GCGBAG

As anyone who’s spent any time looking at Nordecke’s bylaws knows… they need some work. We know the Nordecke Board has a bylaws review process well underway and we’re eager to see the revisions they’re set to propose later this month. GCGBAG’s spent a lot of time thinking about revisions, too, and we’d like to offer a draft of the changes we would like to see! Our goal with these suggested revisions is to facilitate more engagement from membership, improve organizational governance, and increase transparency.

We hope for a chance to work collectively with the Board to incorporate some of these suggestions as part of their future bylaws amendment package. We all agree that revisions are sorely needed and are committed to working together to get it right!

In the meantime, we outlined our draft revisions below and you can download a comparison document to see exactly what and where suggested changes were made.

Download for review: Original Bylaws | Revised Bylaws | Comparison Document Highlighting Changes

ARTICLE III: Board of Directors, Elections & Appointees

Adds detail to the elections process.

Forbids current Crew employees or contractors from holding a Director or other appointed leadership position.
Allows for a 14-day period to hold online elections for Board of Directors leading up to the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Requires use of a third-party electronic/online voting system.
Creates guidelines for runoff elections as well as addressing disputes.
Requires Director candidates to declare at least 45 days prior to the AGM and ballot to be published at least 21 days prior.
Forbids members from running for multiple Director positions in the same election.

Creates a Cure Period to solicit additional candidates for Director positions or permit declared candidates to change the position they are running for if there are vacancies.

Provides accommodations for electronic/online voting on issues (e.g. amendments to the bylaws), while still requiring a 2/3rds vote by registered supporters for approval.

Clarifies term length and limits for Director positions.

Sets a limit of 2 consecutive terms in the same Director position
Clarifies a limit of 6 total terms on the Board, regardless of positions served.
Includes considerations for scenarios where no other interested party declares for a Director position during an election.

Permits members to bring forth a motion to remove a Director.

Reverts Chairperson to an appointed role of a Director.

Each term, the Board of Directors will select one Director to serve as the Chairperson, presiding over Board meetings and serving as secondary signer for financial disbursements and primary point of contact for the Front Office.
The chair role being filled by vote of other directors is one of the most common methods of doing so and is in line with the original intention of the bylaws.

Creates the Administrative Director position.

New elected Director position takes on the role and duties of the Secretary. This role was originally a role filled by another director, however the time commitment for these responsibilities is significant, so establishing it as a stand-alone elected role feels necessary.
In addition to taking minutes and record keeping, the Administrative Director is responsible for all logistical details of Nordecke public meetings, from securing space to overseeing the online stream for remote attendees.
Administrative Director oversees votes and elections, and is an ex-officio member of the Executive Board.

Clarifies duties and responsibilities of Director positions.

Clarifies roles of the Executive Board

The Executive Board would now be made up of the Chair, Administrative Director (formerly Secretary/Vice Chair) and Treasurer and has the authority to act on behalf of the organization (entering into contracts, authorizing expenditures, etc.).

Expressly Permits the Board to enlist services of an outside CPA to assist with bookkeeping and finances.

ARTICLE V: Meetings, Voting & Administration

Sets the 3rd Sunday in December as the date for the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Requires the Board to make every effort to allow members to attend any public meeting remotely.

Board meetings need to be publicly noticed at least 7 days in advance.

Agendas must be shared at least 3 days in advance.
Minutes must be published at most 5 days after.

Provides accommodations for electronic/online voting on resolutions.

Requires a Board vote on any matters with a financial expenditure in excess of $1,000.

ARTICLE VII: Disclosures and Information Accessibility

Clarifies conflict of interest disclosure requirements.

Adds language requiring routine public disclosure of meetings, agendas, record of votes, and financial reporting.

Additional Revisions

Explicitly underscores that Nordecke will not tolerate transphobia, in addition to racism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, or any other form of bigotry.

Makes style, formatting and layout changes to clean up the document.

Removes references to Crew SC.

So what’s next?

Per the current bylaws, proposed amendments have to be presented at least 60 days before the AGM or a special meeting where the proposed changes to the bylaws would require a 2/3rds vote of Registered Supporters to pass — so there is a lot of time for folks to consider and discuss!

If you’ve got suggestions or feedback, sound off in the comments below or hit us up on social media.