Bylaws of San Francisco Chapter of Pride at Work, AFL-CIO (SFPAW) / Horizontal Alliance of Very Organized Queers (HAVOQ). 

Drafted 2009.  Adopted 2011.

Article I. A.K.A.

The name of this organization shall be San Francisco Chapter of Pride at Work, AFL-CIO (SFPAW) / Horizontal Alliance of Very Organized Queers (HAVOQ).

Article II. Purpose: National, Chapter

The purpose of Pride at Work National shall be to promote a better awareness in the LGBT community of one’s role as a worker.  PAW also seeks to educate trade unions about the concerns of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered men and women, queer and questioning members of the community.

The purpose of San Francisco Pride at Work/HAVOQ is to lift up LGBTQ voices and strategies in the fight for social and economic justice.  We mobilize mutual support between our many communities– including the organized Labor Movement, low-wage workers, tenants, youth, immigrants, and the broader LGBTQ Community.

Article III. Membership

Membership in SFPAW/HAVOQ shall be open to all persons who share a belief in the purpose of the organization. Dues may be assessed as deemed appropriate by the membership, but paying dues shall not be a requirement to be a member of SFPAW/HAVOQ. As a chapter of National PAW, we send $10 of dues from each dues paying member to the National PAW.

New members must attend 3 meetings (general or work group) in one year to participate in final consensus, and member must have come to at least 1 meeting in the last year. If a member has not attended a meeting in more than a year, they must attend 3 meetings in order to participate in final consensus (just as if they were a new member.)

Article IV. Health & Wellness Board

PAW has a Health & Wellness Board that serves as a structural support body comprised of positions with specific tasks designed to ensure the survival and health of organization. Participation in the Health & Wellness Board is not based on identifying those with more power in the group, but delineating responsibilities necessary for the health of our organization.  We attempt to change who is in these positions each year so we all learn the skills necessary to sustain our work, but also so that we take turns doing structural support work.

 The Health & Wellness board meets once every 6 months at regularly scheduled general meeting.  Board members are elected every year by using our consensus process described in Article VIII.

 Positions

The Health & Wellness officers of SFPAW/HAVOQ shall be determined by the present needs of the organization, and will include at minimum:

 SF Labor Council Delegate- goes to labor council meetings, keeps larger labor community up to date about our actions and updates SFPAW about Labor Council activities.

 Treasurer – does financial record keeping and creates semi-annual financial reports.

 National PAW Executive Board Representatives – manages information flow between chapter and national, at least one makes sure dues get sent to national by treasurer in June and that we get information back from national.

 Current positions will be posted in the office and the SFPAW/HAVOQ website.

Other/General duties of the Health & Wellness Board

 Secretarial duties at Health & Wellness Board meetings rotate among board members. If needed, an ad-hoc personnel committee (in case of new hires, etc) shall be made up of at least 3 Board Members.

Election of Officers

Officers shall serve for one year terms.  They shall be elected annually, at the general meeting after nominations are made. More than one person can serve in the same official role. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies upon one month’s notice to the membership.

Obligation of Officers

Before entering upon the duties each officer-elect shall assume the following obligation: “I, (give name), promise to faithfully perform all the duties of the office to which I have been elected to the best of my ability, and to uphold the By-laws of the San Francisco Chapter of Pride at Work, AFL-CIO. I will not knowingly wrong a member or see a member wronged if it is in my power to prevent it.”

An elected officer may be removed by the membership using our consensus process, described in Article VIII.

Article V. General Meetings

General meetings of SFPAW/HAVOQ shall be held monthly.  At each meeting, a note-taker will be chosen to email notes with action items/decisions to the email discussion list within 1 or 2 days of the meeting.

The purpose of the general meetings is to update the members about what’s going on in each working group, provide time and space for larger strategy discussions, share information about events, and make decisions for the chapter at large including amendments to these bylaws.

Article VI. Working Groups

New working groups or projects, can be initiated if 2 members of SFPAW/HAVOQ want to take on bottom-lining the work, if a proposal for the new working group is presented at a general meeting, and if no member BLOCKS the proposed project and/or group.

Article VII. Amendments

These By-laws may be amended by the membership using our consensus process, described below.

Article VIII. Decision-Making Process

Unless otherwise provided for, SFPAW/HAVOQ will run by modified consensus process as outlined below.

At general meetings, we will use a less formal consensus process (talk about idea, make room for concerns, clearly state decisions, check to make sure everyone is in agreement with them). If a decision is difficult, a more formal consensus process is the standard fallback for facilitators.  This looks like: discussion; proposals; concerns; reframing of proposals; asking for stand asides, blocks, yeses; assessment of whether we’ve achieved consensus.

In rare circumstances, when there is a BLOCK but the majority of the group feels STRONGLY in moving ahead with decision, a vote of 60% triggers “Plan B” process.  This allows for the decision to be made at the next meeting, where it can pass by 3/4 (75%) vote.