Constitution of the Transit Riders Union

Preamble

Public transportation is in crisis. At a time when unemployment is growing, when wages are falling, and gas prices rising; when global warming and peak oil production threaten the stability of civilization and the future of the planet; public transit should be improving and extending rapidly. And yet everywhere it is being cut back.

The corporate class, which now commands unfathomably large portions of society’s wealth, effectively dictates society’s transportation policies. With its money, its mass media, its lobbies and loyal servitors in public office, it has seen to it that public transit – indeed, all of our public services – are being starved and stifled, cut and privatized, restructured in such a way as to serve its own profit needs, and funded increasingly at the expense of the working class, and of society in general.

The issue of public transportation is far too important – for riders, for workers, for society as a whole, for the natural environment, and for future generations – to remain under the sway of shameless profiteers.

It is up to poor and working people, now the great majority of the population, to defend and expand public transit. Our strength has always been our numbers, and our ability to organize ourselves so that these numbers may exert power – the power to shape public policy, and thus determine our own destiny. For this reason, we convene on April 23, 2012 in Seattle, Washington, USA, to establish a Union of Transit Riders, under the following Constitution.

Article I – Name

Section 1. The name of this organization is the Transit Riders Union (hereafter “TRU”)

Article II – Purpose

Section 1. Mission: The Transit Riders Union is a democratic organization of working and poor people, including students, seniors, and people with disabilities, taking control over our own lives, and building up the power we need to change society for the good of humanity and of the planet. We will fight to preserve, expand, and improve the public transportation system in Seattle and beyond, so that every human being has access to safe, affordable, and reliable public transit.

Section 2. Principles: The decisions of the TRU shall be made on the basis of the following principles, and no decision shall be made that violates any of them.

We believe that every human being has a right to safe, reliable, affordable, and accessible public transit.
We recognize that, for the future of humanity and of the planet, we must move beyond the car- and fossil fuel-based economy.
We believe that the public transit system must be expanded and improved, not merely preserved.
We want high-capacity rapid transit, including buses and rail – but not at the cost of cutting off those who need public transit the most.
We believe that public transit must be paid for by corporations and the wealthiest section of the population, not by further squeezing poor and working people.
We are an organization primarily of poor and working people who depend on public transit; we will achieve our aims by first of all organizing and mobilizing this disenfranchised and growing section of the population.
We are a grassroots, participatory, and democratic organization; we believe that the decisions that affect the lives of poor and working people should be made by those people, and not by bureaucrats or corporate elites.
We recognize that in order to achieve our transit aims, poor and working people must build up social power, economic power, and political power; we will not hesitate to fight in any of these spheres, as needed for the advancement of our cause.
We are independent of all political parties, governments, unions, businesses, and non-profits; however, we may choose to work with any of these in coalition.
We will not use, or advocate the use of, violence to achieve our aims; if necessary we may resort to civil disobedience to unjust laws.

Article III – Levels of Involvement

Section 1. There are five ways a member may participate in and contribute to the TRU: as a General Member, as Member or Chair of a Committee,as an Organizer, as a Coordinator, or as an Officer.

General members are the foundation of the TRU, and determine the policy of the TRU as a whole. General members must satisfy the requirements detailed in Article IV below.
Committee members are General Members who participate in a committee created by the TRU to accomplish a speciﬁed task. In addition to attending committee meetings, a committee member may agree to take on the further responsibilities of Committee Chair. Rules governing the formation and functioning of committees are detailed in Article VI below.
Organizers are members who take on a greater role in conducting the day to day organizing work of the TRU. Organizers must satisfy the requirements detailed in Article VII.
Coordinators are individual members charged by TRU with a speciﬁed task or job, to be carried out under the supervision of the General Council. The procedure for creation of coordinator roles and appointment of Coordinators is detailed in Article VIII below.
Officers are members who are elected by the general membership to fulfill a role on the General Council and to represent the TRU, as detailed in Articles VIII and IX.

Article IV – Members

Section 1. Membership shall be open to all persons who support the purposes of the TRU and agree to abide by the Constitution of the TRU as amended from time to time. The TRU shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, citizenship, national origin, or political affiliation.

Section 2. Membership is first established by submitting a membership application. General members include all those members who fulfill initiation requirements and pay dues as determined by the general membership in its Membership Policy. Associate members are not required to pay dues, and have no voting rights. (Henceforth, unless otherwise specified, “members” refers to voting members, exclusive of associate members.)

Section 3. Membership in good standing requires that dues be fully paid. If a payment is in arrears for over thirty days, voting rights and all other rights and privileges associated to membership shall be suspended and the member in question shall be considered an associate member. General member status with its attendant rights and privileges shall be reinstated immediately upon full payment of back dues; or it may be regained by resuming regular payment of dues and fulfilling re-initiation requirements as determined by the general membership in its Membership Policy.

Section 4. Obstruction of the purposes of the TRU may be grounds for disciplinary action including temporary suspension of membership, or expulsion. Disciplinary procedures and process of appeal for members shall be established by the general membership in its Discipline Policy.

Article V – General Membership Meetings

Section 1. At minimum, an Annual Membership Meeting shall be held for the purpose of electing the Officers and conducting other business of the general membership. The time and city of the Annual Meeting shall be established by the general membership at the previous Annual Meeting.

Section 2. Additional Membership Meetings shall be held monthly, with the time, date and location being chosen by the General Council unless already decided by act of the Membership at a previous Membership Meeting. The date, time, and location of the next Membership Meeting shall be announced by the Chair at the end of each Membership Meeting. The General Membership may choose to cancel or reschedule a monthly meeting by a majority vote at a Membership Meeting. The General Council may reschedule a Membership Meeting that has already been announced if there is just cause, e.g. a holiday, a scheduling conﬂict with another event that is likely to decrease turnout.

Section 3. An Emergency Membership Meeting may be called by the General Council with at least forty-eight hours notice. Notice must be given in writing, but the non-receipt of such notice by any member shall not invalidate the proceedings of any Emergency Meeting.

Section 4. A quorum at any meeting of the general membership shall be one-fifth of the total number of those eligible to vote, or twenty votes by actual presence, whichever is the lesser number.

Section 5. Resolutions may be placed on the agenda or brought to a meeting of the general membership by the General Council, by the Organizers Committee, or by a petition signed by five voting members or one-tenth of the voting membership, whichever is the lesser number.

Section 6. An officer or member, chosen in advance by the General Council, shall preside at each Membership Meeting. The attendees of the Membership Meeting may recall the presiding officer or member by a majority vote, and nominate another officer from among the General Council to chair the meeting.

Section 7. Each member in good standing may cast one vote at Membership Meetings, with the exception described in Article XI below. Each organizer may cast one vote at meetings of the Organizers Committee. Associate Members shall have no voting rights. Records of members in good standing and a current list of organizers shall be kept by the Recording Secretary, and updated prior to each meeting.

Section 8. Proxy voting shall be allowed. To be effective, a written and signed proxy shall be delivered to the Acting Secretary prior to the vote during which the proxy representation is to be effective, designating the person who shall vote in place of the member. A written proxy is effective for only one meeting.

Section 9. All actions at Membership Meetings shall be passed by simple majority, unless specified otherwise in Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, or elsewhere in this Constitution or in the Bylaws, and except for elections and amendments to the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and this Constitution. Such amendments must be passed by a majority of no less than two-thirds of votes cast by members eligible to vote at Membership Meetings, as stipulated in Article XI, Section 5 below.

Article VI – Committees

Section 1. Committees may be formed by a majority vote at a Membership Meeting in order to consider, investigate or take action on a speciﬁc issue or issues speciﬁed in a motion or resolution. Unless explicitly empowered by the General Membership, committees do not have the power to execute their own decisions, but must report back to the General Membership.

Section 2. Provisions for the appointment of a Committee Chair and Committee Members may be given in the resolution or motion that created that committee, or in a separate resolution or motion. If no speciﬁc provision is made, whether by this method or other methods described in Roberts Rules of Order, newly revised, then the General Council may appoint a committee chair and committee members by whatever method it sees ﬁt.

[Added for Resolution 74]

Article VII – Organizers and the Organizers Committee

Section 1. The position of organizer shall be open to all general members in good standing. The requirements for organizers, including meeting attendance and contribution of labor, and the procedures for initiation and removal of organizers, shall be determined by the general membership in the TRU Organizer Policy.

Section 2. The Organizers Committee, a standing committee consisting of all members who have achieved organizer status, is charged with carrying out the day-today organizing work of the TRU in accordance with the policies of the General Membership and this Constitution.

Section 3. The chair of the Organizers Committee shall be the Lead Organizer, and shall be considered a Coordinator, to be appointed and supervised in the same manner as any Coordinator, as detailed in Article VIII below.

Article VIII – Coordinators

Section 1. Coordinator roles may be created by the General Membership in order to delegate speciﬁc tasks or jobs to an individual member.

Section 2. Once a Coordinator role has been created, it shall be ﬁlled in the following manner. A candidate shall be nominated by the General Council, and elected to the Coordinator position by a majority vote at a Membership Meeting. If the Membership should reject the General Council’s choice, it is the responsibility of the General Council to put forward a new candidate.

Section 3. Coordinators are charged with carrying out their duties, as enumerated in the motion or resolution that called their role into existence, under the supervision of the General Council. If there is ever a difference of opinion between a Coordinator and the General Council concerning the performance of the Coordinator’s duties, the will of the General Council, as the duly elected representatives of the General membership, shall prevail. The General Council shall communicate its will through its representative, the General Secretary.

Section 4. If a Coordinator should fail to carry out his/her duties to the satisfaction of the General Council, the General Council may remove the Coordinator from his/her position. The General Council will report any such removal to the membership at the soonest consecutive Membership Meeting.

Section 5. In the event of the resignation, demise, or removal of any coordinator, the General Council shall, if necessary, assume the duties of the vacant position. If the position remains vacant for over 90 days, the position becomes ‘dormant’, and must be reactivated by a majority vote at a membership meeting before it can be ﬁlled again.

Article IX – Officers and the General Council

Section 1. The Officers of the TRU shall be a General Secretary, an Assisting Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Treasurer, and some number of Trustees, such that the total number of officers is at least three and does not exceed nine. Trustees may be charged with specific roles by the general membership. Any two or more offices may be held by the same person except where prohibited in the TRU Bylaws. Together the Officers shall constitute the General Council.

Section 2. The Officers shall be elected by the membership at the Annual General Membership Meeting. All Officers shall hold office for a term that begins at the adjournment of the meeting at which they are elected and ends upon the adjournment of the soonest consecutive Annual General Membership Meeting, and they may stand for re-election.

Section 3. Eligibility to serve as an Officer shall be open to all members in good standing, with the exception described in Article XI below. Nominations shall be taken from the ﬂoor at the Membership Meeting immediately prior to the Annual Meeting, and the candidates announced in a written notice of the Annual Membership meeting no less than 20 days before the elections are held.

Section 4. In the event of the resignation, demise, or removal of any Officer, the remaining Officers shall assume the duties of the vacant position. Nominations for a vacant position may be made at any membership meeting, and elections shall be held at the soonest subsequent Membership Meeting, provided members are given twenty days written notice, including a listing of all candidates.

Section 5. The General Secretary, Assisting Secretary, Recording Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected by a plurality of votes at the Annual Membership Meeting. Trustees shall be appointed or deposed by a motion or resolution, passed by a majority vote at any Membership Meeting, with 20 days advance notice — such a motion being handled in the same manner as any other.

Section 6. An Ofﬁcer may be recalled by the membership in the following manner and for the following reasons. First a motion is passed at a Membership Meeting to initiate a recall vote. Grounds to support a recall include dereliction of duty, negligence, or actions not in accordance with the purposes of the TRU. If the motion to recall an ofﬁcer is passed, said ofﬁcer is suspended from duty until the recall vote can be held. Then, at least 20 days notice must be given before a recall vote is held, at the soonest consecutive Membership Meeting.

Section 7. If an Officer fails to fulfill the duties of his or her office as set forth in this Constitution, the other Officers shall notify that Officer in writing of such non-performance. If the Officer continues to fail to fulfill the duties of the office, the General Council, by majority vote, may initiate a recall election, to take place at the nearest Membership Meeting. The duties of the named Officer will be assumed by the other Officers pending the outcome of the recall election.

Article X – Duties and Powers of the General Council

Section 1. It is the mandate of the General Council to faithfully represent the TRU and to discharge its duties in accordance with this Constitution and the policies and decisions of the general membership. The General Council is authorized to make decisions on behalf of the General Membership in between Membership Meetings. Decisions of the General Council must be reported to the general membership and are subject to reversal by the general membership. Additionally, the General Council shall assume all of the functions legally required of a Board of Directors, as speciﬁed in the TRU Bylaws, and each ofﬁcer shall be legally considered a ‘Board Member’.

Section 2. The responsibility for the planning of campaigns or projects shall fall upon the General Council, unless another committee is created by the membership expressly for the purpose. The General Council may delegate any aspects of planning, or planning tasks, to subcommittees composed of members appointed by the General Council, or to Coordinators or pre-existing Committees.

Section 3. The General Council is responsible for proposing agendas for Membership Meetings. Proposed agendas may be amended by a majority vote of eligible voting attendees at each meeting. Alternate agendas may be proposed and adopted in the same manner.

Section 4. Duties and Powers of Officers

The General Secretary is the official spokesperson of the General Council and of the TRU. In addition, the General Secretary shall perform all functions that are legally required of a President and a Chair of the Board.
The Assisting Secretary shall perform the duties of the General Secretary when the General Secretary is absent or unable to perform them. In addition, the assisting Secretary shall perform all functions that are legally required of a Vice President.
The Recording Secretary shall maintain the official copy of the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, this Constitution, and all currently approved policies and procedures; maintain Membership Records; maintain the voting list and certify the results of elections; record minutes at General Membership Meetings; and record and compile all actions approved by the General Membership, the Organizers Committee, and the General Council.
The Treasurer shall keep all books of account; conduct financial transactions; file all required tax returns and pay all tax liabilities in a timely manner; and prepare an annual financial report for distribution in writing to the membership.

Section 5. The General Council may deputize members of the TRU, as it deems necessary assist in discharging the duties of the General Council.

Section 6. Meetings of the General Council shall be called by the General Secretary. A quorum for a meeting of the General Council shall be a majority of Officers, present in person or by remote communication, and all Officers must receive twenty-four hours notice prior to meetings. Notice must be given by phone or in writing, but the non-receipt of such notice by any Officer shall not invalidate the proceedings of any meeting.

Article XI – Financial and Administrative Provisions

Section 1. Guidelines and procedures for making expenditures, reporting revenue and expenses, setting an annual budget, and reviewing TRU’s accounts shall be laid out by the general membership in TRU’s Financial Policy. The Financial Policy shall be reviewed yearly at the Annual Membership Meeting.

Section 2. Guidelines and procedures for compensation of Organizers, Coordinators and Ofﬁcers shall be laid out by the general membership in TRU’s Compensation Policy. The Compensation Policy shall be reviewed yearly at the Annual Membership Meeting.

Section 3. Members employed by or holding official position in organizations that are in potential conflict with the purposes and interests of the TRU must disclose potential conﬂicts of interest to the General Council. Their membership voting rights, and eligibility for elected positions are subject to and may be limited by provisions laid down by the General Membership in its Conflict of Interest Policy.

Section 4. The rules of procedure at meetings of the General Membership, Organizers Committee, General Council, and all Committees shall be rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order on Parliamentary Procedure, newly revised, as far as applicable and when not inconsistent with this Constitution, the Bylaws, the Articles of Incorporation, or any resolution of the aforementioned bodies.

Section 5. This Constitution supplements but does not supercede TRU’s Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, and all applicable state and federal laws. Amendments to this Constitution, TRU’s Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation must be passed by a two-thirds majority at any Membership Meeting, provided that at least twenty days written notice of the proposed changes has been given.

Section 6. The TRU shall have a seal consisting of the name “Transit Riders Union” and the image of a bus.

End

^{Last amended July 6, 2017}