The APC Statewide Council shapes our union through the decisions they make, including:
- Voting on motions for specific issues
- Priorities and Goals to move our union forward
- Partnerships with other unions
- Supporting legislation that directly affects member working conditions
Who Makes Up the Council?
Every member has the ability to elect campus stewards who will represent their interests at Council. Campus stewards are volunteers. Some campuses have more than one steward with various responsibilities. Any campus that has not elected stewards is represented by the APC Vice President but will not vote at Council.
Responsibility of the Council
The responsibility of the Council can be found in our Constitution as it outlines the mission of APC and what the Council does on behalf of the union.
Council holds a minimum of two meetings a year as dictated by the constitution. These are business meetings, and traditionally we’ve been holding three meetings a year.
Due to Covid restrictions, Council has been meeting online through the Zoom app, which has proven to be successful. When APC returns to in person, we’ll be meeting twice in Southern California and once in Northern California.
So, what happens at a Council meeting?
Again, the Council meeting is where we conduct the union’s business. A quorum is required for any Council actions of at least 50% plus one of the represented campuses and does not include the Executive Board.
The Executive Board is a part of Council, but the delegates from the campuses make the decisions. The Agenda for Council meetings is put together initially as a draft by the Executive Board, and then the Board calls out for additional agenda items from the Council members.
Up until and including the first day of Council meeting, any steward can request to have items added to the agenda.
Examples of Business that Take Place at Council
The Council decides on Bargaining priorities, and the members of the Bargaining team are elected from within the Council representatives before each bargaining cycle. Time is set aside during each meeting to discuss statewide issues and individual campus issues. In addition, campus stewards bring forth contract enforcement actions on their campus and discuss solutions and needed actions.
Members of the Council sit on various committees and report back to Council needed actions. Committees include; Organizing, Education, External Relations, Communications, and Policy. In addition, Ad Hoc committees are formed as needed, such as Elections and the Selection Committees.
One of the most important business items is hiring APC staff either in the Labor Relations role or in the office staff role. Members of the Selection committee make recommendations to the Executive Board, who then make their recommendations to Council. In keeping with the APC Constitution, it is Council that actually approves a candidate. Without that approval from your elected representatives, the Executive Board or the President cannot hire. Council assumes the responsibility for hiring staff to do the work of the union.
Council is responsible for the approval of the annual budget. This can be a difficult task, and your representatives must decide on allocations based on the overall mission of APC. The dues rebate approved by Council last year resulted from the Council allocating unspent funds due to both Covid and a reduction in staff. The Council approved returning to members a portion of their dues they had paid for the year.
Council also approves policies and procedures integral to the business end of the union and benefits to members, such as the recently approved Death Benefit for active members.
APC is a member-run organization. The members of APC direct and shape the union through their elected stewards, who make up the body of the Statewide Council.
There is no financial incentive for this important work. The stewards are dedicated volunteers. They take on this role because they want to ensure that APC members are treated right by the campus administration. And that collectively, the decisions the Council makes, on the members’ behalf, are based on the needs and interests of APC members. Your elected stewards ensure that the union operates with integrity and that decisions are made in the union’s best interest as a whole.