By updating the CCEA bylaws, we hope to:

1. Create an organization that is more members driven to allow us to able to pass information along to all members in a timely manner and to be able to quickly respond to issues that arise in support of our membership
2. Create a more robust financial structure to build a much-needed strike fund
3. Clean up vague language to have more clarity in the expectations of officers, committees, and stewards (formerly known as reps).  Also provide clarity on the processes for elections, bargaining, voting, etc.

Have questions or comments about the proposed bylaws? Share them in this message board post. Officers will be checking the post frequently to address questions and concerns.

• Voting will start at 1:00 PM on Thursday, October 9 and close at 5:00 PM on Thursday, October 23
• Info sessions will be held on Wednesday, October 15 at 12:00 pm and Tuesday, October 21 at 12:00 pm 
• Questions can also be sent to info@ccea.us

Some of the biggest changes you will see included in this amendment include:

ARTICLE II - Defines the purpose of the CCEA, with the notable addition of supporting, endorsing or engaging with candidates for political office, ballot measures or policies when those candidates, measures or policies demonstrate a clear commitment to labor rights, public services or values of the Association.

ARTICLE IV - Information on the update to membership dues can be found below in the "Membership Dues and Fees" section.

ARTICLE V - Increase in the number of officers from 5 to 7, adding in the following positions:

• Stewards Coordinator – Oversee and coordinate the group of stewards (reps) across all the worksites, lead and support the grievance process, etc.  
• Engagement and Outreach Coordinator – Leads the Association’s efforts to recruit, engage and retain members, ensuring all represented employees are informed, connected and encouraged to participate in union activities

ARTICLE VII - Set up the system of Union Stewards (formerly known as Reps) to serve as the primary workplace-level representatives and advocates for the Association

• Three Steward Leads will work with the Steward Coordinator to support the members
• Sixteen Stewards, along with the leads, will support a work unit of members with the Association.  
• The Stewards do not need to work in the same department, division or even work unit as the members they support.  It has been seen in the past that some work units do not have anyone available to be a Steward, while others work units have multiple individuals who would like to step up.  While the plan will be to match up employees in their work units, a Steward may be assigned another work unit within the Association. 

ARTICLE X - Clears up language around Association elections

ARTICLE XI - Clarifies which members have voting rights within the Association

ARTICLE XII - Establishes various standing volunteer committees, for those who don’t want to be part of the Executive Committee but still want to support the needs of the Association, including:

• Member Engagement and Outreach Committee
• Political Review Committee
• Finance Committee
• Communications Committee
• Training and Education Committee

ARTICLE XIX - Provides clarity and information about contract negotiations

ARTICLE XX - Provides more clarity and information about strikes and other work actions

ARTICLE XXI - Provides more details around the role and duties of any Service Representative that is contracted by the association

ARTICLE XXII - Provides more details around the role and duties of the Union Attorney that is contracted by the association

Membership Dues and Fees

• The current bylaws state that dues can be either 0.30% or 0.50% of gross wages, depending on the needs of the union. Currently, we are at the lowest level, 0.30%, but are at a point where we would need to raise it up to the 0.50%
• The amended bylaws edit this amount to be a flat 0.60%, or double what members are currently paying and just a little bit above the maximum allowed by the current bylaws
• Our current collection of dues barely covers our monthly business expenses on normal months. In periods of high activity, or contract negotiations, we usually spend more than we bring in, leading to a reduction in overall funds.

The plan with the increase in dues is twofold:

• Ensure enough operational revenue to cover monthly costs and provide a reasonable balance
• Start contributing to our CCEA Strike Fund on a monthly basis and build that up so the CCEA can have more leverage during upcoming contract negotiations

• It is anticipated that half of the dues increase would go towards operations while the other half could go to our strike fund. Initial estimates suggest that at the 0.60% rate, at minimum, the CCEA could contribute $5,000 per month to the Strike Fund. And often this amount would be higher. 
• This small increase in dues, along with the other changes in the bylaws, would make the CCEA a more member-driven union with internal knowledge, support and resources to make us stronger now, and into the future. 

Below is a table that shows how the CCEA dues line up with other unions within the County.

The members of the Bylaws Committee thank you for taking the time to review this summary and look over the update to the Bylaws.  We feel the Clackamas County Employees’ Association has grown tremendously over the last few years, and these updates are important and will continue to make the Association strong for years to come. The full proposed bylaws can be downloaded below.