Parliamentary Procedure Q&A

Q: We have two union meetings per month. One for second shift at 12:30 P.M. and one for day shift at 3:30 P.M. and both meetings are held on the same day. During the 12:30 P.M. meeting a motion was made and seconded to send two members of a committee to a conference. The motion was voted on and approved by those attending. At the 3:30 P.M. meeting, the motion was read. A member raised a question about this motion and then decided he wanted to amend it to send the committee instead of limiting it to a number. The chair accepted the amendment and a vote was taken striking down the original motion of sending two members only. Was this handled according to Robert's Rules of Order? - Anon., Aug. 17, 1999

A: First, check your union's bylaws and any policies. They have precedence over RONR.

If your bylaws and policies do not describe the proper procedure, then excluding technicalities, I'd say what you relate may have been within proper procedure, although I doubt it.

I'll assume a quorum was present at both sessions. I view the essence of the events as:

  1. At the 12:30 session, a motion was adopted.
  2. At a separate session at 3:30, that motion was amended by the motion To Amend Something Previously Adopted.

I'll explain my doubt. The motion To Amend Something Previously Adopted requires either a two-thirds vote, a majority of those present if notice was given, or a majority of the entire membership. No adequate notice could have been given, and it's unlikely a two-thirds vote was called for. Therefore, the deciding question is whether a majority of the entire membership (present or not) voted for the amendment.

A rule of thumb is that a motion rescinding or changing something the organization has already decided requires a more stringent procedure than that required to adopt the original motion. So, for example, if the original motion required just a majority vote for adoption, it takes more than just a majority vote (such as previous notice or a two-thirds vote) to amend or rescind it.

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