On October 11, 2015 over 470 delegates convened and adopted much-needed and historic changes to the governance of California State Employees Association. For more than 50 years, CSEA provided a full range of representation services on behalf of its members—bargaining, contract enforcement, political action and communications.

Today, all those key functions are performed independently by CSEA’s 4 affiliates (Association of California State Supervisors, California State Retirees, SEIU Local 1000 and CSUEU - SEIU Local 2579) for their respective members. CSEA is now a service provider to 3 of the 4 Affiliates—only providing business services that include accounting, IT, human resources, and membership data and member benefits. SEIU Local 1000 performs its own business services. 

The significant changes that were approved by the delegates to the 67th General Council held in Sacramento are as follows:

• Bylaws & Policies (B&P) 1/15 changed the composition of the CSEA Board from one consisting of 15 individuals (3 representatives from each Affiliate including 3 statewide CSEA officers) to an 8 member Board consisting of 2 representatives from each Affiliate. This 8 member Board met on October 19, 2015 and elected a Board Chair (Arlene Espinoza from Association of California State Supervisors) and a Secretary Treasurer (Harold Rose from California State Retirees)
  
  
• B&P 2/15 was also adopted by the delegates. This bylaw change shifts the authority of the CSEA budget to the CSEA Board of Directors and allows for more flexibility of managing a servicebased corporation consisting of 15 staff. Previously the CSEA budget had to be voted on by the General Council delegates and was for a three-year term. The CSEA Board only had minimal authority to make changes to the budget and if major events occurred it required the General Council approval to adopt changes.
  
  
• The delegates also voted to end the past practice of holding regular General Council meetings – a savings of nearly $3 million dollars in affiliate funds than can be applied to their operations. These changes help match up CSEA’s bylaws with the present CSEA business model. The average affiliate member will not see or feel an operational difference. The change will mean a world of difference to the 4 affiliates, and their ability to manage the increasing demands on scarce resources. This change in operational governance is a positive evolution. The responsibility for making any further changes in the CSEA bylaws remains in the hands of the CSEA delegates.