In February, the membership voted to approve of a new set of bylaws for NASW, as required by NY state government regulations for nonprofit corporations, except for a passage that dealt with disciplinary procedures, Article VIII. Members voted to create an ad hoc committee to further discuss and develop a draft for Article VIII. Co-chairs of the committee are Dan Ferber, a board member, and John Gever. They solicited volunteers from a general call to membership. Other members of the committee are: David Lawrence, Jennie Dusheck, Melissa Blouin, David Levine, Norman Bauman. Once the committee's work is concluded and the president, Mariette DiChristina, and others have commented, the Article will go to an attorney for review and adjustments (if needed). The amendment will then be voted on at the next annual meeting in early November in New Haven, Conn.; as usual, members may vote in person or by proxies.
Some members on the lists have asked questions about the draft's language. Below is the current version, followed by member comments. If you have comments, you may add them using the comment link below. The committee will review them and consider whether any need to be added. The draft will then be updated, if needed, and reposted for members to view in plenty of time before the vote in November.
The committee consists of volunteer members who responded to a general call months ago. Because NASW follows the model of a democratic republic, those committee members are charged with deciding for our collective benefit which comments need to be incorporated and which do not. They will not engage in open debates on the talk list, which is available for view by nonmembers (as part of NASW's charter to encourage discussions about science writing). And they cannot respond to each individual note or answer every individual query, although they will update us on their progress in general.
Thank you, John Gever Dan Ferber co-chairs
Section 1. SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF MEMBERS. Any member who remains in arrears for 12 months shall be given a month's notice. If dues are not paid at the end of the month, membership shall be terminated. In each case, the executive director shall give the delinquent member proper notice. A member may also be suspended or have certain privileges of membership revoked for a limited time under Section 2 of Article VIII of these bylaws.
A membership shall terminate on occurrence of any of the following events: (i) resignation of the member; (ii) expiration of the period of membership, unless the membership is renewed on the renewal terms fixed by the Board; (iii) the member's failure to pay dues, fees, or assessments as set by the Board after they are due and payable (but such a terminated member may re-apply for membership after satisfying all payments in arrears); or (iv) conduct materially and seriously prejudicial to the purposes and interests of the Association, as determined under Section 2 of Article VIII of these bylaws.
Section 2. PROCEDURES FOR SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP. Should the president, or any three members, find the conduct of a member to be seriously prejudicial to the best interests of the Association, they shall deliver a signed, written complaint to the Executive Director or to any officer or Board member.
Within two working days of the Association's receipt of a complaint, the accused member shall be notified of the charges. Notice shall be given by any method reasonably calculated to provide actual notice. Within 20 calendar days of this notification, the executive director or, if the executive director is absent or is the object of the complaint, an officer or director designated by the president, shall arrange for the complaint to be heard by one of the following bodies: (i) when the accused member is an officer, board member, or employee of the organization, the accused member will have the charges heard by an ad hoc committee of seven members, randomly selected from the membership; or (ii) when the accused member does not hold office in the Association, that member may choose to have the charges heard by the Board or by a randomly selected ad hoc committee of seven members.
The accused member shall be provided with all evidence presented to the Board or committee at least seven calendar days before any vote on the complaint and shall have full opportunity to present rebutting or exculpatory evidence and argument. A vote of at least five members of the ad hoc committee, or at least two-thirds of the Board, shall be necessary to sustain the complaint. Following a judgment against the accused member, the Board or committee shall determine the sanctions to be imposed, which may include expulsion. No individual shall participate substantively in processing or reviewing a complaint if he or she is a complainant or the accused member, or if he or she has a substantial conflict of interest involving complainants or the accused member.
A member who wishes to appeal a judgment, must file an appeal within 21 days of being notified of the judgment. The appeal will be heard and voted on by the general membership at the next annual meeting, provided this meeting occurs at least 30 calendar days after the appeal is filed. In the event that the appeal is filed in less than 30 days of the next annual meeting, the appeal hearing shall be heard at the subsequent year's, all pertinent information will be made available to the entire membership in secure electronic format. The vote of the membership will be recorded by paper ballot for those members attending the meeting, and by proxy for those members not present. A vote of at least two-thirds of members voting shall be required to sustain the Board's or ad hoc committee's judgment.
