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Proposed Changes to the AAUP's Organizational Structure and Proposed Amendments to the AAUP Constitution
The AAUP Council and the AAUP Collective Bargaining Congress Executive Committee voted in November 2018 to move forward with changes that will streamline the AAUP’s shared organizational structure. Following that vote, these governing bodies directed that detailed revisions to governing documents and other policies that would implement the approved changes be drafted for their review. The Council and the AAUP-CBC Executive Committee met on March 29 and 30, reviewed the proposals, and voted overwhelmingly to recommend a package of changes to the AAUP annual meeting and the AAUP-CBC regular meeting, to be held on June 15, 2019, and June 13, 2019, respectively.
The shared direction approved by the Council and the AAUP-CBC Executive Committee included the following proposed changes:
• Fold the AAUP-CBC into the AAUP and roll AAUP-CBC dues into AAUP dues for collective bargaining chapters, effective January 1, 2020.
• Replace the AAUP’s annual meeting with a biennial meeting of chapter delegates, starting with the June 2020 meeting.
• Move from mail ballots to secret-ballot election of officers and Council members by chapter delegates at the biennial meeting.
• Modify the governing board (Council) so that it is composed of three officers (president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer), five regional members, and three at-large members, elected by the delegates to four-year staggered terms at the biennial meetings.
• Create a national at-large chapter for members who are not currently affiliated with a chapter.
• Create a procedure for small chapters (under 250 members) in a given state to band together to form a section for the purpose of electing delegates to the biennial meeting.
To accomplish these changes, the AAUP Council and the AAUP-CBC Executive Committee voted to forward the following items to their respective June meetings for approval:
• A joint resolution tying the different elements of the transition together and requiring that the following elements be passed by the relevant bodies as proposed in order for any changes to go into effect.
• A recommended motion for the AAUP-CBC business meeting dissolving the AAUP-CBC and transferring its assets and liabilities to the AAUP, effective January 1, 2020.
• A recommendation to the AAUP annual meeting, for a secret-ballot vote, that, based on the cessation of the 2019 AAUP-CBC dues of $22 and $10 on January 1, 2020, the 2020 AAUP collective bargaining dues for full-time, entrant, associate, and retiree member categories be increased by $23 and the 2020 AAUP collective bargaining dues for part-time and graduate student member categories be increased by $10.
• A motion to the AAUP annual meeting seeking adoption of proposed amendments to the AAUP Constitution, effective January 1, 2020, codifying the changes above as well as making other changes and clarifications.
• A proposed constitutional amendment proviso establishing a transitional leadership structure under which the elected Council and AAUP-CBC Executive Committee members in office as of December 31, 2019, would complete their terms as members of a combined Council, in addition to the three officers and two Council members elected under the amended Constitution in June 2020. In June 2022, elections would be held for the remaining new Council member seats, and the structure and membership of the Council would be the one set forth in the proposed amendments to the AAUP Constitution.
A more in-depth summary of the proposed changes, as well as a blacklined version of the AAUP Constitution with proposed amendments and the other documents listed above, is available at https://www.aaup.org/proposed-changes-aaup-organizational-structure (member login required). The meeting itself will include opportunities to discuss the proposals, as well as additional business sessions regarding restructuring planning. We are also planning a series of webinars and in-person meetings this spring to hear from members and to answer questions.
Elements of the above proposed changes will be voted on at the June 2019 AAUP annual meeting and AAUP-CBC regular meeting. Formal notices for the meetings are being sent in May. If you have any questions or comments or would like to receive a copy of the formal notice in the mail, please contact the AAUP's executive director.
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