Motions

[Guest Ryan Wiersema]

Does the President of a Local Union have to ask for a second on a motion or does he/she even have to act on the motion at all? If the President does not act on a motion then he/she could dictate what gets passed and what does not. If a President refuses to act on a Motion then could he be held liable or have charges filed against him/her?

[Tim Wynn]

Does the President of a Local Union have to ask for a second on a motion or does he/she even have to act on the motion at all? If the President does not act on a motion then he/she could dictate what gets passed and what does not. If a President refuses to act on a Motion then could he be held liable or have charges filed against him/her?

A member can call out a second without being recognized by the chair, so the chair need not call for it.

The chair MUST state any valid motion that is made and seconded. If he does not, he is negligent in his duties.

Questions about legal liability should be addressed to an attorney.

[Trina]

Assuming the President is the chair at a meeting, the chair's job is primarily to facilitate business. The chair certainly doesn't have authority to decide which motions come before the assembly, and which don't. If this is an assembly where seconds are required, the chair could certainly look around and ask if there is a second, if one isn't immediately forthcoming. Again, such a query would be made to facilitate business, not to offer a personal opinion.

What do you mean: "If a President refuses to act on a Motion"?? How did the President go about doing this, and what reasons were given?

[Burke Balch]

With respect to remedies for abuse of authority by the chair in a meeting, including failure to state a motion properly moved and seconded, be sure to read RONR (11th ed.), pp. 650-53.

[Guest Glenn C]

Can a motion that was made at one meeting and tabled to the next meeting (Dues increase) for discussion be amended at the second meeting?

[Shmuel Gerber]

Can a motion that was made at one meeting and tabled to the next meeting (Dues increase) for discussion be amended at the second meeting?

Your question raises a number of issues:

1) Technically, a motion cannot be "tabled to the next meeting", but it can be postponed to the next meeting (within certain time limits).

2) Whenever a motion is pending -- whether at the same meeting at which it was made, or at another meeting to which it was postponed -- it is generally open to amendment before being voted on.

3) A dues increase often (depending on the bylaws) requires an amendment to the bylaws, or perhaps some other motion, that involves giving previous notice of the amount of the increase. The exact requirements in the bylaws (either for amending the bylaws or for increasing the dues) would have to be followed.

If notice is required, no amendment can be made that would increase the amount of the increase, but an amendment can be made that would decrease the amount of the increase.

(By the way, in the future, please start a new topic instead of tacking your question onto someone else's topic.)

[Guest Jim Osherhoski]

If a motion is passed at one meeting and then there is a motion at a later meeting to reverse the orginal vote, who votes on the new motion?

[David A Foulkes]

If a motion is passed at one meeting and then there is a motion at a later meeting to reverse the orginal vote, who votes on the new motion?

I may be jumping to conclusions here, but I suspect you think a member not at the previous meeting cannot vote at the later meeting, which is not the case. The members present at the (later) meeting may vote. If there's more to your question, or I've jumped in the wrong direction, it would be best to continue this by starting your very own question, rather than piggybacking on this one.

[Guest Nancy N.]

piggybacking

It wasn't piggybacking, Jim found the discussion with the appropriate title.