QUSA: Queen's University Staff Association

Constitution

ARTICLE 1 Name
Queen's University Staff Association (QUSA)

ARTICLE 2 Purpose
To draw together all Queen's University non-academic staff who are not covered by any collective bargaining unit in one organization to represent members in discussing with the University senior administrators all matters of mutual interest, including salary levels and working conditions.

ARTICLE 3 Membership
Membership is open to all non-academic staff working at Queen's University who are NOT covered by any collective bargaining unit recognized by Queen's University.

ARTICLE 4 Executive Committee

a) The principal administrative body of the Association shall be the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may consist of the President, Vice-President, Immediate Past President, Secretary, Treasurer and eight (8) Members-at-Large, with one (1) of those positions being reserved for a West Campus/off-campus representative.
b) To be eligible for election to the Executive Committee, candidates must be members in good standing of the Association.
c) Members of the Executive Committee shall be elected for a two-year term of office from 1 July to 30 June.

ARTICLE 5 Elections
a) Elections shall be by secret mail-in ballot.
b) The Elections Officer (Chairperson of the Nominating Committee) shall be appointed by the Executive and, in the event of a tie, shall cast the deciding vote.

ARTICLE 6 Meetings
a) The Executive Committee will meet at least monthly throughout the year. A quorum shall be 50% + 1 of the current Executive. Any member of the Executive can request a Special Meeting. This request must be submitted in writing to the President, or to the Vice-President in the absence of the President.
b) The Annual General Meeting shall be held in May of each year, at which time the results of the election shall be announced. The new Executive Committee shall take office on July 1 of each year.
c) In addition to the Annual General Meeting, there shall be two General Meetings held each year, one in October and one in February. The Executive Committee may call an additional General Meeting at any time.
d) Special Meetings shall be held within 15 business days following receipt by the President of a petition signed by not less than twenty (20) members of the Association.
e) A quorum shall be 10 per cent of the membership or 24 members, whichever is the smaller, and applies to all General Meetings. Membership for the purpose of determining the quorum shall be those whose name appears on the membership list in the preceding month and remain current members.

ARTICLE 7 Standing Committees
The following Standing Committees, and any other additional Standing Committee as may be required for the proper implementation of the business of the Association, shall operate in accordance with the Constitution and be further governed by the Bylaws of the Association:
i)     Nominating
ii)    Membership
iii)   Salary and Benefits Review
iv)   Grievance
v)    Joint Consultative
vi) Education
vii) West Campus Issues

ARTICLE 8 Amendments to the Constitution
a) Amendments to the Constitution shall be made:
    i) at the Annual General Meeting and/or
    ii) at any General Meeting convened for this specific purpose.
b) For amendments to the Constitution a majority of two-thirds (2/3) of the membership present at
     the meeting prevails.
c) Amendments to the Bylaws shall be made at any General Meeting.
d) For amendments to the Bylaws a simple majority of those present at the meeting prevails.

ARTICLE 9 Termination of the Association
In the event of the termination of the Association the disbursement of the Association assets and/or liabilities must be agreed to by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the total membership.

ARTICLE 10 Parliamentary Procedures
Robert's Rules of Order (revised edition) shall apply unless otherwise stated in the Association Constitution and/or Association Bylaws.