s) shall not be considered. Resolutions, if any, shall only be submitted by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall have the authority to schedule and hold a virtual special Conference if all criteria are met pursuant to Section 1(e) above.
Section 3 - Conference Planning – All Annual and special Conferences shall be planned and supervised by the Board of Directors through the Conference Committee chair(s), who shall ensure all operational matters pertaining to the Conference are presented to the Board for appropriate action.
- The Board of Directors shall, upon recommendation of the Conference Committee chair(s), establish the registration fees for delegates and others attending the Conference.
- Except as provided in the OSEA Constitution and Standing Rules, the President shall arrange the order of business for the Annual Conference.
- At any special Conference, the order of business shall be determined solely by the President.
Section 4 - Authorized Conference Voting Strength
- At the Association’s Conferences, each affiliated chapter in good standing shall be entitled to at least 1 delegate and 1 additional delegate for every 5 members or fraction thereof in excess of 5 members up to a maximum of 10 delegates.
- Membership for the purpose of electing delegates shall be determined by the number of active members in good standing as defined in Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution in each chapter as of the March 1 prior to the Conference.
- Delegates and alternates shall be elected in accordance with provisions of the chapter’s local operating procedures and the Constitution and written policies of the Association.
- Delegates and alternates shall serve until the convening of the next Annual Conference, which shall include any special Conference, or until they resign their delegate/alternate positions or are no longer eligible to serve due to loss of membership in good standing. Chapter officers designated as automatic delegates as provided in the chapter’s local operating procedures shall maintain such delegate status only for the period they remain an elected chapter officer.
- New chapters affiliated after March 1, but not later than 30 days prior to the convening of an Annual Conference, shall be entitled to elect delegates and alternates at the ratio set forth above with credentialing of delegates at the Conference subject to presentation of proper evidence to the Credentials Committee of the secret ballot election of such active members in good standing.
- New chapters affiliated not later than 30 days prior to the convening of a special Conference shall be entitled to elect delegates and alternates at the ratio set forth above with credentialing of delegates at the Conference subject to presentation of proper evidence to the Credentials Committee of the secret ballot election of such active members in good standing.
- Each elected member of the Board of Directors and lifetime members in attendance at any Annual or special Conference shall be eligible to vote as a member of the voting body at such Conference.
- Retiree Unit (ROSE) delegates and alternates shall have voting eligibility at any Annual or special Conference as set forth in Article VI of this Constitution and shall serve until the convening of the next Annual Conference or until they resign their position or are no longer eligible to serve. Elected ROSE Executive Committee officers shall maintain delegate status only for the period they remain an elected ROSE officer.
Section 5 - Conference Quorum – A majority of credentialed delegates at any Annual or special Conference of the Association shall constitute a quorum at such Conference.
Section 6 - Conference Voting Rights – On all matters subject to action at any Annual or special Conference, except as provided in Article VI, Section 11, of this Constitution, each credentialed delegate or alternate replacing a delegate shall be entitled to 1 vote.
- Proxy votes shall be prohibited.
- Delegates and alternates shall not have their right to vote freely on any business of the Conference, including elections, infringed upon by any chapter or member of the Association or the Retiree Unit (ROSE).
Section 7 - Credentialing of Alternates
- An alternate shall not be credentialed as a delegate at any Annual or special Conference unless (1) the delegate being replaced has officially withdrawn from the Conference by notification to the Credentials Committee or (2) evidence of that delegate’s voluntary withdrawal from such status has been presented to the Credentials Committee and accepted. No other transfer or substitution of voting rights and/or delegate status shall be allowed.
- The Credentials Committee shall decide any disputes regarding the certification and/or credentialing of any delegate or alternate. Decisions by the Credentials Committee may be appealed directly to the Conference delegates who shall, by majority vote, make a final decision.
Section 8 - Nominations and Elections – All nominations for elective offices and positions to be filled at the Annual Conference shall be made and closed during the first business session and elections shall not be held sooner than the next day following the close of nominations. Members elected to office or positions shall assume their office and/or position at the close of the Conference.
Section 9 - Absentee Voting in Elections
- Individual credentialed delegates who can only attend a portion of the Annual Conference and who cannot participate in the regular voting process for officers and other positions scheduled for election shall be eligible to vote in such elections by casting a ballot in a sealed envelope similar to the State of Oregon vote-by-mail process. This sealed balloting shall not increase the number of voting delegates allowed pursuant to Section 4 herein.
- Such balloting shall not commence until all nominations have been made and closed and ballots have been printed.
- Upon completion of the balloting, the delegate shall withdraw from credentialed delegate status by notification to the Credentials Committee chair.
- Individual credentialed alternate delegates shall be eligible to vote in any Annual Conference election unless the withdrawn delegate whom they are replacing has already voted by sealed ballot, as set forth above, in which case the alternate shall only be allowed to vote when a runoff election is necessary.
Section 10 - Resolutions
- Submission – Proposed resolutions for action at any Annual Conference must be submitted on an official OSEA Resolution Submission Form and received by the Executive Director via U.S. mail, electronic mail, facsimile transmission or hand-delivered not later than close of business on February 1, except as provided herein, and shall only be submitted by active members in good standing, lifetime members, chapters in good standing, the Board of Directors or the Retiree Unit (ROSE).
- Resolutions originated by any standing committee must have majority vote approval by the Board of Directors at a regular or special meeting of the Board prior to the February 1 deadline. Upon approval of the Board of Directors, such resolutions shall be considered Board resolutions.
- Resolutions originating from a chapter or the Retiree Unit (ROSE) must have membership approval at a regular or special meeting prior to submission.
- The Board of Directors may, by majority vote, submit an emergency resolution(s) after the February 1 deadline in the event delegate action is required which is of such importance to the Association that it cannot wait until the next Annual or special Conference. Delegates at the Conference shall, by majority vote, determine whether the proposed emergency resolution requires immediate action.
- Preparation – All resolutions received by February 1 shall be put in proper form for delegate action by the Executive Director, or designee, utilizing the OSEA standardized format and shall be returned to the submitter or submitting unit along with a timeline for approval and/or modification. If the submitter or submitting unit rejects the resolution so modified, the resolution shall not be forwarded to the Conference.
- Such resolutions shall also be reviewed by the Resolutions/Constitution Committee, other committees as appropriate and legal counsel selected by the Association to ensure compliance with the Constitution and written policies of the Association and applicable law.
- Any resolutions proposing actions which, if approved by Conference delegates, would conflict with existing provisions of the Constitution and/or written policies of the Association, or applicable law, and that cannot be placed in proper form for delegate action without changing the original intent shall be returned to the submitter with written notice outlining the reasons why such resolution cannot and will not be forwarded to the Conference. Copies of said notice shall be provided to the Board of Directors and the chair of the Resolutions/Constitution Committee.
- Dissemination – Resolutions submitted by the February 1 deadline and approved for delegate action shall be published in the OSEA Journal at least 60 days prior to the Annual Conference except as provided herein.
- Such resolutions shall include pro/con arguments developed by the Resolutions/Constitution Committee, a fiscal impact statement developed by the Executive Director, or designee, and a statement regarding the scope of any dues resolution.
- Emergency resolutions shall be sent via electronic mail to all chapter and Retiree Unit (ROSE) officers and lifetime members, shall be posted on the official OSEA website and sent via electronic news alert to all subscribing members not less than 15 days prior to the start of the Annual Conference, except that any resolution(s) proposing to amend the Constitution shall be published at least 60 days prior to the Conference.
- Any written recommendation(s) in favor of or in opposition to any resolution proposing to amend the Constitution may only be provided to the Annual Conference delegates after such resolution has been placed before the delegate body for action and the submitter of the resolution has had the opportunity to speak first.
- Submission at Conference – Except for resolutions proposing to amend the Constitution or resolutions having a financial impact on the annual budget, resolutions which were not submitted by the February 1 deadline may be brought forward for delegate action during the New Business segment of the Annual Conference by any credentialed delegate in attendance.
- 2 copies of such resolution must be provided to the chair prior to delegate consideration.
- All such resolutions shall require a ⅔ vote for adoption.
- Any such resolution determined to be in violation of state or federal law or OSEA’s governing documents or which is deemed to be frivolous or dilatory in nature by the chair shall not be considered for delegate action. Such determination by the chair is subject to appeal.
- Effective Dates – All adopted resolutions shall become effective at the close of the Conference at which it was approved unless language contained in the resolution provides, in whole or in part, an earlier or later effective date.
- The Executive Director, or designee, shall cause the Constitution and written policies of the Association to be updated based on Conference actions. The Executive Director shall also be authorized to make technical adjustments, such as re-numbering/re-lettering of articles, sections and/or paragraphs. Such documents shall be published thereafter in accordance with timelines set forth in Association policy.
- Where a deadline date specified herein falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, said deadline shall extend to the next succeeding business day.