PSEA-Retired approves first-ever House of Delegates

The PSEA-Retired Board of Directors recently adopted a change to the Constitution and Bylaws to create a biennial Retired House of Delegates and change the way state officers are elected. This formalized process is consistent with other PSEA elections.

Elections will be held for the positions of President, Vice President, and Second Vice President. Elections will also be held to elect a retired representative to PSEA’s Legislative, Instruction & Professional Development (IPD), and Resolutions Committees, as well as the PACE Board.

In the past, elections were conducted via mail. With the ever-increasing cost of postage, however, PSEA-Retired recognized the need to consider alternatives, and the notion of a Retired House of Delegates was born. Not only will funding previously used for mail ballots be used to offset the cost of the Retired House, but candidates will now have an opportunity to directly address the delegation, and delegates will have an opportunity to personally meet the candidates and ask questions.

Each region will decide how to elect delegates - whether by the region as a whole or by the local association - and changes to region and local Constitutions will be made accordingly. PSEA Attorney Rick Burridge recently met with the retirees at the Building Stronger Locals meeting in Bedford to explain the process for Constitutional changes at the local and region levels.

Members must be unified members to run as a delegate or vote, and only PACE members can elect a PACE representative. Unified members hold membership at the national, state, and local level.  If you are not sure if you are a unified member or a PACE member, please contact PSEA’s Membership Department at 1-800-944-7732, Ext. 3001.

The first PSEA-Retired House of Delegates is scheduled for May 3-4, 2010 at the Ramada Inn in State College. Be on the lookout for additional information at www.psea.org/retired and from your local and region associations!

Pictured: Retired members from Central Region learn about the process for Constitutional changes.