Index
Governing Structures
Membership and Housing
Operations
Finances
Maintenance
Personnel
Section I - GOVERNING STRUCTURES
A. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1. MEETINGS
1.01 Meetings of the Board of Directors are to begin at 7 pm unless Cabinet notifies the Board
of Directors otherwise.
1.02 Board meetings shall be chaired according to “Pool Rules of Order” (as outlined in the
Board manual) or Robert’s Rules.
1.03 Any motion in the same semester that comes up for reconsideration shall be treated as a
formal reconsideration requiring a 2/3 vote to be discussed again.
1.04 Board of Directors meetings shall be held at wheelchair accessible locations.
2. VOTING
2.01 The alumni association can select and send an alternate representative to serve on the
Board in the absence of the Alumni rep.
2.02 Board reps shall not be bound by house instructions to vote in a certain manner on any
point.
3. ATTENDANCE
3.01 During the Fall and Spring Semesters, each house shall owe five hours per week per
Board Representative to the Central Level Workshift pool in addition to the hours they
currently owe. Board Reps attending Board and Committee meetings shall earn credit for
these hours. Attendance at Board or committees shall be worth five hours. Board Reps
will not get credit for attending meetings of committees other than the one to which they
are assigned. Board Reps will be credited with the full number of hours during weeks
when no Board meetings are scheduled.
3.02 During the summer, Board Reps will receive two hours credit per week. If they miss a
meeting, they will be fined four hours.
3.03 Board Reps who are more than twenty minutes late to a Board or assigned committee
meeting shall receive half credit for the meeting. Board Reps who do not attend at least
half of any mandatory meeting shall not receive any workshift credit for that meeting.
3.04 During the Fall and Spring, house councils may specify that they wish to have their
Board Reps compensated at less than five hours.
3.05 A substitute, authorized by the house or apartment president, may attend the meeting to
replace a Board Rep.
4. ELECTIONS
4.01 Candidates may submit a statement of candidacy for Board of Directors elections one
week prior to the elections. The statements will be published in the Board packet.
4.02 Nominations for executive positions shall be opened one board meeting before the
elections, which occur at the next to last meeting of the semester.
4.03 During the Fall and Spring semesters, the Administrative Assistant shall advertise regular
elections approximately two weeks in advance.
4.04 During the Summer semester, the Summer Vice-President shall advertise regular
elections approximately two weeks in advance.
4.05 Board elections shall be conducted according to the following process: there shall be six
segments: nominations, a general introduction to the job description, a period of
introductory statements by each candidate, a questions period, a time for statements and
debate, and a voting segment.
4.06 There shall be a time limit set for each segment. This time limit shall be based upon the
number of candidates who are running for the position in question. A simple 2/3 majority
may only extend the time limit for any segment.
4.07 The general job description shall be briefly described by someone who is not running for
office: this could be an incumbent, someone who has performed the job in the past, or the
Chairperson.
4.08 The total time for the questions segment shall be five minutes per candidate (i.e., if three
people are running for a position, then the total time allotted to the questions segment
would be fifteen minutes). No one may ask more than three questions. Each candidate
shall be allowed a maximum of one minute to respond to each question.
4.09 The total time for the statements and debate period shall be four minutes per candidate.
The time limit for each statement shall be one minute. No one may make more than two
statements. The chair shall follow the normal speaker’s list procedure during this
segment. Any questions that arise during this segment shall be counted against the total
time allotted to the statements and debate period.
4.10 The voting segment shall be conducted as follows. If there is only one candidate running
for a position, then the Board may elect that candidate by acclimation. If two or more
candidates are running for a position, then the candidates shall leave the room, and a roll
call vote shall be conducted. If no candidate receives a majority of the total votes cast,
then a runoff shall be conducted between the two candidates with the highest number of
votes. The winner of this runoff shall be declared the winner.
5. ELIGIBILITY
5.01 Short term employees (as used in Section V.A.7 of the Bylaws), refers only to Section
IIID employees in the PerCode in positions not regularly hired, and of strictly less than
one semester’s duration (note: this is a subset of all IIID employees-those not short term
as above shall not serve on the Board.)—OLD PerCode sections.
6. EXECUTIVE SESSION
6.01 When there is a motion to go into executive session, the meeting shall go into executive
session until the motion is voted upon.
6.02 The penalty for breaking the confidentiality of executive session shall be decided by the
Board on a case-by-case basis.
7. CONSENT AGENDA
7.01 There shall be a five-minute time limit on discussion of each individual consent agenda
item.
7.02 Items may be removed from the consent agenda by 4 reps from at least 2 different
houses.
7.03 All items removed from the consent agenda will be placed at the beginning of items for
action.
8. BY-LAWS CHANGES
8.01 Any proposed By-laws change included in the minutes shall be considered to have been
given the required twenty-five days notice.
8.02 A corporation fee shall be interpreted as an increase in fee that affects the workshift rate.
8.03 A membership assessment shall be interpreted as a fee that is assessed across the board
and has no effect upon the workshift rate.
9 BUYING HOUSES
9.01 The Board allows the General Manager and staff to do a reasonable amount of research
on prospective houses. If the houses meet a minimum criterion as a possible Co-op
house, it would be referred first to Cabinet, and if after going through the previous filters,
it is found to be a good idea, it would go to the Board.
9.02 All reports to the Board of Directors concerning the prospective purchase of a house shall
include approximate cost, size, condition, and location with respect to campus.
10. STUDENT EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION ELECTIONS
10.01 Compensation elections for USCA elections shall be held at the last Board meeting.
Executives shall have the opportunity to explain their job performance with written
and/or verbal responses.
10.02 The compensation election shall cover the period from day one of the contract period
until the last day of the semester.
10.03 The compensation election shall be conducted by the Board Administrative Assistant.
The compensation ballots shall present the following options for each executive’s
compensation: yes or no to full compensation and bonuses.
10.04 The ballots shall be signed by each Board Rep or authorized substitute and presented to
the Board Administrative Assistant at a designated time during the Board meeting. The
Administrative Assistant shall count and record the ballots after the meeting in the
presence of at least two board reps. The Administrative Assistant shall inform each
executive of the election results as soon as possible. The results of compensation
elections shall be published in the next Board Packet. They shall include how each Board
Rep voted.
10.05 Each Board Rep shall have one vote in compensation elections.
11 CHARITABLE DONATIONS
11.01 Charitable donations may only be given to non-profit organizations not affiliated with the
USCA (the USCA can give money to other co-ops).
11.02 Solicitations may be sponsored by a member, a house/apartment, or a charity.
11.03 All requests for charitable donations shall be directed to Cabinet. Cabinet shall use the
following guidelines to determine if the request should go to Board.
11.04 The USCA shall not donate more than $2000 per fiscal year.
B. COMMITTEES
1. CABINET
1.01 The Cabinet, under the direction of the President, will determine its agenda. It may
discuss:
a. motions passed out of committee.
b. motions delegated to it by the Board.
c. ideas of its own origination.
1.02 Motions from committees may be treated as follows:
a. NO ACTION—goes on Consent Agenda as usual.
b. SEND TO Board of Directors DEBATE (by majority) —goes right to Items for
Action.
c. PASS or FAIL (by 2/3)—pending no action by the Board at its subsequent meeting
d. REFER BACK TO COMMITTEE (by majority)—must state problems.
1.03 Cabinet should use the consent calendar as much as possible and scrutinize issues
carefully, referring them back to committee if they need more thought.
1.04 A motion re-passed out of committee, after being re-referred by cabinet, must go directly
to the Board if the motion is unchanged.
1.05 The General Manager shall continue to compile a manager Evaluations and will submit it
them to the Cabinet each Spring. Cabinet will approve and amend the evaluations,
recommend goals, and raises and/or bonuses. The President will report the approved
goals and raises and/or bonuses to the full Board. By simple majority vote, board may
refer any manager evaluation back to Cabinet for further discussion, at which Cabinet
meeting interested Board members may express their concerns and/or recommendations
to the Cabinet. Cabinet will review the evaluation in question and resubmit it to Board
until receiving final Board approval.
1.06 In addition to the executives and the General Manager, Cabinet shall consist of two
members-at-large. The two members-at-large shall be elected at the first Board meeting
of the semester. At large members shall have voting privileges.
1.07 Cabinet shall meet weekly and be open to all members.
1.08 Each Cabinet member-at-large shall receive the monetary equivalent of 2 workshift hours
for every meeting in which s/he attends.
2. GM REVIEW COMMITTEE
2.01 That there be a minor GMRC in fall with the president and a Board of Directors member
with at least one semester Board of Directors experience, elected by the Board to review
the GM’s performance and his progress toward goals.
2.02 The final review by the Board should be based not only on the current review, but also on
the past review.
2.03 In the spring, a major GMRC—with an executive and three people with at least one year
of central level or house manager experience elected by the Board—shall do a major
review of the GM’s performance and report on everything including the possibility of a
bonus and/or pay changes. The GMRC could include the GM of an outside organization
at the option of the Board. The GMRC shall elect a chair.
3 EXECUTIVE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS
3.01 At the third Board meeting of the semester, Board shall elect a Presidential Review
Committee of at lest three persons, only one of which may be a n executive, to conduct
surveys and a review of the President. A performance evaluation shall be submitted to
the Board at the third to last Board meeting of the semester. The President can request
executive session. The President may not serve on the Presidential Review Committee.
3.02 The Board may express concerns, comments, and praises about the performance of the
executives. The Board may also issue directives and set goals for the executives.
3.03 During the Fall and Spring semester, the President shall conduct two surveys and written
evaluations of the Vice-Presidents each semester. The President shall present the first
evaluation to Board at the fourth Board meeting, and the second evaluation at the seventh
Board meeting. The President shall present the evaluations before the compensation
election is held. The Evaluations may be conducted in executive session at the request of
the Vice President. The President shall distribute surveys at the third Board meeting.
The surveys shall be distributed to all Board Reps, and to House-Level Managers,
AdCom Reps, staff, and Administrative Assistants, as the President deems appropriate.
3.04 For the first evaluation, the President shall summarize the concerns of the survey
responses, noting which concerns are mentioned frequently.
3.05 For the second evaluation, the President shall publish the survey responses verbatim,
identifying respondents according to the following categories: as Board Reps (or AdCom
Reps) in that Executive’s committee, Board Reps not in that Executive’s committee,
staff, AdCom Reps, and other members.
3.06 Each evaluation survey shall explicitly state the manner in which the responses will be
handled (i.e., printed verbatim or summarized, labeled or not, etc.).
3.07 During the summer, the Board AA shall conduct a review of the Summer President and
the Summer Vice-President. The Board AA shall present this review before the summer
compensation election at the last Summer Board meeting.
4. SAFETY & MAINTENANCE COMMITTEE
4.01 The USCA Safety & Maintenance Committee shall be a standing committee of the Board
of Directors.
4.02 The composition of the Safety and Maintenance Committee shall be as follows. The
Safety and Maintenance Committee Chair shall be the Chairperson. The Maintenance
Manager for each house is required to attend all meetings of the Maintenance Committee.
Either the Maintenance Coordinator or the General Manager is required to attend all
meetings. The Emergency Services Coordinator shall attend meetings as needed.
4.03 The USCA Safety & Maintenance Committee shall discuss and propose policies
regarding all physical plant and maintenance issues in the USCA, including but not
limited to: long term physical plant planning, the operations of Central Maintenance and
the house level maintenance programs, issues of habitability and physical quality of life
in USCA houses and apartments, and preventative Maintenance and Capital
Improvements. The committee shall also discuss and propose policies regarding issues of
safety in the USCA, including but not limited to: fire and earthquake safety, kitchen and
residential safety, physical safety in the student workplace, vehicle safety, and party
safety.
4.04 Houses shall be fined $15 for each meeting missed by the designated safety committee
rep. Food will be provided at all meetings of the Safety & Maintenance Committee as an
incentive to those representatives who attend.
4.05 During the Summer Contract period, the Safety & Maintenance Committee shall not
convene. However, there will be a USCA Safety Committee that must meet at least twice
during the summer period. The committee shall discuss and propose policies regarding
issues of safety in the USCA, including but not limited to: fire and earthquake safety,
kitchen and residential safety, physical safety in the student workplace, vehicle safety,
and party safety. The composition of the Summer Safety Committee will be as follows:
the Summer Vice-President will be the chair, and the General Manager or a Safety Codirector
is required to attend all meetings. The Emergency Services Coordinator shall
attend as needed. Each house will be required to select one compensated house level
manager as Safety Committee representative (a board member cannot serve as the Safety
Committee rep from a house). Houses shall be fined $25 for each meeting missed by the
designated safety committee rep. Food will be provided at all meetings of the Safety
Committee as an incentive to those representatives who attend.
C. MINUTES AND RECORDS
1. GENERAL
1.01 That Committee and Board minutes follow the format specified by the Chair.
1.02 All motions passed on the Consent Calendar shall be explicitly listed in the minutes of
the meeting of the Board.
1.03 Cabinet actions that pass, fail, or refer motions must be published before the next board
meeting so the Board may be aware of all decisions and have the opportunity to discuss
them, if it so desires.
D. REFERENDA
1. INITIATING REFERENDA
1.01 The Board may by a simple majority initiate a referendum.
1.02 Signatures must be submitted to the USCA President 24 days in advance (of the voting
period). Competing referenda must be submitted within seven days and all referenda
must be on the same ballot.
2. VOTING
2.01 USCA-wide referenda must take place between the second or third payment days and the
two preceding days.
3. COUNTING BALLOTS
3.01 After the petitions are delivered to CO, the ViPER will have until two house runs later to
prepare and distribute the voter information pamphlets. Three weeks after the petitions
arrive at CO, the ballot boxes will be delivered to the houses. The boxes will stay at the
houses three days. As a general reference policy for conducting referendums: the
counting teams will consist of: 3 Board Reps, 2 Executives, and 3 Member Volunteers.
There will be three counting teams of two members each, and two observers. A house’s
vote must be recounted if the signature number does not equal the number of votes
counted.
3.02 In the event that Section IX of the By-laws be invoked, it is the interpretation of the
Board of Directors that a plurality shall rule.
Section II - MEMBERSHIP AND HOUSING
A. HOUSING PLACEMENT
1. ELIGIBILITY
1.01 A person can get a summer contract if they attended any college or university the
previous semester. A person can get a summer contract if they can verify that they have
ever lived in any student-housing co-op.
1.02 For members on fall grace, AdCom can extend the deadline for demonstrating UCB
student status until the beginning of Spring semester.
1.03 Members who wish to return to the USCA & are former ‘hard core’ debt cases shall be
required to secure the permission of AdCom before they may move back into the USCA.
(Hard-core debtors are those whose cases have had to be referred to a collection agency
that keeps 1/2 of the debt as a fee if the debt is collected.)
1.04 Short term summer contracts to University or other co-op affiliated organizations will be
granted, according to the following criteria:
A. Issuing of contracts and the inhabiting of the houses shall not disrupt normal summer
operations.
B. A refundable deposit to total $25/person is to be paid by the renting organization. .
C. No more than 90% of the available vacancies shall be assigned to such groups, and
no more than 50% of the available vacancies shall be assigned to any one group.
D. The issuance of these contracts shall be limited to:
1. University affiliated groups as defined by the University Student Activities
Office.
2. Co-op affiliated groups.
3. Other community related groups as permitted by the summer Executive
Committee on a case-by-case basis.
E. One contract shall be issued to the sponsoring organization, which will be
responsible for enforcing the terms of this contract. The group shall pay a payment
set at the present per diem rate per person in bulk.
F. Assignment to houses shall be at the discretion of the houses.
G. A maximum period for such short stays shall be set at thirty calendar days.
1.05 The following are revisions to the USCA eligibility requirements:
1. Staff will be defined as the UC’s definition of faculty.
1.06. Education Abroad Program - to allow students who study abroad for only one semester
but are denied attendance at Cal for a whole year to live in USCA during the semester
that they remain in
2. TRANSFERS
2.01 Members and new applicants receiving Fall assignment during the Summer shall have the
option of accepting the assignment and remaining on the waiting list for other choices.
2.02 The USCA regards all moves after the cancellation deadline as breaches of contract and a
$25 fee shall be charged in all such cases. In all such cases the USCA will waive its right
to collect double rent. In the event that members switch contracts, they will each be
charged the $25 transfer fee.
2.03 Swapping of contracts (switching of houses) by members will be allowed if: 1. Both
house managers agree, and 2. The gender ratio of both houses is not changed.
3. ROOM ASSIGNMENTS
3.01 When a unit is no longer operable, the next semester’s room assignments shall be made
with the full participation of all members transferring from the inoperable unit. These
members shall receive their full seniority points.
3.02 There shall be three rounds of bidding when houses do summer room assignments. First
priority shall go to those who lived in the house Spring semester. The second level will
be those who moved from the house(s) chosen for the summer room and board program
to room only houses and those moving to the room and board house(s) from another
house. The third priority will include everyone else. Staff shall note on house lists where
transfers to a house are coming from.
4. RELEASING MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
4.01 Information on the membership may only be disseminated with the approval of the
Administrative Committee and the consent of the Board. Exceptions are: house officials
on house business, organization officials on USCA business, and collection of statistical
data.
B. MEMBER OBLIGATIONS
1. DEPOSITS
1.01 Deposits for all non-EOP/AA members are $250; deposits for EOP/AA members are
$175. (The application fee is $60, $50 of which is refundable and shall go towards the
deposit. The balance shall be paid upon signing of the contract.)
1.02 If an EOP/AA member leaves bad debts at the house and Central Level, the $75 deposit
will go to the house. In the case of bad debts at the Central Level, up to $75 per member
may be taken from the Harriet Keyes Loan Fund. To be reviewed any time HKLF drops
more than $600 in a year.
1.03 People with prior bad debts must double their deposits.
2. CONTRACTS
2.01 The starting contract date will be the Friday before classes start.
2.02 When a member requests to be released from a contractual obligation based on a claim of
a USCA mistake, the member should have corroborating evidence.
2.03 Managers shall refer all questions on contracts to Central Office.
3. PAYMENTS
3.01 Three payment dates shall be established as per Board Action.
4. SQUATTER’S RIGHTS
4.04 Only wheelchair using members have squatter’s rights in a wheelchair accessible
apartment.
5. LIVE-IN ATTENDANTS
5.01 Live-in attendants for disabled students will have the same priority, and get points while
living with that person. As soon as they are no longer working for that person, they will
be subject to the regular membership requirements.
5.02 USCA staff may disallow live-in attendants with the approval of the U.C. Physically
Disabled Students Program Coordinator.
E. BOARDERS
1. CHARGES
1.01 The cost of Fall and Spring boarding contracts for apartment residents shall be reduced
by the amount that they already pay as overhead in their rent.
1.02 A boarder shall be charged $25 plus 3 days of food following cancellation of his/her
contract.
1.03 The deposit for boarders shall be $125.
1.04 Houses must require boarders to do workshifts. Dinner boarders are required to do two
hours of workshifts per week. Full boarders are required to do three hours of workshifts
per week.
1.05 Boarders may opt for nineteen meals a week (full board), seven meals a week (dinner
only) or five meals a week (weekday dinner only.)
2. HOUSE ASSIGNMENT
2.01 By majority vote of a house council, a house may require that an applicant for a boarding
contract demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Administrative Committee his/her ability to
fulfill the terms and conditions of the contract.
2.02 Kidd is not required to take in boarders. Hoyt may pre-approve all boarders.
2.03 Each house council may specify how many boarders they are willing to be assigned by
the central level. If a house does not specify to the central office the number of boarders
they want assigned, the central office will cap the number of boarders at twenty percent
of the house’s room capacity.
2.04 Members living at Rochdale Village, Fenwick Weaver’s Village, and Northside
Apartments will be given preferential assignment as boarders.
3. POINTS
3.01 House-level boarders are not members and do not receive points.
3.02 Full boarders shall receive one half point per semester. Dinner only and weekday dinner
only boarders shall receive one-quarter point per semester. Co-op apartment residents
may not receive additional points for boarding.
F. ILLEGAL RENT SHARING (FISHING)
1. PREVENTION
1.01 Illegal Rent Sharing in the USCA will not be tolerated. If a house level compensated
manager or a Board or AdCom representative reports an illegal rent sharing situation to
the Operations Manager, then the contracted USCA member harboring the illegal rent
sharer will be charged an amount equal to the full room charges that the illegal rent sharer
would have ordinarily paid the USCA for a non-rent sharing contract.
1.02 In all cases of illegal rent sharing not covered under Section F 1.01, the Operations
Manager will charge the house where the illegal rent sharer was discovered an amount
equal to the full room charges that the illegal rent sharer would have paid the USCA for a
non-rent sharing contract. The decentralized expenses for the illegal rent sharer will then
be refunded to the house. That house council may pass the fine on to the individual
member harboring the illegal rent sharer. The member could then appeal that fine to the
Administrative Committee.
A. UNIT OPERATIONS
1. HOUSE-LEVEL MANAGERS
1.01 House Level Maintenance Managers shall be required to attend two consecutive training
sessions unless otherwise stated by the Physical Plant Manager.
1.02 Maintenance Managers shall receive a $35 stipend from the Central Maintenance fund if
they complete the one-day training workshop, attend at least half of the training
workshops throughout the semester, and participate in the in-house C.O.M. training.
1.03 Central Level Trainings for House Level Managers are mandatory for all first time
Managers. Failure to attend will result in a $35 fine.
1.04 Home Cooking Coordinator shall conduct kitchen safety workshops for all Kitchen
Managers and other house members who want it, including open workshops for members
at CK or individual houses.
1.05 The job description of an existing House Level compensated manager must include
mandatory attendance at all USCA Safety & Maintenance Committee Meetings; if a
house does not designate a representative, the Maintenance Manager shall be the house’s
representative by default.
1.06 The Member Resources Supervisor will act as the Supervisor for the House Managers of
Casa Zimbabwe, Chateau, Cloyne Court, Fenwick, and Rochdale Village. The Member
Resources Supervisor will help the large house managers enforce and understand USCA
policies. The Member Resources Supervisor will also conduct extra training sessions for
these large house managers and act as a resource at the Central Office for the House
Manager.
2. HABITABILITY
2.01 The HCC can purchase needed supplies if the house refuses and charge the house.
2.02 Room Dimensions:
1. The minimum square footage for doubles is 110 square feet.
2. For triples, the minimum square footage is 200 square feet.
3. In rooms which have no closets, a space 2 1/2' by 5' by 16” deep shall be subtracted
from the square footage measure of the room.
4. Ceilings must be nine feet high in order to accommodate bunk beds. If ceilings are
not this tall, then twenty square feet shall be subtracted from the square footage
measure of the room.
3. HOUSE WORKSHIFTS
3.01 Houses shall have the option of denying a member his/her point for that semester if s/he
has fallen behind 25% of his/her workshift obligation. (Houses must notify C.O. of such
action). Houses shall still have the option of additionally fining members. Apartments
are not to be included in this policy.
3.02 Every room and board house occupant must do five hours a week in workshifts.
3.03 The workshift exchange rate (e.g., workshift fines) of all coopers will be set at the
workshift rate set by the Central Level. Houses may not lower this rate.
3.04 Each house must have a written workshift policy.
3.05 To overturn any house level workshift policy will take an absolute majority of the house
population.
3.06 To overturn workshift fines, the member must win an absolute majority of the house
population. If a house refuses to overturn the fine, then an AdCom appeal may be
attempted. For AdCom to hear the case, the member must prove to the AdCom
Screening Committee that a preponderance of the evidence exists on his/her side.
Disputes without evidence will be dismissed without a hearing.
3.07 Workshift managers must begin termination of a member when that member owes 20
hours of workshifts.
4. REPORTING NO-SHOWS
4.01 House managers must inform C.O. of a no-show within one week of the start of the
person’s contract or within 3 days of notification of the person’s assignment, whichever
is longer.
4.02 If a house manager does not report no-shows by the no-show date the house is
responsible for any late fees incurred. A letter will be sent to the houses with all of the
dates for reporting no shows.
5. SUMMER OPERATION —See Also Sec. IIA1.
5.01 Houses may request to be summer room and board.
5.02 Summer Operation:
1. Open houses will be based on expected demand and outside programs.
2. Every Winter, staff will come to Operations Committee and give actual information
and projected demand based on cancellation cards.
6. GENERAL
6.03 Council action is required for the ordering of furniture and two signatures are required on
the order.
6.02 Stickers shall be placed near all fire alarms in USCA houses announcing fines and
criminal penalty for causing false sire alarms.
6.03 All houses will have only two keys to their fire alarm control panel; if houses have more
than two keys, the alarm will be re-keyed and the house issued two keys.
B. CENTRAL LEVEL OPERATION
1. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION BY STAFF
1.01 Staff should adopt consistent Board and AdCom interpretations of policy where that
interpretation differs from the legalistic interpretation, and inform the President whenever
this is done.
1.02 Staff shall approve routine requests falling under the AdCode, with AdCom acting as
more of an appeals body. AdCom will receive a report of all cases so decided. Staff will
be under the direction of the AdCom Chair.
2. COLLECTION FROM DEBTORS
2.01 People who have left the coops owing money and without a deposit on file will be sent a
letter informing them they have ten days to pay or their account will be sent to a
collection agency. The USCA will deal with a collection agency that utilizes the TRW
credit system.
3. HOUSE RUN
3.01 The house run shall be three times per week, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and to
require that all houses have names on the boxes or a house list available. To put the mail
in the President’s or House Manager’s box if the list is unavailable.
4. ENFORCEMENT OF CENTRAL LEVEL POLICY
4.01 Any house in violation of the Pets section of the Administrative Code must immediately
remove any pets in question or be held financially responsible for any costs directly
attributable to the presence of these pets in the house or on its premises.
5. HEIDI’S ROOM
5.01 Heidi’s Room, the guest room for the USCA, shall be maintained and administered by
Casa Zimbabwe and be available to all co-op members.
6. CENTRAL LEVEL WORKSHIFT POOL
6.01 All Southside residents doing Central Kitchen shifts of less than five hours a week shall
receive one-half hour workshift credit for walking time.
6.02 All units will be responsible for their per capita share of Central Level Workshift hours or
the houses shall pay such that other co-op workers can fill these shifts. These hours will
be assessed annually such that a unit has to meet its obligation of Central Level hours.
6.03 Houses that are down hours due to scheduling at the beginning of the semester rather than
irresponsibility (i.e. they were not assigned enough shifts) will not be fined for those
hours. If a house drops a shift, it will be fined until it replaces the shift Houses up hours
will be paid for them only to the extent that those hours are greater than 10% of the
house’s workshift requirement. The Operations Manager shall be responsible for
assigning enough shifts to each house so that they will be able to do at least 90% of their
workshift obligation. Houses will still be fined for shifts they are assigned, but do not
perform. The Operations Manager will be responsible for informing workshift managers
about this policy. Money paid to up-hours houses will be considered an expense of the
Workshift Fine Fund.
6.04 The temporary Central level workshift schedule shall be delivered to all room and board
houses at workshift manager training. The Operations Manager shall include the
following in writing with the delivery of the permanent CK workshift schedule: the
formula used to determine the Central Level workshift hours requirement for all houses
with a full explanation: an itemized list of houses, their occupancy, and house occupancy
as a percentage of the total room and board house membership.
6.05 Members with Central Level positions and house level workshift positions will receive
workshift compensation from their Central Level position, leaving compensation for the
house position (if any) up to the member’s house.
6.06 Supervisors may bid for whom they wish, but may be denied an applicant if the
applicant’s house has had its hours obligation filled. All jobs unfilled at the end of the
bid because no house can go up hours will be assigned to houses that are still down hours,
and each of these houses will be expected to fill its shifts from among its membership,
and report names to C.O.
6.07 During Thanksgiving week, Central Office workshift people will only be required to do
three hours.
6.08 In formulating the amount of Central Hours owed by each house, three (3) people will be
subtracted from the number of people in each house. [This way, smaller houses will do
proportionately less hours than larger ones].
6.09 When members with Central Level workshifts move out of their houses, they do so at the
risk of losing their workshifts. The members’ old houses will have one week to decide
whether or not they want to fill the shifts. After one week, the members will receive first
priority at filling the shifts. If the members do no want the jobs, the houses are
responsible for filling the shifts.
6.10 Apartment dwellers shall be compensated for Central Level Workshifts in four
installments. The first three installments will be released the payday after rent is due and
the fourth at the end of the semester when the job is completed. The first three shall be in
the form of rent credits. The amount of compensation to be released will be approved by
the supervisor based on hours completed.
7. NON-STUDENT STATUS
7.01 One warning letter for non-student status shall be sent sixth week. If proof of student
status has not been submitted by Wednesday of eighth week, fifteen-day termination
notices will immediately be sent to non-student members.
8. MEMBER SURVEYS
8.01 There shall be a USCA Exit survey that will go out to all members requesting that their
security deposits be returned. The surveys shall be conducted every semester. Surveys
completed by residents leaving the coops in the Spring semester shall be compiled by the
NASCO Summer intern. During the Spring and Fall, the Operations Manager shall
oversee the processing of the surveys. The Operations Manager will compile and track
the survey results from semester to semester. The Operations Manager shall summarize
the results every semester and present the Summary to the Board of Directors as soon as
it becomes available.
8.02 There shall be a USCA General Membership survey conducted during the fourth or fifth
week of the Fall of 1995. The results shall be tabulated during the semester and this
information will be presented to the Spring Board of Directors at their first meeting. The
Operations Manager will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of this policy.
Board Reps will be responsible for distributing and collecting the surveys at the house
level.
C. NORTH AMERICAN COOPERATIVE COMMUNITY
1. NASCO
1.01 New members shall be charged the NASCO membership fee.
1.02 We will consider putting up our own equity in the form of loan guarantees, or putting our
property up as collateral to help student co-ops get started. We will work through
NASCO, or directly with other established co-ops to get them to join in. Any specific
loans must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
1.03 The USCA may help actively any group interested in forming their own coop; this
resolution will not be construed as binding the USCA into financial obligations.
1.04 Once a Major Manager or Supervisor goes to the NASCO Institute, he or she may not go
again using USCA money until all others have gone.
1.05 Each member sent to NASCO should contribute $70 of the fees.
1.06 NASCO Institute goers are required to work 20 hours.
1.07 The USCA will send as many people to NASCO Conferences as the budget permits. It
will pay 80% of the fees and transportation involved for five USCA members and the
management-training fund will pay for a major manager. The following criteria will be
used to decide who will go:
A. The USCA President should always be included regardless of whether s/he has been
to a past conference.
B. Two of the delegates should have a history of coop involvement and experience,
with people who have never attended a conference in the past receiving preference.
C. Two of the delegates should be people who plan to live in the USCA for two more
years, who show an interest in becoming more involved within the coop.
D. The supervisors team will decide which manager will go with priority to those who
have never attended a conference.
2. NATIONAL CO-OP BANK
2.01 We have a contract with the National Coop Bank to provide technical assistance to other
coops. The Bank would fund on a case-by-case basis. We have the ability to refuse to
provide assistance.
3. CALIFORNIA COOPERATIVE FEDERATION
3.01 The USCA shall join the California Cooperative Federation, paying the $100 annual fee.
4. VISITING CO-OPERS
4.01 There shall be four spaces available during the summer at all times for members of other
co-ops to stay in. If houses do not wish to accept visitors from other co-ops, they shall
notify Central Office at the beginning of each quarter. These Co-opers [from other coops]
get 3 days of free room and board if they are visiting in the area.
D. PARKING SPACES
1 GENERAL PARKING
1.01 Each house is responsible for maintaining its own parking spaces.
1.02 If a house has an empty parking space (not filled by any house member who wants it), the
house manager must advertise to other houses of the open space or pick another member
outside the house by lottery, points, or waiting list within one week. If the space remains
open and the house manager can prove that he advertised to other houses within that
week, the house can decide to rent the space to a non-member for a period of time not
exceeding one semester. If the space is rented to a USCA member outside of the house
with the space, it must be rented at the same cost as would another space to a member of
the house with the space. At the beginning of each semester, the housing supervisor must
send out fliers notifying members of the parking policy and advising them how to get on
a waiting list.
1.03 C.O. rents parking spaces to the houses and each house has discretion over the use of
those spaces. When a house rents a space out to an individual, the individual must be
aware of all the terms and conditions of the house’s parking policies before accepting the
parking space. Conditions may not be changed after the individual has accepted the
space without the explicit agreement of all parties involved.
E. CO-OP VEHICLES
1. RULES FOR USE
1.01 Houses may check out vehicles for house business only. The G.M. or Cabinet must
approve other uses.
1.02 There is a 3-hour limit on use. Also those receiving driving privileges will also receive a
list of rules.
1.03 Every driver of USCA vehicles shall attend one formal training.
2. CHARGES FOR USE
2.01 Houses shall be charged the IRS rate for Central Level Vehicle use.
2.02 The fine for returning CK trucks late shall be $10.
2.03 There shall be a flat fine of $50 imposed on persons taking the vehicle without
authorization.
2.04 If drivers use USCA vehicles for unauthorized purposes, they will be fined $50. For a
second offense, they lose their driving privileges.
2.05 There will be a $3 fine imposed if the car is kept over 1/2 hour over the limit.
3. ACCIDENTS
3.01 Intentional failure to report an accident shall result in a $25 fine and a suspension of all
future use of co-op vehicles. If an accident is judged by the General Manager to be
caused by negligence the driver shall forfeit all future use of co-op vehicles. The
decision may be appealed to AdCom and the Board of Directors.
3.02 If a driver is found to be at fault twice, s/he loses driving privileges.
3.03 For accidents involving the Central Kitchen haul, the fine will be doubled and split
between the driver and the spotter. The vehicle supervisor has the power to revoke
driving privileges for unsafe driving.
3.04 Drivers who are found “at fault” on the police record will be responsible for ten percent
of the insurance deductible. The remaining ninety percent will be paid by C.O. (for CO
drivers) or house account (for house drivers). Houses have the right to redistribute part of
their fine to house drivers if the house driver is at fault.
3.05 All fines are may be appealed to the Safety & Maintenance committee.
A. BUDGETS
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
1.01 The previous year’s inflation figure is to be used to develop the preliminary budget.
1.02 Budgeted expenses made in the areas supervised by the President need not be approved
individually by the Board, but are subject to the President’s approval. The Board may be
asked to approve an expense if the President does not.
2. FURNITURE BUDGETS
2.01 Newly purchased units shall receive a full USCA furniture budget for any furniture that is
purchased at the time the unit is acquired. The graduated budget shall be 20% of the
furniture budget in the 2nd year, 40% in the 3rd year, 60% the 4th year, 80% the 5th year
and 100% thereafter.
2.02 To determine the proportion of “new furniture” to “existing furniture” when acquiring
new units, determine the cost of providing new furniture for 100% of the house’s
membership and subtract from that figure the actual cost of providing furniture
(excluding commons furniture). This will yield the ratio of new furniture to existing
furniture in present furniture values. “Existing furniture” gets a full 10% share, while
“new furniture” gets a graduated budget.
2.03 Furniture budget depreciation will be re-appraised such that the depreciation figure will
be no less than 10% of the replacement value of the existing furniture.
2.04 Apartment furniture budgets shall be dealt with in the same manner as it is for room and
board houses (subject to current policy). This will include refrigerators, stoves, lamps,
and kitchen tables.
2.05 10% of the replacement value of present USCA furnishings should be budgeted each
year. Houses may replace their furniture at the rate of 10%/yr. If a house requests
furniture which is more expensive than standard C.O. offerings, the house must assume
the difference in cost.
2.07 Houses may buy furniture from sources other than Central Office if the Operations
Manager or designee approves the purchase. The house is entitled to reimbursement up
to the stock price of the item through Central Office.
2.08 In the event that a house should have surplus funds left in its furniture budget Spring
semester, the house shall have the option of setting aside up to 50% of the surplus for
Discretionary Capital Improvements, provided that this amount does not exceed 25% of
the original furniture budget for the year. Items purchased must be capital items, but may
be items that are not otherwise purchased with capital funds (e.g. washers). In the event a
house does not indicate that it wishes to set aside surplus funds for DCIs, those surplus
funds shall become part of the next year’s furniture budget.
2.09 Houses shall receive a 10% credit to the furniture budget for any standard issue furniture
turned in to C.O. that is recyclable. If the furniture is in good condition and has no
missing parts, then full credit shall be given that is equal to the current price for recycled
furniture. The cost of recycled furniture will equal labor plus materials divided by the
quantity of furniture recycled that year.
3. MAINTENANCE BUDGETS
3.01 Maintenance budgets will be separated from other decentralized budgets and may only be
spent on maintenance items.
3.02 Emergency capital improvements funds shall be 10% of the available capital
improvements funds.
3.03 New houses shall be charged the USCA average per capita maintenance costs for the first
two quarters. The maintenance costs shall be decentralized thereafter.
3.04 Houses may use 50% of their previous year’s maintenance budget surplus (as long as it
doesn’t exceed 25% of the previous year’s allocation) for Discretionary Capital
Improvements. Requests for D.C.I. expenditures from the Maintenance Budget surplus
must be submitted for the General Manager’s approval.
3.05 Any house may use its Capital Repair budget (at the discretion of the General Manager
and Central Maintenance Coordinator) to purchase carpets, contractual furniture and
commons area furniture—with the exception of any other item which would otherwise
only be described as a discretionary capital improvement item (DCI)—so long as its
house furniture budget is completely depleted.
4. VENDING MACHINES
4.01 No USCA Member may earn a profit by operating a vending machine or game machine
in a USCA unit.
B. FINANCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE USCA
1. FINANCIAL COMMITTEE
1.01 All supplemental expenditures from committee that are not from the budget line item go
to FiCom before each board meeting for discussion of funding. The three alternatives are
rent increases, reducing other line items, and no action (an off budget expenditure).
2. HOUSES
2.01 If a house finishes spring semester over budget, that house will be billed, through checkout
slips, by the central office, to cover that debt. Members shall be billed no more than
10 percent of their rent.
2.02 Whenever a house’s debt becomes $10 or dangerously close to $10 per person, the
accounting manager shall write members a letter explaining the situation and describing
what they can do about it.
2.03 Any house deficits shall be pro-rated by C.O. and charged to every member as a checkout
slip charge.
2.04 Compensation [for room only house summer managers] shall be budgeted at 1/30
manager per person.
2.05 The savings a unit accrues from its budget will be credited to that unit’s account.
2.06 To institute a semesterly house audit system whereby central-level managers review all
non-centralized house accounts for the sole purpose of presenting regular, complete and
accurate financial reports to members. Any and all financial information discovered by
the audits must be presented to the appropriate house council. Casa Zimbabwe, Chateau,
Cloyne, Fenwick, and Rochdale will be reviewed twice per semester.
2.07 All houses shall have two signatures on bank accounts and the accounting manager must
be one of those signers.
3. APARTMENTS
3.01 Effective with the 1981-82 fiscal year, apartment rates shall be set on the basis of pooled
expenses of all apartments (Rochdale, Fenwick Weavers, and Northside), with each
apartment unit’s rate reflecting its proportional share of total apartment expenses.
3.02 Rochdale residents and Fenwick residents shall share the costs of maintaining one
Fenwick apartment vacant for use as a Fenwick commons space.
3.03 In computing savings/losses on non-Rochdale operations, any budgeted Contribution to
Equity is to be considered as a non- discretionary expense and cannot be used to offset
any budget overrun.
4. PERSONAL INSURANCE
4.01 Personal property insurance for houses shall be offered.
C. PAYMENT EXTENSIONS
1. PAYMENT EXTENSIONS TO MEMBERS
1.01 Staff will explain verbally and in writing to members requesting payment extensions
what their rights are. Members will be notified of their rights of appeal.
1.02 Staff shall be responsible for administering the payment extensions. Staff’s decision may
be appealed to AdCom. AdCom or staff shall have the power to deny any loan
application for reasonable cause.
A. GUIDELINES FOR APPROPRIATIONS
1. PHYSICAL PLANT MANAGER
1.01 The Physical Plant Manager or his/her designated representative will monitor HLCIs and
if in his/her opinion a house is not working in good faith to finish the job, a COM crew
will be sent in to finish the job, and the house will be charged the prevailing maintenance
wage rate. If the house wishes to appeal the decision of the Physical Plant Manager, the
appeal will be heard by a committee consisting of the G.M., President, & FiCom Chair.
The Board of Directors will hear appeals of this committee’s decisions. A unanimous
decision of the committee will be needed to charge the house. In any case, no COM work
will begin until all appeals are exhausted.
1.02 The G.M., COM Coordinator, and the House Maintenance Manager shall prepare a list of
capital repairs for each house on the basis of quarterly maintenance. This list shall be
submitted to each house council that may add or delete items, and will prioritize the
requests, keeping in mind LRP guidelines.
2. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND REPAIRS
2.01 The Member Resources Supervisor will allocate funds under $1000.
2.02 These funds can be used to purchase items or provide services that make central or house
level meetings more accessible. Social functions are not necessarily covered. The USCA
cannot fund interpreters to Central Level meetings on an ongoing basis. Funds will only
be allocated for interpretation of specific issues or cases during these meetings. Co-op
wide events like New Members’ Orientation must be interpreted if this is requested.
Events like workshops can be interpreted if this is requested.
2.03 Items and services pertaining to hirings and employees will be considered under the
guidelines in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
2.04 Modifications to the physical plant will be paid for with the Maintenance Disabled
Access fund.
3. MEMBER SERVICES GUIDELINES
3.01 The Member Resources Guidelines will govern all of the programs within the Member
Affairs department.
4. SOCIAL MANAGERS’ UNDERFUNDED COLLECTIVE (SMUC)
4.01 Each house shall send one representative to the Social Managers’ Collective. Whenever
possible, the house level social managers should be sent. Each house shall receive two
hours a week’s compensation through the central level workshift pool. The Chairperson
of the Social Managers’ Collective shall, in cooperation with the Operations Manager,
fine the Social Managers for missing meetings.
4.02 Guidelines regarding the Social Managers’ Collective are contained in the Member
Resources Guidelines.
A. GENERAL PERSONNEL POLICIES
1. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
1.01 When a staff member is required by the Board to serve on a committee that staff member
will be paid at the regular rate, that staff member shall not be eligible for a stipend.
However, if the executives and the General Manager determine that the staff member’s
role on the committee is to represent staff interests or negotiate employee wages or
working conditions, then that staff member shall not be paid, but they will be eligible for
a stipend.
1.02 In cases of underpayment, the USCA shall at the end of the next pay period pay back all
moneys owed to employees. In the case of overpayment, the employee shall reimburse
the USCA by an agreed schedule the amount in error, at a rate not more than 10% of each
net paycheck. If a schedule for reimbursement cannot be agreed upon, then the matter
shall be referred to the Personnel Appeals Committee for a final decision. In no case
shall an employee be required to repay overpayments made more than twelve months
previously.
2. EMPLOYEE PAY RAISES AND BONUSES
2.01 Only the board and its representatives shall be notified each semester of the current wage
rates and individual pay levels of each Central Level position.
2.02 Employees may cash-out their five-year longevity bonus within two years of award at the
rate at which it was granted.
3. MEMBER-POSITION ELIGIBILITY
3.01 Members may have only one central-level compensated position at one time unless hours
a week totals 17 hours or less and with approval from AdCom Screening Committee,
AdCom, or Cabinet.
4. RESIGNATION
4.01 When an employee leaves the organization in good standing, the President and
Immediate Supervisor as representatives of the Board of Directors shall purchase a gift
for the employee. In cases of extraordinary service, a request may be made to Personnel
Committee (subject to Board approval) to give a bonus (cash gift) in addition.