National Women's Caucus By-Laws

Adopted January 20, 2004
Amended November 6, 2005
Amended October 13. 2021

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this Caucus is the National Women’s Caucus of the Green Party of the United States, hereinafter NWC.

ARTICLE II. MISSION AND PURPOSE

II.A. MISSION

The NWC will organize and act to advance Women’s rights and concerns within the Party and in the country at large with the ultimate goals of maximizing the Women’s vote for the Green Party, participation of Women at all levels of the Party and a voter, activist, leadership, candidate, and office holder base of Women that is reflective of the great diversity of this nation.

We affirm the womanhood of asexual, bisexual, heterosexual, intersex, lesbian, polyamorus, and transgender women and our right to be treated with dignity and respect.

II.B. The purpose of the NWC is:

II.B.1. To promote the 4 Pillars of the international Green community and the Ten-Key Values of the Green Party of the United States, hereinafter GPUS.

II.B.2. To develop a strong identity, voice, and presence of women in the GPUS that also reflects the diversity of the NWC and this country.

II.B.3. To promote and advance issues of interest and concern to women.

II.B.4. To facilitate communication and coordination among women and caucuses (or equivalent) with state Green Party organizations.

II.B.5. To elect a Delegate and Alternate Delegate to the GPUS National Committee.

II.B.6. To appoint up to three voting Delegates, regardless of location of residence, to the GPUS Diversity Committee.

II.B.7. To organize, do outreach and educate the public.

II.B.8. To organize, do outreach, and educate internally within the GPUS and affiliated state parties.

II.B.9. To increase the number of registered Green Party women voters.

II.B.10. To develop and promote leadership from among members for internal and external elected positions, as well as within the community and for appointed and all levels of local, state, and national elected positions.

II.B.11. To endorse candidates for office who promote issues that benefit women. The caucus may develop questionnaires for the purpose of endorsement.

II.B.12. To promote the Green Party as a Party for women.

II.B.13. To develop, write, and submit content to amend the GPUS Platform to more fully represent concerns of women. Develop, write, coordinate, submit, and advocate for a separate plank for women in the GPUS Platform.

II.B.14. To develop, write, and submit content to amend the GPUS Bylaws to more fully represent the rights, protection, inclusivity, empowerment, and other concerns of women, including enforcement and compliance of such content.

II.B.15. To deal with internal conflict in a forthright, open, and decisive manner.

II.B.16. To be inclusive and respectful of all the waves of feminism reflected by the membership of the NWC. And to strive for an overarching and consistent message for the NWC that incorporates the often disparate views of the waves.

II.B.17. To advocate for and assist with developing channels to deal with concerns regarding women within the GPUS, including grievances of the NWC and of NWC members active within the GPUS.

II.B.18. To initiate and participate in external coalition building with other women’s and related groups, including for purposes of identifying potential candidates for president, vice president, and other national, state, and local offices. Also, to build support for the Green Party from such groups, including voting support.

II.B.19. To address public perception and concerns regarding the Green Party for women.

II.B.20. To increase membership in the NWC.

II.B.21. To strive for a re-awakening national women’s movement that is identified with the Green Party.

II.B.22. To advocate that the NWC be the source point, to be consulted or collaborated with, for all external and internal statements, resolutions, news releases, policy, research, and other needs of the GPUS regarding women. And advocate inclusivity and balance of women reflective of diversity in such documents.

II.B.23. To support national candidates selected at the national Green Party Nominating Conventions.

These purposes or guiding priorities shall be amended, collected, posted and ranked in order of importance by the membership at least once a year.

The NWC may adopt Operating Rules that further define its purpose.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

III.1. The NWC is open for membership to all women who are registered or otherwise verified members of the Green Party within their respective state, local, affiliated identity caucus, and/or Campus Green group. Members shall have full voting rights. Members in good standing shall be able to run for any office of the NWC including the Delegate and Alternate Delegate, and be eligible to be appointed Delegates to the Diversity Committee and other standing committees of the GPUS, as well as NWC committees and other NWC positions. Any member in good standing is entitled to fully participate in all aspects of the NWC in accordance with these Bylaws, without exception. Member names and contact information may not be distributed within or without the caucus without the explicit approval of such members, except where such information is required for party accreditation purposes.

III.2. Members in good standing: Members will reflect NWC values of ecological wisdom, non-violence, respect for diversity, respect for the NWC and its bylaws, respect for NWC members, and personal responsibility in all NWC involvement, communications, interactions, and activities. Members are urged to participate in NWC business, leadership, and activities. Members shall keep caucus business confidential, including posts made on the official caucus email list and comments made at virtual or in-person meetings of the caucus, unless such meetings are open to non-caucus members and described as public.

III.3. Removal of NWC Members/Email List Protocol/Appeal Process for Re-Instatement: Any member who breaks confidentiality, explicit NWC bylaws and operating rules, consistently cannot follow agreed upon processes, engages in illegal behavior or similar may be sent written notice from the co-chairs by agreement of the NWC Coordinating Committee (NWC CC), and may be removed from all NWC email lists. Review of list protocol will be offered. If that is accepted and applied the member will be reinstated on the email lists. If it is refused, the member may be removed from the NWC and the email lists. Removal from the NWC shall be reserved as a last resort after all other efforts have failed. Members who have been removed can reapply after six months with a written request that includes a statement of desire to cooperate with NWC rules and process. The application should include all verification requirements. The removal process and process for appeal and re-instatement may be further defined in the Operating Rules.

III.4. Members with Caucus grievances will follow the process set forth under Article I, Operating Rules.

III.5. The NWC shall maintain a list of all members with name, address, email, phone number, their state party membership, verification and date joined, as well as a diversity category.

ARTICLE IV. COMMITTEES AND OFFICERS

IV.1. The NWC may establish such committees, working groups, and other entities as are necessary to do its work. Upon establishment of these committees, working groups, and entities, the NWC shall define their membership, purpose, and length of service. This information may further be defined in any Operating Rules the Caucus may adopt.

IV.2. The Voting and Elections Committee (VEC), a standing committee of the NWC staffed by volunteer members in good standing appointed by the NWC Coordinating Committee, will conduct elections. The VEC will consist of at least 2-3 members who are not running for election. They may consult with election specialists as needed. Advisors are approved by the VEC and NWC CC.

IV.3. NWC officer elections shall be held every year. Nominations will open a month after the last day of the GPUS annual national meeting or convention. Voting will be by private ballot via personal email or by postal mail. New officers will assume office the first day of the month following that in which the election results were announced. The time between the announcement of election results and new officers assuming office will be used for transition, mentoring, and training of new officers, if needed.

IV.4. The NWC shall elect from among their membership in good standing two Co-Chairs, a Secretary, and a Treasurer to serve as officers of the NWC.

The Co-Chairs shall be responsible for coordinating the day-to-day affairs of the NWC. The Secretary shall be responsible for managing necessary communication with the membership, all documentation and records of the NWC, including meeting minutes and votes. Minutes will be published in a timely fashion. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the fiscal management of the NWC including regular financial statements to officers and members and budget work. The duties and responsibilities of these positions may be further defined in Operating Rules adopted by the NWC.

IV.5. Co-Chairs, Delegates, Alternate Delegate, Spokespersons, Secretary and Treasurer shall make up the NWC Coordinating Committee. Officers may serve two consecutive terms but not more than two. Term-limited officers shall become eligible to run for office again after sitting out one two-year term.

IV.6. NWC co-chairs shall each serve staggered two-year terms with the exception of the first election, with one co-chair elected for a one-year term. The Treasurer and Secretary shall each serve two-year terms.

IV.7. The NWC shall elect two spokespersons who are responsible for representing the NWC to the media, as further defined in the Operating Rules. Co-spokespersons shall serve two-year staggered terms with the exception of the first election with one serving a one-year term.

IV.8. The NWC may also appoint such other officers as is needed and must define the duties and term of office forh their positions upon their establishment.

IV.9. Election of the Co-Chairs, Secretary, Treasurer, Co-Spokespersons, and other officers shall be done either through Instant Runoff Voting or Preferential Voting, dependent on the number of candidates for the positions.

IV.10. The option of voting “None of the Above” shall be available for all elections. Elections will be conducted on-line or by email and may also be conducted at the annual meeting. Votes received after midnight of the Election Day shall not be counted except when an extension has been granted in order to reach quorum. Elections may be further defined in the Operating Rules.

IV.11. All possible efforts will be made to elect officers reflective of the diverse members of the NWC with regard to black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, age diversity, geographic diversity, disability, economic levels, and the different waves of feminism, and to ensure that the NWC is not dominated by officers reflecting any particular element of that diversity.

IV.12. Officers may be removed for cause by a majority vote of the membership. Cause shall include the behaviors listed in Section III.3.

IV.13. If an officer is unable to complete her term of office, NWC co-chairs shall, upon notification of a vacancy, notify the membership and VEC within two weeks. The VEC will post a call for nominations and the elections process will proceed as described in these bylaws.

ARTICLE V. DELEGATE TO THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE GPUS

The NWC shall elect two Delegates to the National Committee (NC) of the GPUS. The Delegates shall be responsible for representing the interests, ideas, proposals, needs, actions, achievements, grievances and other elements, reports and updates of the NWC. The Delegates shall also be responsible for reviewing and reporting on proposals and casting votes to represent the views of the NWC in the National Committee and participating in National Committee business, as well as travel to the yearly conference and submitting regular reports to the NWC. Term of service shall be two years.

The NWC shall elect an Alternate Delegate to the National Committee of the GPUS in a separate election and effort shall be made to ensure that diversity of color and age is reflected in the Delegate and Alternate Delegate positions. The Alternate Delegate shall be responsible for assisting the Delegates in their duties and to serve in the Delegates’ place, including as a voting Delegate, when the Delegates are unable to perform their duties. Term of service shall be two years.

If a Delegate has not voted on a proposal by the time of the notice sent on the Friday before the end of the voting period, the Alternate Delegate shall vote.

In cases of incapacity, death, resignation, or other long-term inability for a Delegate to perform her duties, the Alternate Delegate shall assume the position of Delegate and serve the remainder of the elected term.

Upon vacancy of the Alternate Delegate’s position, the NWC shall elect a new Alternate Delegate, from the membership at large, to serve the remainder of the term.

The election of the Delegates and Alternate Delegate shall be by Instant Runoff Voting or Preferential Voting, dependent on the number of candidates for the position.

The option of voting “None of the Above” shall be available for all elections except for multiple candidate elections. Voting shall be conducted by email or online voting.

Votes received after midnight of the Election Day shall not be counted except when an extension has been granted.

Elections may be further defined in the Operating Rules.

ARTICLE VI. ELECTIONS TO GPUS COMMITTEES

Caucus members may run for election to represent the caucus on GPUS Committees. Members elected shall give quarterly reports on the Committee as requested by the Co-Chairs.

ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS

General in-person Membership Meetings of the NWC shall be held at least once a year. When in-person meetings are not possible, the NWC may substitute an online meeting. Meetings of the NWC officers that can include individuals of the general membership shall be held at a minimum of once monthly. Meetings may be held in person, by telephone conference call, or by whatever other means that allows for the full participation of NWC members to make decisions, including email voting.

Meetings of the NWC may be called by a Co-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, GPUS Delegate, or by a petition of 10% of the membership of the NWC.

ARTICLE VIII. VOTING

A simple majority of a one-third quorum of full membership will pass general decisions such as co-sponsoring proposals to the National Committee, candidate endorsements and signing on to events and proposals from external organizations. Such decisions must be in line with the caucus bylaws and GPUS platform. Caucus bylaws, operating rules, policy statements, and GPUS platform amendments will pass by a two-thirds majority of a one-third quorum of full membership from at least five states present, either physically at a meeting, via phone conference, on-line, or email. The caucus officers shall make periodic efforts to assess the number of members and adjust quorum accordingly. The caucus officers may vote by a two-thirds majority of all officers on time-sensitive matters such as short statements on current events and sponsoring events when there is not enough time for a full caucus vote as long as such votes are in line with the caucus bylaws and GPUS platform. The officers shall seek feedback from the caucus before voting.

Proxy voting is forbidden. We must abide by the one person, one vote democratic principle in all our deliberations.

ARTICLE IX. OPERATING RULES

The NWC may adopt such Operating Rules as is necessary to regulate its business. No Operating Rule may be adopted that counteracts any aspect of these Bylaws. In cases of ambiguity or lack of clarity, the NWC may look to the Bylaws of the GPUS for direction.

ARTICLE X. PLATFORM

The NWC recognizes the Platform of the GPUS as the Platform of the NWC.

ARTICLE XI. ANNUAL NATIONAL MEETING OR CONVENTION NWC MEETING

The NWC will hold its annual business meeting in July or August of each year. This may be held in person at the Annual National Meeting or Convention or virtually. If the meeting is held in-person all efforts will be made to have a hybrid (in-person/virtual) meeting to provide access to those unable to attend the in-person meeting. The NWC may outreach to Green women and women’s organizations in the location of the Annual National Meeting or Convention to invite to this meeting. Green registration will be encouraged. An agenda including Bylaw, Platform, NWC business, and Issue discussion will take place. A speaker may be scheduled. Additionally, time for getting to know members may be scheduled and encouraged, as well as a good time.

ARTICLE XII. FINANCES

The NWC will plan a budget, based on allocated funds from the GPUS. The NWC may allow for its own fundraising. The budget may be revised from time to time in response to changing financial circumstances. The NWC may not incur debt of any kind.

The Treasurer is responsible for overseeing the allocations of funds to the NWC, budget work, and making regular reports to the NWC CC and membership. The Treasurer shall coordinate with the GPUS treasurer on fundraising and budget management issues. All funds shall be handled according to GPUS fiscal policy. All money raised shall be sent directly to the GPUS Treasurer in a timely manner by way of the GPUS office. All NWC fundraising efforts shall include instructions to ensure donor compliance with earmarking donations to the NWC. This includes direct mail, phone solicitations, events, tabling, printed material such as brochures and newsletters, solicitation by workshop or speeches, email lists, websites, and any other method.

ARTICLE XIII. ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

These Bylaws shall be adopted when affirmative votes equivalent to two-thirds of the full membership of the NWC at the beginning of the voting period are collected. Voting may occur via email, online voting, or physical meeting. Each NWC member shall have one (1) vote which may only be cast once.

Amendments to these Bylaws may be proposed by a Co-Chair, Secretary, Delegate, ad-hoc committee, or by petition of 5% of the members of the NWC effective the date the petition is initiated. Amendments must be approved by a two-thirds majority of a one-third quorum of full membership. In addition, Bylaw changes will obtain all necessary approvals mandated by the Bylaws of the Green Party of the United States.

Search for:

https://gpus.org/national-womens-caucus-by-laws/

OPERATING RULES

NATIONAL WOMEN’S CAUCUS

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

Operating Rules adopted November 6, 2005 and amended October 13, 2021

National Women’s Caucus (NWC)

National Women’s Caucus Coordinating Committee (NWC CC)

OR.I: For Bylaw Article III. Removal of NWC Members and Appeals

Process for Re-instatement

NOTIFICATION

Any member who breaks confidentiality, explicit NWC bylaws and operating rules, consistently cannot follow agreed upon processes, engages in illegal behavior or similar may be sent written notice from the co-chairs by agreement of the NWC CC.

Such notice will include explicit description of the behavior under consideration and what rules or processes it contravenes and may include suggestions on other more productive behaviors and procedures. If such behavior is repeated, a second notice with agreement from the NWC CC will be sent and may lead to loss of good standing.

In addition, members who do not follow email list rules will be notified of problem behaviors. If identified behavior continues, a second notice will be sent. The member in question will then have her postings moderated and may be removed from the official caucus email list. Notification to the member in question will be sent by the NWC co-chairs.

REMOVAL OF NWC MEMBERS

If a NWC member has received two notices for problematic behavior as described above and continues in that behavior, she may be offered to participate in relevant skills training, including list protocol. If she completes such relevant skills training, she will be reinstated.

If said member refuses to participate in recommended skills training or an agreed upon equivalent, she will be removed from the Email list and/or the NWC by written notice from the co-chairs with agreement by the NWC CC by 2/3 vote; such notice will include notification of the grievance and reinstatement procedures.

a) In the case of behavior of an immediately dangerous and illegal, seriously threatening or physically violent nature or similar, the NWC CC must act within 48 hours.

b) NWC officers will decide whether to issue a warning or take other actions by consensus; if consensus cannot be reached, decision will be reached by 2/3 vote of the NWC CC.

c) Communications will be issued by the co-chairs or their designees. The member in question may use the appeal process. If said member is removed by decision of the NWC CC from the caucus, the decision may be overturned by a proposal and a majority vote of at least 2/3 of the NWC membership.

APPEAL PROCESS FOR RE-INSTATEMENT

Decisions regarding the status of a member may be appealed in two ways. The member in question may request a mediation through the NWC CC either with CC members or other members who brought up the issue with their behavior. The mediation will be conducted by a mediator acceptable to both parties or a team of mediators at least one of whom is acceptable to each party and who are comfortable working together. The member may request intervention by the GPUS Dispute Resolution Committee either after unsuccessful mediation through the NWC CC or in lieu thereof.

If a member has been removed or is not in good standing, she may after a period of at least six months, submit a request for reinstatement. Such request should include as appropriate recognition of the behavior at issue, an explanation of how such behavior has changed, apology and/or reparations to other parties, any appropriate training the member has engaged in and/or references as to changed behavior. The application should include all verification requirements. The request will be reviewed by the NWC CC and up to two advocates. The request will be granted by consensus of the NWC CC, with a fall back to a 2/3 vote. The decision may be overturned by a proposal and a simple majority vote of 2/3 of the NWC membership.

REPEATED OFFENSES

If a re-instated member again engages in behavior described above, the same procedure

for warnings and removal will commence. If the member is again re-instated and is again engaged in behavior described in above, the waiting period will be a year.

OR.II: FOR NWC BYLAW ARTICLE IV. COMMITTEES AND OFFICERS

Officer Elections: Nominations for officers will open one month following the last day of the GPUS Annual National Meeting or Convention each year and stay open for 14 days. One or more extensions may be permitted if any position remains unfilled. The call for nominations will be posted to the official caucus email list. Members can self-nominate or be nominated by another member. To qualify, members nominated by another member must accept the nomination on the official caucus email list. Members must have joined the caucus six months in advance of the call for nominations in order to run for election and members deemed *not in good standing* at the time of the call for nominations may not run for election. Members must have joined the caucus 90 days in advance of the call for nominations or the introduction of a proposal in order to participate in a particular election or vote.

Committee Elections: Nominations for election to GPUS committees will take place annually and shall otherwise follow the rules for officer elections above. Representatives to committees shall report quarterly to the secretary on their respective committee business and the secretary will communicate the reports to the full caucus. Any committee representative who doesn’t report for three consecutive quarters may be removed from their committee position by the co-chairs unless there is a valid reason such as sickness.

The Voting and Elections Committee (VEC) shall post nominations and candidate bios on the NWC official caucus email list. Candidates may post their own bios.

Ballots will be sent to the official caucus email list and sent to each member’s personal email address for anyone not on the list. For voting taking place entirely online, the VEC shall send the ballot within 7-21 days after the close of the nomination and any discussion periods, with the voting period to commence within the next 48 hours. The option of voting *None of the Above* shall be available for all single candidate elections.

Votes received after midnight of the Election Day shall not be counted except when an extension has been granted in order to make quorum. Elections may be further defined in these Operating Rules.

The VEC will collect and tally all ballots and post the results to the NWC official caucus email list within ten days after the end of the elections. Ranked choice elections will be calculated using instant runoff voting (IRV) for single seat elections and single transferable vote (STV) for multiple seat elections. Member ballot returns will be kept confidential by the VEC. Election results, ballots and all correspondence and files pertaining to elections will be kept by the VEC and also stored in the NWC CC archive accessible only by authorization of NWC co-chairs. Co-chairs may call for consensus, with a 72-hour period for objections or questions or call for a back-up vote to be posted. In very time-sensitive instances, the period can be 42 hours. It must be clarified that “silence will be interpreted as consent.” A blocking concern or objection may be worked out, or may result in a call for a back-up vote. The VEC or Co-chair will conduct a back-up vote using a 1-week voting period; if very time-sensitive, a five-day voting period may be called. Consensus may not be used for any elections or votes requiring a 2/3 majority.

Officer Roles and Responsibilities:

The Co-Chairs shall manage and delegate these operations and activities:

Nominations and elections and initiate votes on any items
Oversee the website and social media
Monitor the official caucus email list
Facilitate the coordinators’ meetings
Organize and facilitate the annual national meeting of the NWC
Set the agenda for the Caucus (goals for the year)
Liaison to the SC and keep track of who from the NWC is on GPUS committees – quarterly reports
Make sure delegates are reporting what is in the discussion and voting queue from the NC
Appoint a caucus membership manager to track membership applications and maintain the membership database, all of which shall be kept confidential
Notify the GPUS web manager/list administrator when new members need to be added to the official caucus email list based on information provided by the membership manager

The Secretary shall:

Take meeting minutes
Take roll call at the annual national meeting and start promoting that meeting around May
Notify committees when someone is appointed to committees
Send cards to people on special events or occasions
Maintain documents including minutes, statements, press releases, election results, etc.
Maintain committee representative reports

The Treasurer shall:

Track the timeline for spending money (keeping track of what has to be spent and what can be carried over, etc.)
Obtain financial statements from GPUS Treasurer (for report at Coordinators meetings – verbal or written)
Suggest ways to spend money
Generate ideas for fundraising
Maintain records and archives to facilitate a smooth transition when there is a turnover in the officers

The Spokesperson shall:

Represent the NWC to the media
Be listed as a contact on press releases
Represent the NWC on the Media Committee