Board index FAQ Search View unanswered posts View active topics Register Login
JBLC Forum
Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps
Constitution violations updated - 12/24/06
Page 1 of 1 [ 3 posts ] Post new topic Post new topic   Reply to topic Reply to topic

First unread post
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 28 guests
Post Constitution violations updated - 12/24/06 Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:29 pm
Guest
For reference, here is part of my first post:
I pointed out distinct violations of the constitution for this season as well as past seasons. Of course there was no reply for why these violations existed. However, these violations have existed for years. It may be unfair to blame all current board members because this has been going on for a while. It must not be allowed to continue either. The whole mess started long ago I am sure, so blaming people is not what I am about. I point no fingers personally at any board member. I name no names. I am pointing out what I believe to be facts. I believe that this whole mess originated from the fact that no on ever even knew what the by-laws and constitution stated!! A select few have probably seen it or read it, but how many people ever saw a copy in a shack? Some of the violations I pointed out:

1. The constitution clearly states the nature of the procedure following an out of season vacancy on the board. The procedure followed not only involved nepotism, but directly violated the constituion.


Section 6 - Terms and Succession
(2) Whenever an elective office shall become vacant, between elections, the vacancy shall be filled by an election initiated within fourteen (14) days of the vacancy. Elections shall be held twenty-one (21) days after the vacancy occurs. Vacancies that occur during the "off season" shall be filled by Presidential appointment until seasonal employment commences at which time the aforementioned schedule will be effected as if the first day of the season was the date of vacancy.


2. The constitution states that an annual report is required to be compiled no later than May of each year. No reports were ever made, or made public to the membership.

ARTICLE XII -ANNUAL REPORT

Section 1

Before May 15 but not earlier than May 1st of each year, the President shall cause to be prepared and delivered to each active and inactive member, wherever possible, an annual report on the affairs of the Union.

Section 2

Such report must contain:

(1) A statement by the President that he has examined the record books and accounts of the Union and that same are in good order.

(2) A detailed report on the conduct of contract negotiations with LISPRC, to include a detailed summary of all material provisions of the contract.

(3) The date of the next Union election.

(4) Such other matters as the President or a majority of the Executive Board may deem advisable to include.

Section 3

The President and Secretary and Treasurer must sign the annual financial report for off season expenditures.


3. The constitution clearly states the nature of communication and reporting to the general membership. Clear and concise guidlines are contained in the document about reporting budgets, minutes of meetings, negotiations, and general membership meetings. None of these procedures were ever carried out to the extent that they were designed. If they had been, then no one could complain that they were left in the dark. As for me and many others, I needed a flashlight.


ARTICLE XIII - UNION RESOLUTIONS, MINUTES OF MEETINGS

Section 1

The Executive Board and Lifeguard Assembly shall vote on all appropriate matters by way of resolution, duly made, seconded and carried. The minutes of the meeting must reflect the specific working of the resolution and whether the vote was carried by majority or by 2/3 vote.

Section 2

Where the written minutes of a resolution do not exist, are missing or have not been ratified at the next meeting thereafter, any member of the Executive Board or Lifeguard Assembly may advise the President or Secretary of such fact. Thereafter, if such minutes are not existing, are missing or have not been ratified, any resolution therein shall be null and void until ratified by resolution of the Executive Board or Lifeguard Assembly, as the case may be.

Section 3

The failure to properly record or safeguard Union records shall be considered a serious breach of responsibility.

PLEASE READ SECTION 3 TWICE


No one ever had an answer to these violations that I pointed out, becuase there is no answer except that people have blatant disreguard for the rules except when the rules favor themselves or their cronies.

This is an election season. People are fed up. Things WILL change.


All text in bold is my intellectual property. Constitution verbatim is in plain text.

More standards and rules never followed: A follow-up to my previous post about constitutional violations.
Section 4- General Membership Meetings

The Executive Board shall arrange for a General Membership meeting prior to July 1 for contract ratification and discussion of Union issues. The time, date, place, and agenda of such meeting shall be distributed to shop stewards one (1) week before the meeting.

I have heard of one membership meeting since I started working. I wonder how many peope actually have read the constitution we are supposed to follow. I think many "in charge" read it, because it was hidden from the general membership for so long. Like I have said before, why wasn't this document made available in plain sight in the workplace. Because people would understand all the under the table illegalities that were going on. That's why.

If the constitution is to be "updated", the rules are as follows (amendments):

ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS

Section 1
An amendment to the Constitution may be proposed when no less than five percent (5%) of the active members shall petition the Lifeguard Assembly.
Section 2
Not later than fourteen (14) days after the receipt of said valid petition, the assembly shall have published such proposed and delivered such to every member individually or through the Shop Stewards. The Lifeguard Assembly shall determine the validity of the signatures.
Section 3
A vote shall be then taken on such proposed and published amendment not less than fourteen (14) but no more than twenty-one (21) days after such publication.
Section 4
The Executive Board shall supervise such vote.
Section 5
If a majority of the votes cast on said proposed amendment are for adoption of such proposal, then the proposed amendment shall immediately be deemed a valid amendment to the Constitution.

We have seen this exectued properly for such amendments as the change of LG preseason staffing to benefit the LGs with most seniority, and not let officers get first chance at preseason staffing reguardless of seniority. We have also seen blatant disreguard for the amendment rules as well. How many times have we heard "past practice". Past practice is another way of saying "Forget the general concensus of the membership, conceal the rules, and invoke what is best for my own and my cronies' intrests. In no part of this constitution does any board member bear any type of executive descision, except clearly stated out-of-season stipulations. In which case, specific procedures are to be followed verbatim when the new season commences.

If there are to be numerous updates, a large amount of work is required. A group of volunteers has stepped up to the plate as to respond to the situation of unrest among the general membership. A TRUE THANKS TO THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING OUT FOR THE MEMBERS. Thanks to those who put the constitution into the open where it should be for all to read and study. Now everyone will see how things are supposed to be. Now even the younger generations will have hard facts to make sense of the political banter that they have been strongarmed to avoid for years. The cat is out of the bag, so to say. All we heard at the membership meeting this summer was communication, communication. Well no one came down to my beach to communicate anything. But don't worry! Everything is "in the works" or "we're working on it". After elections this season, everyone will be held accountable for their actions, because the rules are stated in plain english for all to see. No more hidden agendas and secretive negotiatioins. The reporting and communication procedures between the board, shop stewards, and general membership are clearly and concisely described in the constitution. Unfortunately no one ever knew that because the constitution was not readily available to the general membership. "Past Practice" deemed the rules obsolete. Well, the bubble is bursting, and much to the demise of the totalitarians, it looks like "future practice" will be following the rules. What a concept!!!
YOU WILL REALLY LIKE THESE EVERYONE:

ARTICLE IV - POWERS OF THE LIFEGUARD ASSEMBLY

Section 1
The Lifeguard Assembly shall approve the budget, set the dues for the Local, act on reports of committees, approve resolutions and policy statements and effect disbursements of funds during the working season.
Section 2
The Assembly may adopt such rules governing the employment of lifeguards, the conduct of the Local, and the conduct of the meetings as are consistent with the Constitution and By-Laws.
Section 3
Powers not delegated to the Executive Board, the officers or other groups in the Local shall be vested in the Lifeguard Assembly.

Now we are getting somewhere! How many people had knowledge of the fact that there was an article specifically outlining the Powers of the Lifeguard Assembly? This only reinforces my point about the hidden and secretive nature of our constitution. Examine Section 3. Any powers that are not specifically assigned to members of the EB , fall under the jurisdiction of the GENERAL LIFEGUARD ASSEMBLY. The EB wouldn't want anyone to know that! Now examine Section 1. The Lifeguard assembly shall APPROVE THE BUDGET. Until this fall, no one even saw a budget for about half a decade! How could the membership have approved something that never existed. The more I read this document, the more I realize that the general membership was designed to have a large part of the power in the JBLC which is similar to the USA. Unfortunately, Soviet Russia comes to mind when I think of the current scheme of "beach politics".


THE FOLLOWING IS A PROPOSED AMENDMENT WRITTEN BY ME AND IS NOT CONTAINED IN THE CONSTITUION:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I believe that the First Amendment for 2007 season should read:

ARTICLE V - Executive Board

Section 3

(3) All members of the Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps shall have access to this constitution and all related materials pertinent to the integrity of the Local including, but not limited to negotiating status with LISPRC, minutes of Shop Steward and Executive Board meetings, budgets, and annual reports. This information must be posted in plain sight in the workplace within each individual facility. It shall be the responsibility of the Executive Board to make public these documents via the Shop Steward of each facility. In the event that no Shop Steward exists or is available, the Executive Board is responsible for the disclosure of such documentation directly to the specific facility.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some will be unhappy with what I have exposed. Those who will be unhappy will have guilty consciences also. Remeber, no one really can disagree with these violations. In fact no one has even been able to disagree, because they never had a clue if any illegalities ever existed. I'll say it one last time. THE CONSTITUTION WAS NEVER MADE READILY AVAILABLE IN THE WORKPLACE FOR ALL TO SEE. Some of you who will label me a rable-rouser (spelling, who knows), and that I offer no solutions, so here is my comprehensive "5 Point Solution" just like Wilson had 14 Points.

#1 Follow the Rules as they are written.
#2 Follow the Rules as they are written.
#3 Follow the Rules as they are written.
#4 Follow the Rules as they are written.
# 5 Follow the Rules as they are written.

Any questions???????????????????????????????????
Last edited by Guest on Mon Dec 25, 2006 1:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 3:07 am
Guest
Just to clarify - none of my descriptions of the violations include any names or personal attacks. I also give credit to those people who do the right thing day in and day out. Being an elected member of the board is a thankless job. It is not easy. I want truth and proper procedure, that's all. No one should get all fired up with personal attacks. We see way too much of this already. Dialogue and discussion is far more valuable than the white trash Jerry Springer banter that we see among the lifeguards. We all save the same drowning fools who ask questions like, "Is that the ocean?". Then they drown in it until we save them. People should be able to disagree and argue constructively, and then they should go have dinner or a beer afterwards. Ultimately, we are all on the same team. Let's find a way to discuss and build our future. We need to build and strengthen relationships among ourselves, management, and the public. There is no Fortune 500 company in the world that doesn't try to build and grow everyday. I will end with a quote that is applicable to anything in life:

There is no such thing as staying the same in life. You are either improving or you are regressing. - Tony Robbins, multi-millionaire Last edited by Guest on Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:45 am
Guest
Matt

Thanks for your postings. At the last shop stewards meeting we voted to keep the constitution as posted with no affiliations as the guidline for the Executive Board. We have put together a committe to make any adjustments to the constitution and you are more then welcome to come aboard. My email is mad090@aol.com. Feel free to contact me.

I suggest you also speak to your shop steward ( Jimmy Rooney) and your JB Trustee ( Carey Epstein) They both should make themselves available to you and your questions.

I understand your frustration from the lack of communication or answers. I can ony hope the Executive Board decides to change their methods and work with us.

Mark Davy
Page 1 of 1 [ 3 posts ] Post new topic Post new topic   Reply to topic Reply to topic

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum
Jump to:  
Display posts from previous: Sort by
cron

Powered by phpBB © 2002, 2006 phpBB Group
All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]
subMerged by redhair