Constitution of Common Action
Nov 24 2008 21:35
Critiques?
Constitution of Common Action
1. Organization:
a) Common Action is a specific anarchist organization in the Northwestern region (Washington and Oregon) of the U.S.
b) We broadly agree with the Anarkismo Editorial statement 'Who we are and why we do it' with the explicit interest of building an international anarchist movement within the traditions represented therein.
2. Membership:
a) Membership of the organization is open to all who agree to work and argue for its policies in their public political activity, abide by its constitution and pay dues.
b) We recognize as a member of our own organization any member of an Anarkismo member organization who migrates to our region.
c) Attending three Common Action meetings shall be a prerequisite to membership. Branches will decide internally to accept or reject membership.
d) In the event that a prospective member (or Branch) does not live close enough to an existing Branch to meet the three meeting prerequisite, then they may be granted provisional membership in the organization by the Delegates Council pending a vote for full membership acceptance at the next General Assembly. Such provisional members' dues shall be paid in full to the General Treasurer.
3. Branches:
a) The basic unit of the organization is the Branch, which consists of at least three members in a given area.
b) Where no Branch exists in an area, members will be attached to the nearest Branch and considered full members of it.
4. Organizational principles:
a) All decisions are taken by majority vote.
b) In the spirit of participatory self-management, decisions that disproportionately affect a particular section of the membership, including but not limited to sections of the membership based on geography, workplace, race, or gender should, generally, be deferred to those most affected. If a decision is required by Common Action as a whole, the proposing section's ideas will be brought to the larger group for ratification.
c) No position within the organization may be held by the same member for more than one year in succession.
d) Minutes are kept of all meetings and are circulated to all members.
5. Pre-General Assembly Bulletin (PGAB):
a) The PGAB will be produced prior to every General Assembly by the Internal Secretary.
b) The PGAB will be distributed electronically to all members and mailed to any member by request, ten days before the General Assembly.
c) The PGAB contains reports from Branches, Committees, Officers, etc. as well as proposals and discussion articles submitted by members.
6. General Assembly:
a) Members meet in General Assembly biannually (or more often as decided by General Assembly) to review their activities, decide policy, designate the officers and delegate other responsibilities.
b) General Assemblies shall be hosted by Branches on a rotating basis.
c) General Assemblies shall open with a discussion of perspectives and will take reports from officers and Working Groups.
d) Where members are unable to attend, they may cast a proxy vote cast through the Internal Secretary or delegated member of Common Action on any motion or amendment on the agenda.
e) We collectivize the costs of the conference - Travel, conference space, childcare, and other miscellaneous costs.
- The costs are totaled and divided among the Branches proportionate to the number of attendees from that Branch. It is up to the Branch to decide how to divide the cost of the conference among its members. An estimated cost per attendee will be included in the official call to the General Assembly.
- Members are expected to be reasonable and modest in the expenses they incur.
7. The Delegates Council:
a) The Delegates Council is responsible for agreeing policy between conferences and is comprised of a mandated delegate from each Branch. Delegates exist to facilitate communication and decision-making between branches in the interim of General Assemblies. They serve as points of contact between Branches.
b) The Internal Secretary is responsible for the co-ordination of the Delegate Council and shall chair meetings and discussion but shall have no vote.
c) An agenda will always be circulated at least 10 days prior to meetings. Motions can be placed on the agenda by submitting them in writing to the Internal Secretary up to 11 days before the meeting.
d) The Delegate Council meets at least monthly.
e) Delegates may cast pending votes on agenda items not decided by their Branch prior to the Delegates Council meeting but must either hold a Branch meeting vote or conduct a poll vote of their Branch within 3 days following the Delegates Council meeting and immediately notify the Internal Secretary and other Branch Delegates of the final vote.
f) An emergency DC meeting can be called inside 3 days. Such a meeting only has quorum if 50%+1 of delegates are present and all Branches were notified of the meeting.
g) Emergency meetings may be called:
- Through a motion passed by two or more Branches.
- Through petition by one third of the membership.
- At the request of one third of the Delegate Council delegates
h) When delegates plan to be out of town or otherwise unavailable, they are authorized to delegate responsibilities to a backup (selected by the Branch). The backup Delegate would have the same authority and responsibilities as the original Delegate.
8. Common Action Officers and Mandates:
a) General Assemblies elect the Internal Secretary (who keeps in contact with each Branch, sends out meeting reminders, keeps minutes, prepares the Pre-General Assembly Bulletin), External Secretary (who communicates with outside groups, handles external emails, and folks interested in joining) and Treasurer (who handles finances and maintains financial transparency).
b) Officers are subject to recall at Congress by a 2/3 vote of the Delegate Council or by 50%+1 petition of the membership.
c) When Officers plan to be out of town or otherwise unavailable, they are authorized to delegate responsibilities to a backup (selected by Delegate Council). The backup Officer would have the same authority and responsibilities as the original officer.
d) Vacant Officer positions may be filled between General Assembly by nominations and approval by Delegate Council vote.
e) General Assembly may create formal mandates for roles other than the constitutional Officers (such as working groups or specifically delegated tasks). These mandated roles shall be reviewed, follow the same time limits and produce reports to the organization in the same way as officers are required.
9. Finance:
a) Membership 'Commitments' are 2% of net income, with .5% off per unwaged dependant, and a minimum of 20 dollars per month. If individuals feel they cannot meet this they can negotiate with the Common Action Treasurer.
b) Half of this money is retained by the Branch, and half is sent to the Treasurer for the use of the organization as a whole.
c) Non-payment of dues for 3 months puts a member in bad standing (loss of voting privileges); good standing can be regained through paying back dues, which may be negotiated by treasurer on a case-by-case basis.
10. Organization Policy:
a) The policy of the organization is first and foremost the position papers as drawn up and amended by the membership at a General Assembly. All other policy decisions must be compatible with these position papers and are changed or reversed by any subsequent motions passed by a General Assembly.
b) Position papers are divided into a general section and a short term section. The general section contains the theoretical position of the organization on the question. The short term perspectives section outlines the organizations policy on immediate questions and the tactics we intend to implement.
c) Motions to Delegate Council can set or amend the short term section but the general section shall be modified in duly constituted General Assembly exclusively.
d) All Branches are required to implement policy where conditions allow. If members are delegates from the organization at external events they are expected to argue for policy.
e) In Unions, organizations and campaign groups, members are expected not to argue against Common Action policy but they may vote freely. Where they carry a mandate from a section of that group or union to put forward an argument against policy they may do so.
f) Where members disagree with existing policy they are free to argue within the organization for a new policy. They are also free to express disagreement as part of public debates and informal discussions where they indicate they are speaking in an individual capacity.
g) Branches and individual members are free to engage in any political activity which does not contradict existing policy.
Last amended September 13, 2008