Article I: Membership
1. Representation
Sixty members shall be elected to the Staff Assembly in the manner provided for in Article I Section 3 of these Bylaws. The members shall be elected from the following constituencies and in the following order:
a. Thirty-two members shall hold seats designated by Personnel Classification Group, as follows:
- Non-exempt – 16 seats
- Exempt – 16 seats
Identification and allotment of subdivisions of these groups may be defined by the Standard Operating Procedures.
b. Twenty-eight members shall hold seats designated by Campus Group. Identification and allotment of Campus seats shall be prescribed by the Standard Operating Procedures to promote equity and representation from all University locations.
c. If in any of the Personnel Classification or Campus Groups there are insufficient candidates to fill the allotted seats, those seats shall be designated as “At Large”.
d. Seats shall be assigned to those receiving the highest number of votes in a general election, giving priority to Personnel Classification seats, followed by Campus seats, followed by seats At Large. Existing vacant seats shall then be assigned following the same order and from the same ballot.
e. Organizational Units shall be defined, and representation limited, by the Standard Operating Procedures.
2. Eligibility, Status, Change in Status
a. All regular benefits-eligible staff employees not holding a full-time faculty appointment at the University of Southern California shall be eligible for membership in the Assembly.
b. The status of a staff employee shall be determined by her/his assigned job classification code, subject to verification by the Compensation Unit of the Office of Personnel.
c. Any member whose status changes while at the University shall have the option of continuing her/his term of office under the status that she/he was elected.
3. Nominations and Elections
a. All regular benefits-eligible staff employees are eligible to submit names in nomination for election to the Assembly. Individuals may nominate for any seat up for election and may nominate themselves for election.
b. Eligibility and willingness of nominees shall be verified, and a ballot containing the names of verified eligible candidates shall be submitted to the constituency.
c. The ballot shall be limited to a maximum of four times and a minimum of twice the number of seats available. This shall be done by favoring those nominees who have received the greatest number of nominations.
d. The ballot shall list the name, Personnel Classification Group, Campus Group, and Organizational Unit of each candidate. No other information about the candidate shall be listed.
e. The elections shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by the Assembly’s Standard Operating Procedures.
4. Terms of Office, Length of Terms
a. All terms of office shall be two years in length, with the exception of a replacement term due to the vacancy of a seat.
b. One-half of the seats in each representational group shall be filled each year through a general election.
c. No person shall be elected to a third consecutive full term in the Assembly.
5. Resignation, Removal, and Censure
a. The Assembly may govern its members as to appropriate conduct and responsibility to the Assembly and its constituency, including the removal and/or censure of a member.
b. Any member who resigns loses all rights and privileges extended as a result of her/his membership in the Assembly, including vote, office, and committee appointment.
c. The decision to remove or censure a member or the method to be used requires joint approval by two-thirds of the membership of the Rules and Elections Committee and two-thirds of the membership of the Executive Committee, or approval by two-thirds of the Assembly membership. Any member may appeal committee decisions to the General Assembly.
d. The seat of any member who resigns or is removed by the Assembly shall be deemed vacant and assigned to the unseated candidate, from the same representational group, receiving the highest number of votes in the previous general election. If there is no eligible candidate, that seat shall be designated as “At Large”. Seats vacated within the last four months of term of office may be held vacant and added to seats filled through the next general election.
Article II: Officers
1. Establishment of Officers
a. The Assembly shall provide for the following officers to conduct its business:
- President
- Vice President
- Secretary
- Parliamentarian
b. Officers shall serve terms not to exceed one year. Officers may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms in any one office.
c. Each office shall be filled by election from the general membership of the Assembly, with the candidate receiving the majority of votes cast being duly elected. Nominations and election shall be conducted as prescribed by the Standard Operating Procedures.
d. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the President, the Vice President shall automatically serve as President until the next regular meeting of the Assembly, at which time a new President shall be elected to fulfill the term of office. In the event of a vacancy in any other office, the President shall make an interim appointment until an election can be held as prescribed by the Standard Operating Procedures.
2. Duties and Powers of Officers
a. The duties of the President shall be:
- To act as the Presiding Officer at all general meetings of the Assembly
- To serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Assembly including responsibility for management of the Assembly’s office, staff, and resources
- In accordance with the Bylaws:
- to appoint on an interim basis Assembly members to serve in vacant offices (Article II, section 1e)
- to appoint in conjunction with the Vice President Chairs of standing committees (Article III, section 1a)
- to establish Ad Hoc committees (Article III, section 1b)
- to serve as Chair of the Executive Committee (Article III, section 2a)
- To serve as the primary staff representative to the recognized University governance system.
b. The powers of the President shall be:
- To act as the official representative of the Assembly
- To obligate the Assembly in matters approved by the appropriate internal bodies
- To sign agreements and acts of legislation within the scope of the Assembly’s realm of influence
- To serve as an Ex-Officio member of all committees.
c. The duties of the Vice President shall be:
- In accordance with Article III, section 1a of the Bylaws, to appoint in conjunction with the President Chairs of standing committees
- To assume temporarily the duties of the President in her/his absence, inability, or vacancy of office
- To perform all duties assigned by the membership of the Assembly or the President
- To act as an official representative of the Assembly
- To create the annual budget for the Assembly
- To create individual event and initiative budgets
- To report reconciled updated cash flow reports at every Executive Committee meeting
- To work with financial staff to process payments and deposits on behalf of the Assembly.
d. The powers of the Vice President shall be:
- To assume automatically the powers of the President in the event of her/his absence
- To serve as an Ex-Officio Member of all Committees
- To process all financial transactions on behalf of the Assembly
- To sign financial disbursement documents.
e. The duties of the Secretary shall be:
- To serve as official record keeper of the Assembly by working with the Assembly to provide recording of the minutes of meetings of the Assembly and relevant documentation of activities of its committees
- To arrange for review of all records and documents of the Assembly upon the request of any full-time staff employee
- To conduct, at the direction of the President, the official correspondence of the Assembly
- To perform other duties as may be assigned by the membership of the Assembly or at the request of the President.
f. The duties of the Parliamentarian shall be:
- To act as initial arbiter on points of order or the rules of the Assembly
- To act to maintain the integrity of Assembly business and to ensure the conducting of such of the Constitution. In the event of the President’s and Vice President’s simultaneous inability, absence, or vacancy of office, to conduct the meetings of the Assembly until such time as the officers return or replacement officers are elected.
Article III: Committees
1. Types of Committees
There will be two types of committees, as follows:
a. Standing Committees of Assembly shall have defined scope and authority; shall hold regular meetings and shall maintain a regular membership of no less than five. The Chair of each Standing Committee shall be appointed by the President and Vice President acting jointly, except where otherwise provided in these Bylaws. Standing Committees shall have investigatory powers and may summon any member of the Assembly before them in the conduct of their business. These Committees shall bring recommendations for action to the full Assembly.
b. Ad Hoc Committees shall have a defined scope and authority and shall hold meetings as necessary to conduct business. The Chair of each Ad Hoc Committee may be appointed by the President or elected from and by the membership of the Committee. Ad Hoc Committees are intent-specific and may conduct investigations and make recommendations for action within their areas of influence.
2. Establishment of Committees
a. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the current elected officers and the Chairs of other standing committees. Ex-officio members may be designated in the Standard Operating Procedures. The President shall serve as Chair. The Executive Committee shall function as specified in these Bylaws and the Standard Operating Procedures.
b. The Rules and Elections Committee shall perform functions as specified in these Bylaws and the Standard Operating Procedures.
c. Standing Committees shall be established in the Standard Operating Procedures to provide for:
- Advisement in the area of staff compensation, benefits, rights, responsibilities, and work environment
- Communication between the Assembly and its constituents
- Internal matters of the Assembly, including election of members and officers.
d. Ad Hoc committees may be established by the President at any time by designation of membership and charges.
3. Appointment of Members of Standing Committees
a. Members and Chairs of all standing committees shall be elected members of the Assembly and shall be determined at the beginning of each new Assembly. Guests may be invited by a committee to attend its meetings.
b. Membership shall be based as nearly as possible on stated preference of Assembly members and consideration, where applicable, of distribution of grade and campus representation.
c. The Assembly shall establish Standard Operating Procedures to provide for the prompt establishment of committee membership, charges, frequency of meetings, powers, and reporting responsibilities.
Article IV: Meetings and Method of Business
1. Meetings
a. The Assembly shall establish a calendar of regular business meetings at the first meeting of each session. This calendar shall be made available to all members.
b. The Assembly shall hold regular meetings in a place and at a time accessible to the general staff constituency.
c. Special meetings may be called in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures of the Assembly.
d. All business meetings of the Assembly shall be held in open session. The Assembly shall take no official action in closed session.
2. Validity of Business
a. The Assembly shall serve as the representative voice of the staff and, as such, may conduct business on its behalf.
b. The Assembly shall provide for the accurate recording and safe-keeping of all transactions, business, etc., as may be concluded on its behalf.
c. The Assembly shall take all plaques, notes, photographs, documents, etc., older than two years old to the University Archivist for long-term storage. Documents and photographs are to be scanned for digital storage.
d. The Staff Assembly Executive Committee and Secretary will continue to keep agendas, meeting minutes, and other digital documents in the Staff Assembly Shared Drive.
e. Previous year’s information regarding specific committees will remain with the Committee Chair. The Committee Chair is responsible to put that information in the Staff Assembly Shared Drive.
f. The business of the Assembly shall be conducted in accordance with a set of Standard Operating Procedures.
3. Rules of Order and Standard Operating Procedures
a. The Assembly may enact rules to govern its voting membership, including procedures for appeals of action, reconsiderations, etc.
b. The Assembly shall provide for a set of Standard Operating Procedures, to be reviewed and approved by the membership at the business meeting of each newly elected Assembly.
c. The Rules and Elections Committee shall be responsible for establishing the Standard Operating Procedures and for reviewing all changes, making recommendations, etc., on the Assembly’s and its Committee’s procedures.
d. By accepting office, each member agrees to abide by Assembly rules and operating procedures; to conduct herself/himself in a manner appropriate to her/his office; and to accept the decisions of the Assembly and its Committees or to follow the appropriate procedures for appeal of those decisions.
Article V: Special Provisions
1. Provision for Matters Not Expressly Covered
a. Any item not expressly covered in the Constitution and Bylaws may be decided by the Assembly membership.
b. The Assembly may enact no rule or decision in conflict with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Assembly.
2. Interpretation of Meaning
The Parliamentarian shall provide a professional opinion on the meaning of the rules and regulations of the Assembly and shall render opinion on the priority of motions, conflict of rules, etc.
3. Amendment
These Bylaws may be amended in accordance with the procedures for amendment specified in the Constitution of the Assembly.
4. Enforcement
The enforcement powers of these Bylaws are vested in the officers and membership of the Assembly.
5. Recognition of University Governance System
The Staff Assembly shall support the concept of University-wide Governance and shall agree to work diligently to ensure the continued effectiveness of the University Governance System.