Federation of Socialist Societies

CONSTITUTION OF THE CANTERBURY SOCIALIST SOCIETY

We, the undersigned, declare the founding of the Canterbury Socialist Society on this date 12-09-2018 in Christchurch, New Zealand.

I. NAME & SEAL:

The name of the society shall be “Canterbury Socialist Society” and may also be referred to as “Canterbury Socialists”, “Socialist Society” or “CSS”. The Common Seal of the society shall be as below:

II. PURPOSE:

We exist to pursue the following:

  • To promote and encourage a greater understanding and engagement with socialist theory, politics, and history.
  • To organise and participate in various events, conferences, exhibitions, seminars, and workshops for the exploration of socialist ideas.
  • To work with other individuals and organisations with an interest in socialist ideas in order to provide events and activities to promote engagement with socialist ideas.
  • To develop an organisation based on collegial practice and discussion that can provide a basis for socialist activity where conditions allow.
  • To practically support working class struggle where possible and appropriate.
  • To do all such things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects.

We take socialism to mean: the political goal of bringing the working class to power at all levels of society in order to establish a system where production is rationally organised to meet human need, rather than for the accumulation of private wealth.

III. MEMBERSHIP:

While attendance and participation in our events is open to all, membership is based on agreement to section II. Purpose. Membership grants the right to submit motions and vote on them at any Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Special General Meeting (SGM) of the Society, and eligibility to for election to the Executive Committee. All members are encouraged to be in discussion with one another, as well as the acting Executive Committee, and have a collective responsibility to pursue the goals of the Society as defined in section II. Purpose.

Members will also contribute annual dues as determined at the AGM to the Canterbury Socialist Society which will be managed with internal transparency pursuant to the objectives of the society in section II. Purpose and section VI. Standing Orders.

Though members are free to be members of other organisations, parties, etcetera (“dual membership”), any potential conflict of interest that may arise from this situation should be communicated to the Society as soon as possible.

Members are encouraged to engage one another in a spirit of comradely debate, freedom of speech and opinion, and open and honest disagreement. Members should also treat each other with respect, understanding that while we may have widely different views on some topics, we are part of the same project as equals.

Any member who is found to have brought the Society into significant disrepute or acts with serious misconduct within the organisation may be expelled as a member by a majority vote of the Executive. Any member may challenge the decision to expel a member, and a Special General Meeting will be held for all members to discuss and vote on expulsion with a minimum of two weeks notice.

The rights, expectations, and obligations of members are further elaborated in Appendix I.

IV. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

The Executive Committee shall be made up of members of the Canterbury Socialist Society. The executive shall be a minimum of five individuals and will negotiate collective responsibility on the day-to-day operations of the Society. The actions and decisions of the executive will be transparent to all members.

The Executive Committee shall be made up of the following positions:

Chair – Chief wrangler of the E.C. Responsible for chairing of meetings.
Secretary – Records minutes, arranges meeting agendas.
Treasurer – Maintains financial records
Membership Officer – Liaises with treasurer to ensure new memberships are processed.
Editor of The Commonweal
National Liaison to the Federation of Socialist Societies – Maintains contact and coordination of Federation-wide issues, “line of sight” to the Federation as a whole. Responsible to maintain relationships with members-at-large.

Should any member hold more than one of these roles, the Executive Committee expand to maintain a total minimum membership of five.

The Executive shall be elected for one year (12 months) at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Society. The executive may be elected as a slate, or as individuals, and will be voted in by a show of hands, unless a secret ballot is requested at the AGM. Members may nominate themselves but must receive one second from another member at the AGM.

The Executive is entrusted with the administration of the Society, its funds, assets, and the pursuit of its basic activities as defined in section VI. Standing Orders. The Executive will have regular communication (a minimum of one per month) with all contacts providing updates on the activities and events of the Society.

Any member of the Executive, or the entire Executive is subject to a recall vote. Any member may request a recall vote so long as there is one (1) seconder. Requests for a recall vote shall be received by written notice, e-mail, or from the floor at any official meeting of the Socialist Society as laid out in section V. MEETINGS.

V. MEETINGS:

The highest decision-making body of the Society shall be the Annual General Meeting. The AGM shall be held in the third quarter of each year. The date shall be decided by the Executive Committee who will notify all members for a period of at least thirty (30) days beforehand. During the notice period, and up until three (3) days before the AGM, members may submit resolutions to be discussed and voted on.

A quorum for the Annual General Meeting shall be eight (8) members of the Society, of which no fewer than five (5) shall be non-Executive members. A resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands, unless a member requests a secret ballot. Every member present shall have one vote. In the event of an equality of votes the resolution shall be tabled for further discussion, and a follow up meeting to be set no longer than sixty (60) days after the AGM to reach a decision. The same period of notice for any follow up meeting(s) applies as to the AGM.

The Business of an Annual General Meeting shall be:

  • Any minutes of the previous meeting(s);
  • A report from the Executive Committee on the previous year of activity, finances, and condition of the Society;
  • Election of Committee Members;
  • Motions to be considered;
  • Formulation of the ‘Standing Orders’ for the Society for the next 12 months;
  • General business.

If the Executive wishes it may call a Special General Meeting to make larger decisions about the Society during the year, particularly regarding significant purchases or other. These shall follow the same rules for quorum, notification of members, and method of voting.

General meetings are also the bodies which can amend the Constitution of the Canterbury Socialist Society.

All other meetings of members may make decisions that fall within the objects of the society in section II. PURPOSE, change or add to section VI. STANDING ORDERS, or to address any formal objection to decisions made by the Executive. These meetings are to ensure continuity and business as usual operations of the Society.

VI. STANDING ORDERS:

We, the members of the Canterbury Socialist Society, hereby provide a mandate to the Executive of the Canterbury Socialist Society, to pursue the following general and specific goals for the next twelve (12) months of basic operations of the Society.

  1. To continue with our regular schedule of public events: one educational and one social event per month.
  2. To continue our regular annual lectures as follows: International Working Women’s Day (March), Fred Evans Memorial Lecture (November).
  3. To maintain our assets, digital and physical.
  4. To maintain our monthly podcast on Plains FM.
  5. To contribute to the founding and maintenance of an overarching body, provisionally called “The New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies” as a way for members outside of Canterbury to begin to pursue their own events.

VII. NATIONAL AFFILIATION:

The Canterbury Socialist Society is a participating member in the New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies. As such we contribute to the life and maintenance of that body as appropriate and provide support to fraternal affiliated societies.

Appendix I – What does it mean to be a member? 

Required

All members are required to pay the annual dues, currently a minimum of $40, and broadly agree with the purpose of the Society as defined in our Constitution.

Expected

Members are expected to participate in the life of Society in whatever ways they see fit. This can include anything from joining conversations in our internal communications, contributing to The End of History or The Commonweal (anything from a film review to a political treatise), attending events when you’re able to, all the way to putting yourself forward to serve on the Executive Committee and be responsible and accountable for administering the core activities of the Society. The life of the Society, our capacity to grow, act, and develop relies on members being engaged where they can. The Executive Committee is tasked with keeping our core activity ticking over – but to build further we will always need member participation.

Encouraged

Members are encouraged to pursue political activity in accordance with their own conscience and priorities. They are further encouraged to use the network, infrastructure, and resources of the Society to bring like-minded people along with you when you pursue said activities. There is significant diversity of opinion and political priority within our membership – but we want people to do things, and to let the rest of the Society know about it so we can all benefit from what is learnt. Members are encouraged to bring topics of import, concerns, criticisms, and suggestions to the Society whenever they arise.

Trusted

The Society trusts its membership to behave in ways befitting our organisation, and to uphold the reputation of the Society as best as possible. We want members to, when appropriate, proudly identify as part of the Society and raise our profile when it makes sense to do so. All members are welcome to identify themselves publicly as members, knowing that specific opinions shared may not be an official position of the society as a whole. As a member you are trusted to represent the Society well in your activities, whatever they may be.

Owed

All members can expect to have certain obligations towards them met by the Society itself, too. Many of these obligations are detailed in the Constitution of the society. These include, but are not limited to: regular public educational and social events, a minimum of two copies of The Commonweal per year, all elements of the core Membership Pack, information about the organisational and financial health of the Society as requested (and during the Annual General Meeting), and the democratic rights as outlined in our Constitution. Members also have the right to present activities and projects to the membership in order to link up with any other member who may want to participate in said ventures.

 

Appendix II – Subcommittees

The following voluntary subcommittees are run by members in the interest of the development of the Society:

  • Social Activities.
  • Political Engagement.
  • Literature (includes both the editor and designer of The Commonweal, and the host of The End of History).
  • Social media (includes the designer of The Commonweal in a supporting role).

Subcommittees are required to provide quarterly reports to the Executive Committee. In turn, resources and information in order to carry out the goals of the subcommittees will not be unreasonably withheld (financial resourcing, membership contact information, etcetera).

Additional Subcommittees can be established by members as they see fit and will be bound by the same obligations as detailed here.