Real Utopia Bylaws

5) Procedures and Purview of the Members Council

 

5.1) Calling Council Meetings 

Members Council meetings are convened regularly every two weeks. Members Council may decide to hold additional meetings or to move the time of the regular meeting; however, it should still be held regularly at least once monthly. 

Invitations with necessary information (e.g. links) for joining the meeting must be forwarded by Google Groups email to all members prior to the meeting. 

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5.2) Procedures and Meeting Etiquette 

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Members Council meetings have a chair and minute-taker. The chair and minute-taker for every meeting are decided at the previous meeting. If the chosen chair and minute taker are not present at the meeting, a chair and minute-taker can be chosen from among the members present.

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Agenda is compiled from agenda items decided at the previous meeting and agenda items proposed at the start of the meeting. Every agenda item proposed is added to the agenda. If there are objections to some proposed agenda items, the issue is resolved by a vote. 

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Overarching Structure of Each Meeting Agenda: 

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1. Approve last meeting’s minutes 

2. Agenda review and approval 

3. Brief announcements and communications 

4. Old business 

1. Updates on current projects and tasks 

1. Proposals (i.e. motions) are carried out as stated in section 5.4 

5. New business 

1. Discussion of new projects and tasks 

1. Proposals (i.e. motions) are carried out as stated in section 5.4 

6. Choose recording secretary and chair for next meeting 

7. Well-being Check: A time for RU members to share their personal struggles and inquire into mutual aid services RU could provide to them 

 

The Members Council can bring decisions when there are 10%, rounded down, of the members present. Each member has one vote at the meeting. Members may not empower other members (i.e. proxies) to cast votes for them. 

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Members present at the meeting vote by a public vote where each member indicates whether they support or oppose the decision.

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Absent a unanimous decision the Members Council reaches decisions with a simple majority of the votes present. 

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Absent a unanimous decision the Members Council needs a ¾ majority of the votes present when deciding on: 

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• amending the bylaws; 

• establishing new topical teams or closing them;

• establishing local chapters or closing them; 

• adopting organisation-wide policies; 

• recognising affiliate organisations. 

 

When agenda items requiring a ¾ majority are passed they are published on a suitable online platform that all members have access to. Every member must be notified over email that such an agenda item is awaiting votes. For one week from the time that members have been informed of the issue, every member must be given an option to vote against the decision by email. If more than 5% of total members cast a negative vote the vote on the issue has to be repeated at the next meeting and all members must be informed of the agenda item in question. Before a repeated vote dissenting members must be given a space to voice their concerns in person or in writing. If given in writing when the member is unable to attend the meeting, their arguments are read aloud and discussed. Such a meeting is recorded and the recording is published in an accessible location for at least a month. 

The result of the repeated vote is final. 

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The Members Council may establish regular decision-making processes for the sake of facilitating the everyday business of the Real Utopia network. Those decision-making processes must abide by these principles regardless of the particulars, including the use of particular forms of technology, etc. 

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MOTIONS AND DECISIONS DISSECTED 

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Main Motions 

A motion (also called a proposal) can be made by any member at any time, having been recognised by the chair. Any time there isn’t already a motion on the floor, that is. If there’s a motion on the floor, that motion must be dealt with before another motion can be made. Exceptions are a motion to table (i.e. postpone) or the suggestion of an amendment. Once a motion is on the floor, anything that doesn’t pertain directly to that motion is out of order. Members make motions by stating, “I move to...” 

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Seconding: The chair says: “Is there a second?” If nobody seconds it then that’s that. If one more person wants it to pass, they second it. If the motion is seconded, it is repeated by the chair, to establish the exact wording. The maker of the motion either agrees to the wording or corrects it. The secretary (i.e. minute-taker) records the motion and reads it back. When it has been read back, in exact wording, from the minutes, the chair calls for discussion. 

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Discussion: The chair states that the seconded motion is to now be discussed. The format for discussion is flexible but should be facilitated by the chair.

 

Amendments: For every decision an attempt is made to achieve unanimity by modifying the original proposal in a way that it would be agreeable to everyone. If unanimity is not able to be reached, the issue is resolved through a vote. This attempt at unanimity is done in the following way: 

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A member may offer a friendly amendment during discussion. It should be stated in exact wording. The chair asks the maker if she accepts that amendment. If not, discussion continues on the original motion. If the maker accepts the amendment, it is repeated by the chair, agreed upon, recorded and read back from the minutes. Then the discussion continues on the amended motion, which becomes the motion on the floor. If the maker does not accept the amendment, it is considered unfriendly and the original motion has to be voted on before another motion, even an amended version of the previous, can be made. 

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Call The Question When it seems the question is clarified, adequately discussed, the chair or any member can call the question, call for a vote. Calling the question is a procedural motion (see below). The vote is taken, counted and recorded in the minutes. 

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Procedural Points and Motions Points of procedure and procedural motions speak to the process of the meeting. They are in order at any time and must be dealt with right away, before going on with the meeting. 

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Procedural Motions

A procedural motion must be seconded and voted on by the group. This should be done quickly, so as not to distract from the main business at hand: 

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• to table (i.e. postpone, including when it is to be dealt with); 

• to refer (to committee or wherever); 

• to adjourn;

• to recess (take a break); 

• to overrule the chair; 

• to replace the chair; 

• to call the question (call for a vote); 

• to censure (the group tells an individual member that their behavior in the meeting is unacceptable and will not be tolerated); 

• to expel (must be preceded by a motion to censure, except in case of immediate danger. This motion expels the individual from the meeting, not the organisation); 

• to call for a straw poll (this is a non-binding vote, to assess the feeling of the group); 

• to call for the decision to be made through a submitted proposal. o This creates a situation where members can vote on a decision where multiple proposal choices are available. 

 

If passed, all members have until the next Members Council meeting to come up with their proposals. Their finalised proposals appear in a common place that all members have access to (details to be decided by the Members Council). 

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After this meeting, in which all proposals are in, members have until the next meeting to cast their votes. 

The Members Council must choose a facilitator to create and monitor the shared medium where finalised proposals are placed, and to tally votes.

 

If there are two proposals, a simple plurality vote is used, where each member chooses one or the other.

 

If there are three or more options, the possibility of an option being chosen that the majority doesn’t support can be avoided by using a cardinal voting system: each member gives each proposal a score out of 5, with the highest combined score winning. 

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Points of Procedure, Order and Privilege

The maker raises their hand and speaks out: "Point of Procedure" (or "Point of Order"). The chair must recognize the member immediately. The chair may rule on a point of procedure. The ruling of the chair may be challenged by a member and put to a vote. 

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Other Important Points

If a Members Council decision is found to be inconsistent with the bylaws the decision is null and void. Nullification of the decision must be noted in the next convening of the Members Council. 

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The Members Council shall be governed by these rules of order save for where these are overridden or amended by RU bylaws or resolutions. 

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When formulating a proposal for a vote the chair should make certain that two nonconflicting options are not rolled into a single vote in a way where only one can be chosen. The chair should protect diversity of outcomes by allowing all action or activity proposals to be voted on separately. 

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5.4) Minutes of Council Meetings 

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Every Members Council meeting must have minutes. 

Data to be Recorded: 

• Date of meeting; 

• Names of members present; 

• Name of chair and minute-taker; 

• Record of whether the last meeting’s minutes were approved or amended; • Record of whether the agenda was approved; 

• Summary of the discussion in as detailed a way as necessary to capture the essence of what was said and by whom (ensuring that the results of any votes are recorded, including any vote tallies); 

• Next meeting date and time; 

• Next meeting’s chair and minute-taker; 

• The time at which the meeting was adjourned.