DEFINITIONS
The terms “UBC”, “the AMS” “ the Co-op” and “the Board” shall be interpreted according to their relevant sections in the Constitution.
Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall hereafter be referred to as “Robert’s Rules”
Approval Vote is a single-winner electoral system where each voter may select ("approve") any number of candidates. The winner is the most-approved candidate.
A two-thirds (2/3) majority of the attendees of a meeting (unrelated to quorum) shall hereafter be referred to as an “Attending Majority”
BYLAWS
BYLAW 1: PROCEDURE OF GENERAL MEETINGS
1.1 A record of attendance must be signed by each member attending a general meeting. This record should indicate if the member is an Active Member or not.
1.2 All general meetings must be chaired by the President, or by a consenting delegate named in the General Meeting announcement. The Vice-President will chair if the President is unable to do the above.
1.3 All procedural matters shall be governed by Robert’s Rules, or rules which allow for a similar level of respectful and orderly dialogue and that are outlined and agreed upon by an Attending Majority. Failing agreement, Robert’s Rules will be used, in alignment with Bylaw 8.
BYLAW 2: PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION OF THE BOARD
2.1 The opportunity for election of Leadership and Committee Chair Positions on the Board must take place at either the Spring AGM or the Fall GM.
2.2 The election shall be conducted by the Election Officer; to be nominated by the chair at the start of the election meeting. By convention, the chair will usually nominate a Bike Kitchen staff member to fulfill this role. An attending majority must consent for the meeting to continue.
2.3 The nominated candidate for Election Officer shall be formally accepted by a resolution of the members present at the General Meeting. If the candidate is rejected the chair shall have the authority to nominate an alternative candidate with input from the Board.
2.4 Voting shall take place using the online survey tool called ‘Qualtrics’. Unless a motion is heard to change the voting procedure, the Election Officer shall outline the following process:
2.4.1 The Election Officer shall be made aware of all eligible voters of the meeting (Active Members of the AMS)
2.4.2 Members can only become candidates through submitting an application during the ‘Nomination Process’ which will open 15 days before the AGM and close 24 hours before the AGM. The nomination form will be circulated at least 15 days before the AGM.
2.4.3 No candidates can nominate themselves during AGM, unless there aren’t at least 7 candidates (4 of which are students) who have submitted an application during the nomination process.
2.4.3 The election shall take place in two rounds:
2.4.3.1 The first round will consist of roles for ‘Leadership’ Positions (i.e. President, Vice-President & Treasurer) where only one candidate can be selected for each role. For the President position, only Active members with prior involvement on the board are eligible to run (Section 4.7.g of the AMS Operations Committee Policy Manual)
2.4.3.2 Candidates not selected for one of these roles can run again as a ‘General Committee Chair’ if they wish.
2.4.3.3 The second round consists of selecting four ‘General Committee Chair’ roles. Members will be able to vote for four ‘General Committee Chair’ candidates. The candidates with the top four most votes will be given a position. If no student ranks in the top four candidates, the top voted student among the General Committee candidates will be given a position.
2.4.4 Tied approvals for a Leadership Position will be re-voted after a chance for the candidates to speak briefly, and repeated until a single candidate is accepted
2.5 The Election Officer shall outline the nominees for each of the seven Board Member Positions, starting with the three Leadership Positions. Subsequently, the voting procedure outlined in Bylaw 2.4 is carried out.
2.6 The new Board Members shall assume office at the second Board Meeting after the election.
BYLAW 3: ELIGIBILITY OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
3.1 As per article 6.1 of the Constitution, only Active Members of the AMS shall be eligible to hold Leadership Positions.
3.2 A Board member may be removed from office by way of a resolution supported by an attending majority at a General Meeting.
3.3 A Board member who has been absent without regret for 3 consecutive Board Meetings will be removed from office by way of a resolution supported unanimously by the Board at a Board Meeting.
BYLAW 4: BOARD MEMBER DUTIES & PRIVILEGES
4.1 The Board of the Co-op is composed of three (3) Leadership Positions (President, Vice-President and Treasurer) and four (4) Committee Chair Positions. Leadership Positions must be held by Active Members of the AMS and at least one of the Committee Chair Positions must be held by an Active Member of the AMS.
4.2 The President shall:
4.2.1 act as a liaison to the AMS wherein the Programs Manager is unable (e.g. student-only tasks),
4.2.2 call and chair General Meetings as required by Bylaw 1,
4.2.3 ensure the organization has direction and vision,
4.2.4 call and chair other meetings, and
4.2.5 Ensure that the Constitution and Bylaws are adhered to.
4.2.6 The President may cast a tie-breaking vote at General Meetings and Board meetings on non-election related matters
4.3 The Vice-President shall:
4.3.1 assist the President with all their duties and responsibilities,
4.3.2 fill the presidential role in the event that the president is not present, and
4.3.3 fulfill or delegate the role of “Human Resources” for the membership, to ensure that the Programs and Shop Manager receive direction and review from the Board, as is reasonable for a volunteer position.
4.4 The Treasurer shall:
4.4.1 act as liaison to the AMS on finance issues that are not received by the Programs Manager, such as budgets and inventories,
4.4.2 assist the Programs Manager in managing the finances of the Co-op, including the crossing of finances between the Co-op and the Bike Kitchen,
4.4.3 ensure the regular occurrence of meetings that promote financial transparency within the Board, and
4.4.4 ensure the General Meetings contain information on the state of the organization’s finances
4.5 Each Committee Chair Position shall:
4.5.1 regularly attend Board meetings
4.5.2 send notice when unable to attend Board meetings
4.5.3 ensure that the work of the Committees is being executed, and fulfill other incidental duties assigned by the Leadership Positions
4.5.4 Chair at least one Committee and give a review of their work to a Member of the Board that holds a Leadership Position or Manager each term.
4.6 In the event of a vacancy in a Leadership Position, the duties of that Board Member may either be subsumed into one of the other positions, or the Board may appoint a Committee Chair to that position in accordance with Article 11.5 of the Constitution.
4.7 Each member of the Board shall be entitled to certain privileges.
4.7.1 One (1) month after joining the Board, the member shall have access to the workshop, as long as such use does not interfere with the operations of the Bike Kitchen or any other Program or event.
4.7.2 Three (3) months after joining, Board Members shall be entitled to purchase new parts at 110% of the cost at the Bike Kitchen. This shall be restricted to their own personal use and not to purchase on behalf of friends or family members.
4.7.3 Three (3) months after joining, Board Members may request codes for out-of-hours access to the workshop.
4.7.4 The Board may suspend these privileges by way of a resolution supported unanimously by the Board in attendance at a Board meeting, excluding the member in question, in the case that a member is not fulfilling their duties and responsibilities, is abusing their privileges, or otherwise acting against the interests of the Co-op. In the timespan between Board meetings, the Programs or the Shop Manager may also suspend privileges, and must report this at the next Board meeting.
BYLAW 5: COMMITTEES
5.1 Committees are working groups that add value to the mission of the Co-op and/or contribute to its effective and efficient operations. Committees with an advocacy and a social justice ethos should always exist.
5.2 Employees of the Co-op or Bike Kitchen may also participate in Committees.
5.3 Other Committees may be defined, left vacant, or retired as per the interests and energy of the Board. It is the responsibility of the President to ensure that the meeting following a General Meeting contains Committee assignments and review as an agenda item.
BYLAW 6: PROGRAMS
6.1 Each Program of the Co-op must be described in a Policy Document.
6.2 Policy Documents shall contain:
6.2.1 The full name of the Program
6.2.2 A brief description of the Program (or a link to relevant information on the website)
6.2.3 The goals of the Program
6.2.4 The way in which the goals shall be achieved
6.2.5 A description of typical activities, including special events over a suitable timescale
6.2.6 A means in which a budget of expenditures and revenues may be tracked/obtained
6.2.7 A description of criteria for evaluating the success or failure of the Program
6.2.8 Any other relevant information about the operation of the Program
6.3 It is the responsibility of the Programs Manager to facilitate the creation of new Programs.
6.3.1 A new Program is created when all of the following are complete:
6.3.1.1 A complete and final proposal including a Policy Document has been presented at a Board meeting
6.3.1.2 The proposal has been reviewed and approved by the Board
6.3.1.3 The Programs staff have capacity to aid in the running of, or fully run, the Program.
6.4 It is the responsibility of the Programs Manager to ensure the continuing evaluation of Programs
6.4.1 Program shall, from time to time, be evaluated according to the Policy document as required by Bylaw 6.1
6.4.2 Programs failing their evaluation criteria or failing to comply with their Policy shall be considered halted. This halt shall endure until a solution can be found by one of two methods:
6.4.2.1 altering the operation of the Program within the confines of the Policy, which can be done without intervention from the Board, or
6.4.2.2 altering the Policy to conform to the reality of the operation of the Program, which must be done by the Board as per Bylaw 12.
BYLAW 7: PROCEDURE OF MEETINGS
7.1 All meetings shall remain unstructured but civil, with participants making every effort to allow others to speak, while still allowing the meeting to progress in an efficient manner.
7.2 Decisions at meetings will be made upon reaching a consensus, and where no consensus is possible, by majority rule.
7.3 Any issues which cannot be resolved under the previous two sections shall be discussed at a meeting governed by Robert’s Rules.
7.4 Any further discrepancies shall be decided by the AMS Student Council, which is the final authority.
BYLAW 8: MEMBERSHIP FEES
8.1 Fees shall be refundable as outlined in AMS Bylaw 14.5.
8.2 The Board may amend the fees at the first Board meeting of the winter session, but the amendment shall not be valid unless passed by the AMS.
8.3 If amendment is desired, the amount of membership fees shall be recommended by the Board to the membership and voted on at General Meetings by the membership.
8.4 Associate and Honorary membership fees shall be priced in accordance with Article 5 of the Constitution.
BYLAW 9: BUDGET
9.1 In accordance with the AMS Bylaw 11(1), an annual budget of proposed expenditures and expected revenues shall be submitted to the AMS Vice President Finance along with the budget each year by June 30th.
BYLAW 10: INTERPRETATION
10.1 Nothing in these bylaws shall be interpreted in a manner contradictory to the AMS Constitution, Code, rules, regulations or policies enacted from time to time by the Alma Mater Society.
10.2 If members deem that the elected Board have acted outside the bounds of the constitution, they shall either (after having made reasonable effort to communicate with the Board and staff):
10.2.1 report the infraction to a suitable AMS member, or propose an amendment to the Constitution clarifying the issue.
BYLAW 11: MEMBERSHIP REVOCATION
11.1 Members who act in a manner that is contrary to the purpose of the organization defined in Article 2 of the constitution, the Safe Spaces Policy, or behave in a manner which is otherwise threatening will lose membership in the Co-op.
11.2 Reinstatement will occur only with special permission of the Board.
BYLAW 12: POLICY DOCUMENTS
12.1 The Co-op shall maintain Policy Documents corollary to the Constitution and Bylaws. The contents of the Policy documents shall be:
12.1.1 Program and Committee definitions
12.1.2 Descriptions and operating procedures for both regular and special events
12.1.3 Official position statements of the Co-op and Bike Kitchen
12.1.4 Agreements made with other organizations
12.2 These Policy Documents are to be visible in a space that the Board and staff can view. Policy Documents for a specific Program are the responsibility of the Committee. The overall responsibility of ensuring the Policy Documents are up-to-date falls upon the Programs Manager and the President. If there are procedures that involve the Bike Kitchen, the Kitchen Representative is responsible for keeping those up-to-date.
12.3 The Programs Manager or a Member of the Board is responsible for providing any Policy Document should an individual of the general membership wish to read it.
BYLAW 13: BYLAW AMENDMENTS
13.1 All amendments to these Bylaws must be passed by an attending majority at a meeting where the quorum is fulfilled. This may be at a General Meeting, or at a meeting of the Board, where quorum is counted against all Board members - present or not.
13.2 An amendment may be proposed by resolution at a meeting of the Board. The minutes of the meeting must be signed by those attending the meeting in which the amendment is fulfilled. The amendment may not be passed at the same meeting as it is proposed, and can only be voted on at the next Board or General Meeting.
13.3 An amendment may be proposed if it is presented by a signed petition representing ten percent (10%) of the non-Board membership. The petition must contain the exact, complete Bylaws which are to be passed.
13.4 All amendments to the Bylaws must be included in the information presented to the membership at the next General Meeting after they are passed.