LRCFT Executive Board Meeting Guidelines for Guests

Approved by LRCFT Executive Board, May 2025

We encourage all interested members to attend LRCFT Executive Board meetings and stay informed about the work of our union! Public comments are welcome during designated times. Please note that there are a few guidelines for guests during board meetings: public comments are limited in time, guests are not permitted to vote on items, and any “closed session” agenda items require non-board members to step out of the meeting. We appreciate your understanding, and look forward to your attendance. To help everyone know what to expect, more details about these guidelines are included below.

Public Comment: 

  • The public comment period is near the beginning of the meeting. If you plan to make a public comment, please be sure to log into the meeting by the start of the public comment period. 
  • To indicate that you wish to make a public comment, please raise your hand during the public comment period. 
  • If your public comment relates to a specific item that is on the meeting agenda, please indicate this, and you will be asked to make your comment when that agenda item comes up for discussion.
  • When a new matter is raised in public comment, the Executive Board will not typically discuss or take action on that matter during the meeting in which the public comment occurs.
  • Public comments are limited to 3 minutes per person, per meeting.
  • If you have more information to share with LRCFT than you are able to convey in a 3-minute comment, we encourage you to follow up with your campus reps to discuss the issue more. 

Discussion (outside of the Public Comment period):

  • At times, faculty guests are invited by an LRCFT board member to provide information about a specific agenda item. If you have been invited to speak and provide information outside of public comment, you will be called on when the agenda item comes up. 
  • Faculty members who would like to share feedback or respond to items discussed during a board meeting are encouraged to contact their campus representatives directly. 
  • Campus reps will read or listen to feedback from members, and bring forward agenda items based on this feedback when warranted and time permitting.

Voting on Agenda Items:

  • During the meeting, there will be times when the board is called on to vote on agenda items. Only elected LRCFT representatives are allowed to vote. 
  • Feedback about a matter that was voted on, or concerns about the outcome of a vote, are not possible to discuss during the meeting due to time constraints. 
  • If you have comments related to an agenda item, those are best shared before the item is voted on, either privately to your elected representative, or during the public comment period. This way, representatives can take your voice into account when voting.

Closed Session Items:

  • Occasionally, the board needs to discuss and vote on items that can’t be shared publicly. For example, when LRCFT legal counsel brings information to the board, that information is privileged. Before discussion of one of these items starts, a closed session will be announced and guests will be asked to leave the meeting until the conclusion of that agenda item. Where possible, closed sessions will be indicated on the agenda.
  • Guests who wish to return after the closed session ends, should be moved to a Zoom waiting room (if attending online) until the closed session ends, when they will be let back into the meeting. 

 

Thank you!

 

We appreciate our members, and the time you have taken to understand board meeting participation guidelines. Please feel free to follow up with any board member if you have questions about participating. 

 

Note sure who your LRCFT campus reps are? You can find a current list of campus representatives on the LRCFT website.