Bylaws of the
NWC NOAA Employees Association
(NEA)
Approved May 2008
ARTICLE I
Purpose
Section 1. The NEA provides funds for flowers and remembrances for employees eligible for membership and their immediate family. It also provides funds for other illness related services as requested by NEA members and approved by NEA officers.
Section 2. The NEA manages the merchandise concessions for the benefit of NOAA employees.
Section 3. The NEA shall organize the holiday(s) party and other social events approved by members.
ARTICLE II
Membership
Section 1. The following terms define membership:
a. One who has paid dues for the current NEA membership year defined as the period from general election to general election.
b. Student members are those members who are enrolled at least half-time at the any NOAA organization. Regular members include everyone else besides the student members.
ARTICLE III
Election of Officers
Section 1. A Nominating/Election Committee (2 to 4 persons) will be formed from the current NEA membership by no later than the end of each calendar year. Members of the committee may volunteer for service or be recruited by the presiding President. At least two members (including the chairperson) of the committee may NOT run for NEA office.
Section 2. The Nominating/Election Committee shall begin solicitation of nominations for NEA officer positions at least one month prior to the election. Open nominations will be received by the committee.
Section 3. The committee shall prepare a ballot which will be distributed to all NEA members. Ballots will be collected anonymously by the committee. Dues (if applicable) must be paid at the time lots are collected. Write-in candidates on the ballot may be accepted. Two members of the election committee (who are not running for any NEA office) will tally results and announce hem to the POC to distribute to their respective organizations.
Section 4. Officer elections will be conducted no later than the third Wednesday of February each year. NEA members will be given no less than three (3) working days to cast their vote after ballots are distributed. Winners are determined by a simple majority of all candidates. In case of a tie, the committee shall conduct a run-off election to be completed by the last working day in February.
ARTICLE IV
Committees
Section 1. The Executive Committee consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and NSSL, SPC, WDTB, ROC and WFO Norman Points of Contact (POCS) should be ruled by a majority vote. The Executive Committee shall have the power to dispense discretionary funds, up to but not to exceed one hundred dollars ($175) per month, without a vote of the membership.
Section 2. Special committees shall be appointed by the NEA from time to time as is deemed necessary to carry on the work of the NEA, and shall be dissolved upon completion of their assignment.
ARTICLE V
Finances and Dues
Section 1. Dues, based on a membership year, are $10, and will be collected on a yearly basis. Student dues are discounted to $5 per year. Dues for employees wishing to join during mid-session will be prorated.
Section 2. Officers, POCs and any member designated for specific duties shall be excluded from annual dues as deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee.
Section 3. Fund raising for NEA sponsored activities must be approved by a majority of members present at NEA meetings.
Section 4. Proposed expenditures of $175 or more must be announced in the call for the meeting.
Section 5. Members (regular and student) shall be excluded from yearly dues for the first whole year of their employment at a NOAA entity.
Section 6. The NEA bank account shall not fall below $200 without a majority vote of the NEA members present during a regular or special meeting.
ARTICLE VI
Rules of Order
Section 1. The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the organization in all cases to which they apply as long as they are not inconsistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of said organization.
ARTICLE VII
Amendment of Bylaws
Section 1. The Bylaws can be amended at any regular meeting of the NEA by a two-thirds majority of members present, provided that the amendment has been tabled for one (1) regular meeting and notice of the proposed amendment is given in the call for the meeting in which the amendment is to be put to a vote.
Section 2. Amendments to the Bylaws must not be in conflict with the Constitution of the NEA.
ARTICLE VIII
Officers
Section 1. In the case of the absence of the President during a regular or special meeting, the "chain of command" of officers to preside over the meeting is in the following order: Vice President, then Secretary, then Treasurer. At least one NEA officer and POC must be present to conduct a meeting.
Section 2. In the event that any of the officers, excluding the President, are absent at any regular or special meeting, an alternate must be chosen to carry out to duties of that officer during the meeting. The alternate must be chosen prior to the meeting by the officer(s) who will be absent, or by the remainder of the Executive Committee.
Section 3. In the event that an officer resigns their position to the end of their term, then a Special Election will be called to fill the vacated position within one (1) month of the announcement of resignation.
a. The resigning officer has the option of continuing their duties until a Special Election has been conducted to replace the resigning officer.
b. If the resigning officer chooses not to continue their duties pending the result of a Special Election, then during the time between the resignation and the Special Election, the duties of that officer be shared by the Executive Committee.
c. The Special Election will be conducted following the procedure outlined in Article III of these Bylaws.
Section 4. During the period between the results of the regular election of officers and the first month of the new officers' term, the previous administration's officers must carry over their legacy to the new officers. These duties include, but should not be limited to:
a. President, Vice President, and Secretary - Brief the Officer-Elect of the duties of office, and any outstanding issues to be carried into the new administration. Turn over any paper and electronic documents.
b. Treasurer - In addition to the above, must turn over all monies and financial information to the Treasurer-Elect. An appropriate safeguard for this information must be secured (e.g., a locked filing cabinet). The treasurer must also update the NEA bank account check-signature authority by the beginning of the new term.
ARTICLE IX
Merchandise
Section 1. Merchandise shall be managed by one or more NEA members (and NEA Executive Committee – do we need this committee?)
Section 2. For each concession, the concession manager (and the NEA Executive Committee) will determine the minimum operating costs. Minimum operating costs are required in order for a concession to maintain an adequate stock to incur profits from sales. The minimum operating costs will be defined as the wholesale cost of a completely stocked concession plus other costs necessary to maintain said concession (e.g., shipping materials and postage), and can be changed only with approval from the NEA Executive Committee.
Section 3. The general membership has no voting authority to spend funds set aside for concession operating costs.
Section 4. For the clothing concession, the general membership will vote on all Executive Committee changes to any concession minimum operating costs at the next regular meeting following the date of the change. If a change is not approved, that concession's minimum operating cost will revert back to its former amount.