- Name
- The name of this organization shall be The University of Texas at Austin Staff Council, hereafter referred to as UTSC.
- UTSC Constituents
- Constituents. UTSC constituents are UT Austin state benefits-eligible employees in job positions represented by UT Staff Council. These employees must be in eligible jobs for a total of 50% Full Time Equivalent (FTE). Students and tenured/tenure-track faculty are represented by their own Councils and therefore excluded from UTSC representation. Ineligible positions include 1) student positions, 2) faculty positions, 3) certain high-level positions, and 4) non-standard positions (e.g., temporary and seasonal).
- District Composition. UT Austin is divided into Districts by college, school, and unit and comprised of UT Austin employees who meet the UTSC constituent criteria. Each District has one UTSC Representative per approximately 100 constituents.
- District Review. District composition is formally reviewed in advance of the annual spring Representative election.
- Constituents. UTSC constituents are UT Austin state benefits-eligible employees in job positions represented by UT Staff Council. These employees must be in eligible jobs for a total of 50% Full Time Equivalent (FTE). Students and tenured/tenure-track faculty are represented by their own Councils and therefore excluded from UTSC representation. Ineligible positions include 1) student positions, 2) faculty positions, 3) certain high-level positions, and 4) non-standard positions (e.g., temporary and seasonal).
- Organization
- Definition of a Session. Session: A session of UTSC begins June 1 and ends May 31 of the next calendar year. Sessions are named sequentially by years, such as the 23-24 Session, 24-25 Session, and so forth.
- Representatives
- District Representative
- Term of Office. A full term for a District Representative shall be two Sessions. A partial term for a District Representative occurs when the seat for which the Representative is elected expires in less than two Sessions.
- District Seat Cycle. Every District Seat is designated with an expiration year based on the seat number. The day and time of expiration will always be understood as taking place at the end of the last General Meeting of the Session ending in the expiration year.
- Exception: Vacant seats will always be eligible for election in the upcoming annual election.
- Service Limit.
- Representatives cannot run for a District Seat after serving five consecutive Sessions. A Representative who has reached their service limit must wait a minimum of 12 months before running again for a District Seat.
- No Representative can serve more than 6 Sessions without waiting a minimum of 12 months before running for a District Seat.
- Exemption from Service Limit. If a District Seat vacancy exists after a call for nominations, a Representative who has reached their service limit may be nominated to run for an additional Session. Once this additional Session has been served, the Representative must wait a minimum of 12 months before running for a District Seat. This cannot exceed the 6-Session limit.
- Change in Employment
- If an elected Representative accepts a UT Austin position outside of their District to which they were elected or the Representative no longer meets the constituent criteria for UT Staff Council, they will be permitted to serve until the end of the current Session. A Representative who accepts a UT Austin position with a job title that is not represented by UTSC is able to complete their current Session of service.
- Upon the end of their employment at UT Austin, a Representative can no longer serve in UTSC and will inform the UTSC Parliamentarian.
- A Representative who is taking an extended absence will inform the UTSC Secretary.
- Vacancy. If a District Seat is vacant, an At-Large Representative will represent that District’s constituents.
- Removal. When warranted, UTSC can remove a Representative from their position. Removal requires two-thirds majority of the Executive Committee’s approval.
- At-Large Representative. At its discretion, the Executive Committee shall appoint At-Large Representatives to serve under-represented Districts.
- Term of Office. A term for an At-Large Representative shall be one Session.
- Service Limit. An At-Large Representative is eligible for reappointment, subject to the same limit as a District Representative.
- An At-Large Representative’s term will start immediately upon confirmation by the Executive Committee and concludes at the end of the current Session.
- Exception: UTSC Officer-elect without a District Seat. If a UTSC Officer-elect is not elected to a District Seat, they automatically assume an At-Large Representative Seat.
- District Representative
- UTSC Officers
- Titles
- UTSC Chair
- UTSC Vice-Chair
- UTSC Secretary
- UTSC Parliamentarian
- Term
- UTSC Officer-elect. UTSC Officer-elect begins their shadowing period after the votes from the election have been certified.
- The end of the current Session marks the end of the term for the incumbent UTSC Officer.
- Recall. When warranted, UTSC can remove a UTSC Officer from their position.
- Titles
- UTSC Program Coordinator. Provides institutional knowledge and organizational support to UTSC Officers, Committee Chairs, and committee members so that they are able to work efficiently and strategically to meet goals and priorities.
- UTSC General Meetings
- Meetings. Shall occur monthly.
- Quorum. Met when more than one-half of the current Representatives are in attendance
- Voting. Only current Representatives shall have the right to vote.
- UTSC Committees
- Standing Committees
- Creation and dissolution. An amendment of the Bylaws is required.
- Standing Committees
- Benefits
- Communication
- Engagement and Belonging
- Health and Wellness
- Issues and Research
- Professional Development
- Sustainability
- Ad Hoc Committees
- Creation and Dissolution. An Ad Hoc Committee will be appointed by the Executive Committee if a matter does not fit within the purview of a current Standing or Ad Hoc Committee. The duration will be determined by the matter under consideration and will be dissolved when its purpose has been served.
- UTSC Executive Committee
- Purpose. The Executive Committee is UTSC’s primary governing body.
- Composition. Shall consist of:
- Voting members. UTSC Officers and Committee Chairs
- Non-voting members. UTSC Officers-Elect, the UTSC Program Coordinator, and the UT Austin delegates serving on the UT System Employee Advisory Council.
- Meetings. Shall occur monthly. Additional meetings may be scheduled as needed.
- Standing Committees
- UTSC Annual Elections
- UTSC Officers
- Eligibility
- A current UTSC Representative is eligible to run if they are anticipated to have served for a full Session or have already served a full Session by the upcoming Session start date.
- A current UTSC Representative is eligible to run if they have not reached their service limit as a UTSC Representative by the expected UTSC Officer upcoming Session start date.
- Incumbents shall have the right to stand for re-election.
- Nominees may only run for one UTSC Officer position per election.
- Term. The UTSC Officer term is one Session. UTSC Officers-elect shadow the incumbent UTSC Officers up until the beginning of their terms.
- Vacancy. Replacement of a UTSC Officer shall occur by special election.
- Eligibility
- District Representatives
- Eligibility. Current UTSC constituents may run to be a District Representative for their District in the annual election. They may run if they have not reached their service limit as a Representative.
- Nomination. A formal nomination period shall occur for any seat that is or will become vacant at th end of the current Session.
- Within the same District, any constituent shall have the right to self-nominate and or/nominate another constituent.
- Voting. Shall occur in the spring semester and end no later than the last day of April.
- All UTSC constituents shall have the right to vote for the candidate/s running in their District.
- The number of election winners in each District shall not exceed the number of vacant District seats. Candidates are elected based on total vote counts, and seats are awarded to candidates who received the most votes in their election. In the event of a tie, a runoff election will be conducted.
- Elected Representatives are ranked by total votes received.
- Elected Representatives are assigned to available seats in decending vote count order.
- Two-session seats are assigned first. Then one-session seats, if any are assigned.
- Elected Representatives are assigned to available seats in decending vote count order.
- If there are more candidates than available seats and a tie occurs between candidates, a run-off election will be held.
- Certification. The results of the election must be certified by the UTSC Officers no later than ten business days from the close of voting.
- UTSC Officers
- Parliamentary Authority. Parliamentary procedure as delineated in Rosenberg’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of meetings except where the UTSC Bylaws specify otherwise.
- Standard Operating Procedures. The SOP shall work in concert with these Bylaws.
- Dissolution. Dissolution of UTSC would take place if in receipt of a petition of 1/3 of the constituents followed by a vote with 2/3 of the constituents in agreement.
BYLAWS HISTORY
UTSC Bylaws were first adopted based on an affirmative vote by a majority of UTSC Representatives at a special meeting on January 31, 2002, and became effective at the close of the meeting on January 31, 2002.
The Bylaws were amended by an affirmative vote by a majority of UTSC Representatives on: April 21, 2011, April 17, 2014, March 22, 2018, July 11, 2019, February 17, 2022, March 24, 2022, March 21, 2024, and February 20, 2025.
The Bylaws were amended on December 15, 2023 after following the procedure outlined in SOP Section 10.B.