The proposed bylaws changes below will be voted on at our next membership meeting on November 10th at 4:30pm EST at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference in Asbury Park, NJ.
“Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space for everyone.” -George Dei
As a few of our wonderful members of Local 1000’s DEI Working Group have stated, it is not enough to put words on a page; we also need action to back up our words. In order to make our union more accountable to its values and to commit to holding a space in our leadership for diversity, equity and inclusion, the Executive Board would like to formally submit the following two proposals for updates to our union by-laws:
Proposal #1: Update of wording to Section XIII (Nominations and Elections) Section 3 (b) (i) of our bylaws as follows: The current language regarding nominations reads:
(i) A nominating Committee of three Active Members shall be appointed by the President, and may nominate one eligible Active Member for each open position. The Nominating Committee shall be charged with ensuring that each position open for nominations has at least one nominee. The Nominating Committee shall further be charged with presenting candidates who reflect diversity of the Union in regard to race, geography, gender, age, musical style, etc. To that end, the Committee shall confer for the purpose of soliciting candidates for each election and shall submit its list of candidates to the Secretary-Treasurer no later than the third membership meeting. Members of the Nominating Committee may neither be officers nor candidates for office.
The proposed updated wording is as follows:
(i) A nominating Committee of three Active Members shall be appointed by the President, and may nominate one eligible Active Member for each open position. The Nominating Committee shall be charged with ensuring that each position open for nominations has at least one nominee. The Nominating Committee shall further be charged with and committed to presenting candidates who reflect the diversity of the Union in regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, geography, disability status, musical style and age. Nominating Committee members agree to first solicit BIPOC nominees for open positions and do their best to continue to make that effort at each election. The Nominating Committee should also ensure to the best of their ability that women continue to have an equal voice on the Executive Board and in our union. The Committee shall confer for the purpose of soliciting candidates for each election and shall submit its list of candidates to the Secretary- Treasurer no later than the third membership meeting. Members of the Nominating Committee may neither be officers nor candidates for office.
Proposal #2: This proposal applies to the entire by-laws document.
Wherever the words “he/she” “him/her” or “his/hers” appear, those words shall be replaced with the more inclusive “they,” “them” or “their” throughout.
Here is a link to the by-laws with proposed amendments noted:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MqzMAnFr1QuFETG4jdsr8EgMmSH7cmFE/view?usp=sharing
New Deal Spring 2022