Article III - BOB for IAM&AW International President!

IAM&AW CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE III

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS, DELEGATES AND COMMITTEE ON LAW,
AND HOW CHOSEN

Officers

SEC. 1. Effective July 1, 1993, the G.L. officers shall be an International President, a General Secretary-Treasurer and 7 General Vice Presidents,one of whom shall be from Canada, nominated andelected by the membership of L.Ls. chartered inCanada. The International President and GeneralSecretary-Treasurer shall be nominated and electedby the entire membership; the remaining 6 GeneralVice Presidents shall be nominated and elected by the membership of all L.Ls. other than those chartered in Canada.

Delegates and Committees

SEC. 2. Three delegates to the A.F.L.C.I.O., 1 delegate to the C.L.C. and 5 members of the Committeeon Law, 1 of whom shall be from Canada, shallbe elected concurrently with the G.L. officers,and additional delegates to the A.F.L.C.I.O. shall be assigned in accordance with Sec. 2,Art. IV. The A.F.L.C.I.O. delegates shall beelected only by the membership of all L.Ls. otherthan those chartered in Canada and the C.L.C. delegate shall be elected by members of L.Ls. charteredin Canada. These delegates and committeemen shallnot be considered as G.L. officers.

Qualifications

SEC. 3. Candidates for G .L. office, delegates to the A.F.L.C.I.O., delegate to the C.L.C., and the Committee on Law must be members who are andhave been in continuous good standing for at least 5years immediately prior to their nomination, freefrom indebtedness of any nature to any L.L., D.L.,or G.L., and otherwise eligible under provisions ofapplicable civil law; provided, however, that anymember whose dues are subject to withholding byhis/her employer for payment to his/her L.L., D.L.,or G.L. pursuant to his/her voluntary authorizationunder a collective bargaining agreement shall not bedeclared ineligible to be a candidate for office byreason of alleged delay or default in the payment ofsuch withheld dues; provided, however, that suchmember is not otherwise delinquent in payment ofdues. In addition thereto, they shall qualify underSec. 5, Art. I.Such candidates must be working at the trade, skillor profession at the time and for 1 year next preceding their nomination. Salaried officers or employees of L.Ls., D.Ls., or G.L. and theA.F.L.C.I.O. or C.L.C. are excepted from thisprovision, provided such employment and otheremployment at the trade, skill or profession, separately or jointly, has been continuous during the 12months next preceding their nomination. The qualification “working at the trade, skill or profession atthe time and for 1 year next preceding their nomination,” shall not be required of or apply to members who have been unable to obtain employment as a result of a strike, lockout, discrimination, or temporary physical disability. No incumbent or non incumbent candidate for an elected G.L. office willbe eligible to seek such office if by reason of agehe/she would not be able to serve at least 2 full yearsof such term before he/she would be required toretire.

Endorsement for Nomination

SEC. 4. On January 1, 2005, and January 1 ofevery 4th year thereafter, the G.S.T. shall issue acircular to all L.Ls. calling for endorsements ofnominees for all G.L. officers, 3 delegates to theA.F.L.C.I.O., delegate to the C.L.C. and members of the Committee on Law, which circular shall beaccompanied by proper forms for the return ofendorsements for nomination by L.Ls.After the receipt of said circular, and at the lastregular meeting in January, of which meeting noticeshall be served upon members by shop bulletin, mail or otherwise, L.Ls. may, by a majorityvote of those voting, endorse for nomination 1candidate for I.P., 1 candidate for G.S.T., and 5 candidates for the Committee on Law. L.Ls. chartered other than in Canada may, by majority vote ofthose voting, endorse for nomination 6 candidates forG.V.P. and 3 candidates for A.F.L.C.I.O.delegates. L.Ls. chartered in Canada may, by majority vote of those voting, endorse for nominationone candidate for G.V.P. and 1 candidate forC.L.C. delegate. On or before 12 o’clock midnight,January 31, the R.S. of each L.L. shall forward to the G.S.T. by registered or certified mail a correctlist of all endorsements for nomination and the offices for which the members are endorsed, togetherwith their lodge numbers and card numbers, uponthe forms provided therefore.A failure to nominate the required number ofcandidates shall invalidate the nomination or endorsement for that office, committee or delegation.

Filing and Publication of Endorsement

SEC. 5. All such endorsements for nominationfor G.L. officers, delegates and committees must beon file in the office of the G.S.T. by 12 o’clocknoon, February 8; and the G.S.T. shall thereaftertabulate the same and cause the full and completetabulation to be published in the next issue of THEJOURNAL no later than March l, showing the L.Ls.making the endorsements, the members endorsed,the offices for which the members are endorsed, anddesignating the members who are thereby chosen asnominees under the provisions of Sec. 6 of this Art.

Number of Nominees

SEC. 6. From the endorsements received fromL.Ls., there shall be selected for each elective position the 2 candidates receiving the highest number ofendorsements, and the 2 so selected shall constitutethe candidates on the final ballot.

Pledge to Accept Nomination

SEC. 7. On or before February 12, the G.S.T. shall, by registered or certified letter, notify allcandidates who have received the endorsement of 25different L.Ls., except in Canada where the endorsement from 20 L.Ls. with representation from at least3 different provinces, of that fact; and candidates sonotified shall, within 10 days after receipt of notification, inform the G.S.T. by registered or certifiedmail of their acceptance or declination of the endorsements for nomination, together with a statementthat they are duly qualified under the provisions ofthis Constitution, which statement shall be certifiedby the S.T. of the L.L. of which the candidate is a member, or certified by the G.S.T. Onfailure of candidates to comply with this provision,it shall be the duty of the G.S.T. to strike theirnames from the list, and to at once notify the candidate or candidates receiving the next greatest numberof endorsements of any declination that has beenreceived or of the failure of any candidate to accept.

Preparation and Description of Ballots

SEC. 8. After the foregoing provisions have beencomplied with, the G.S.T. shall, not later than 12o’clock noon, March 15, prepare the ballots andhave printed thereon the names of all eligible candidates, together with the number of the lodges ofwhich they are respectively members, said names tobe arranged in order according to the number of endorsements received by each candidate for the officestated.All ballots shall bear the seal of the G.L., and beso arranged that voters may designate their choice bymarking an (X) opposite the names of those forwhom they wish to record their votes. Ballots shallbe perforated so that the bottom portion thereof, on which the member voting shall fill in his/her name,address, lodge number and card number, may bedetached after checking prior to the member castingthe ballot. The ballot shall remain unidentified andunmarked in order to preserve its secrecy except forthe (X) placed opposite the names of those for whomthe member wishes to record his/her vote, and shallbe executed in accordance with the instructionsthereon.The G.S.T. shall supply L.Ls. with a sufficientnumber of such ballots on or before April 1, and noother ballots shall be used. He/She shall furnishtally sheets in duplicate, upon which shall betabulated the votes of the members of the L.L. Onetally sheet shall be retained by the R.S. of the L.L.and 1 shall be returned to the G.S.T.

Place of Voting

SEC. 9. The election of G.L. officers, the Committee on Law, delegates to the A.F.L.C.I.O., delegates to the C.L.C. or other bodies with which theI.A.M. is or may be affiliated shall be held on the1st or only regular meeting of each L.L. in April, inthe L.L. room where the regular L.L. meetings areheld, excepting in those L.Ls. where circumstancesrequire some other arrangement, the L.L. may,through its bylaws, provide other methods subject tothe approval of the I.P.

Qualification to Vote

SEC. 10. Only members who are in good standing pursuant to the provisions of this Constitutionshall be allowed to vote at any election.

Notification of Election

SEC. 11. Not less than 15 days prior to the timewhen the elections specified in Sec. 9 of this Art. areto be held, notice of the time and place, by letter orby authorized publication or by other dependableregularly used means of communication, shall bemailed to each member qualified to vote at his/herlast known home address.Absentee ballots shall be issued and voted inaccordance with the provisions set forth in Sec. 3,Art. II.

Inspectors of Election

SEC. 12. At the last regular meeting in March,2005, and the last regular meeting in March of every4th year thereafter, each L.L. shall elect 3 membersas inspectors of election who shall receive, recordand count the vote of the members. In case 1 ormore of said inspectors are unable to act, then thepresident shall fill the vacancy by appointment.

Time and Method of Voting

SEC. 13. Votes shall be received by the inspectors of election from the opening to the closing ofvoting on the day of the 1st or only regular meetingof the L.L. in the month of April, and at no othermeeting in April. Provisions must be made to accommodate members who are working nights, and inorder that all may have an opportunity to recordtheir vote, the balloting may begin as early as 6 A.M.All ballots must be marked in ink or pencil.Whenever 2 or more are to be elected to the sameoffice, committee or delegation, a failure to vote forthe required number of candidates shall invalidate thevote for that office, committee or delegation. Allvotes shall be deposited in the presence of at least 2of the inspectors.Each voter shall write his/her name, address, lodgenumber and card number in the space provided onthe perforated register slip attached to the ballot.The inspectors shall require each voter to presenthis/her dues book or dues card for inspection, whichshall be marked to show that the member has voted.The member shall then place the ballot anddetachable stub in the separate containers providedtherefore. There shall be no voting by proxy or write-in candidates, and no member shall be allowedto fill in the ballot for any other member. Ballotscast for candidates not nominated in conformity withthese provisions (write-ins) shall not be tabulated.With respect to all absentee ballots, the inspectorsof the election shall open the outside envelopes andcheck the enclosed detachable stubs to determine theeligibility and identity of the member returning theballot and then place the ballots contained in theinner envelopes unopened with the other ballots castby members at the election meeting.The G.S.T. shall mail a notice of the time andplace of the election and a ballot to the last knownhome address of each member directly affiliated withthe G.L. within the time limitations prescribed forL.Ls. in Sec. 11 of this Art. Such affiliated members may vote by executing and returning their respectiveballots in accordance with the procedure as set forthin Sec. 3, Art. II, for the execution and return ofabsentee ballots by L.L. members. The G.L.election tellers shall count and report the same in thedetailed statement required under Sec. 16 of this Art.

Tabulation of Returns and Care of Ballots

SEC. 14. The inspectors of election of each L.L.,with such assistance as the L.L. may deem necessary, shall, upon the close of the polls, proceed tocount the votes cast for each office separately, tabulate the results of each such office in duplicate on thetally sheets and, within 120 hours from the close ofthe polls, forward 1 copy thereof, together with allballots cast, to the G.L. election tellers, in care ofthe G.S.T., by registered or certified mail. Theballots and tally sheets shall be mailed in specialcontainers or envelopes, to be furnished by theG.S.T., and plainly marked to designate their contents. These packages and envelopes shall only beopened in the presence of 3 G.L. election tellers.Ballots and tally sheets not mailed within 120 hoursafter the close of the polls shall not be counted. Theduplicate copy of the tally sheets shall be placed inthe hands of the R.S. of the L.L. to be spread uponthe records of the L.L. in such manner as to publishthe results of the election for each office involvedseparately. The perforated register slips containingthe name, address, lodge number and card number ofeach member voting, and any other election recordsnot forwarded to the G.S.T., shall be retained by theL.L. for a period of 1 year and shall be surrendered to the G.L. election tellers if required andordered by them.

Representation at Count

SEC. 15. Each nominee for I.P. shall, on or before May 1, select a member of the I.A.M. to actas his/her teller. In the event that there is only 1nominee for I.P., then the 2 candidates for G.S.T.shall select the tellers. The spirit of this Sec. is to beconstrued that opposing candidates shall have theright to select the tellers in rotation and where acandidate is unopposed, he/she shall not have theright to select a teller.The 2 tellers thus selected shall employ as a 3rdteller a certified public accountant who shall act aschairperson of the G.L. election tellers. The 2 G.L.election tellers chosen by candidates shall, whileengaged in counting and supervising the G.L.election returns, receive as compensation themaximum rate of pay for journeymen in theHeadquarters location for the time actually engagedin the performance of their duties, together with transportation and actual hotel expenses, if residingoutside of the location of Headquarters.

Counting the Votes

SEC. 16. The G.S.T. shall be custodian of allballots and tally sheets, and shall, after the G.L.election tellers are duly organized and on their demand, surrender, unopened and in their originalcontainers, all ballots and tally sheets.The G.L. election tellers shall meet at the G.L.offices on May l, and proceed with the count. TheG.L. election tellers shall have full charge of thecounting of the ballots, assisted by such help as theymay require, to be furnished by the G.S.T. Theyshall have power to adopt rules to govern their work,hear complaints, make adjustments, and render decisions strictly in accordance with this Constitutionand the policies, custom and usage of this Association. After they have counted and tabulated the vote,they shall render a report containing a detailed statement of the votes cast in each L.L. for each officeinvolved, together with a report on all irregular orcontested ballots, for the respective candidates. Thisreport shall be published in the next issue of THEJOURNAL in such manner that the results of thevoting in each L.L. for each such office involved isseparately shown.

Declaration of Election

SEC. 17. The nominees receiving the highestnumber of votes for the respective offices shall bedeclared duly elected by the G.L. election tellers.

Second Ballot

SEC. 18. In case candidates for any office receivean equal number of votes, their names shall beresubmitted in accordance with Sec. 8 of this Art.,and such procedure shall be continued until onecandidate shall receive a greater number of votesthan the other candidate contesting for the sameoffice. If the 2nd or other succeeding ballots do notresult in an election prior to the expiration of theterm of office of the then incumbent, said incumbentshall be retained in office until the successor is dulyelected.

Preservation of Ballots and Election Records by G.S.T.

SEC. 19. The G.S.T. shall preserve for 1 year all ballots and all other election records in his/herpossession pursuant to the foregoing procedure.

Filling Vacancies

SEC. 20. Should a vacancy or vacancies occur inany G.L. office between elections, through any cause,such vacancy or vacancies shall be filled byan appointment or appointments by the E.C. not laterthan 60 days after the occurrence of such a vacancyor vacancies. Those members appointed to fill theunexpired terms of office shall meet all eligibilityrequirements of the Constitution pertaining to candidates for the office to which they are appointed.

Increasing General Vice Presidents

SEC. 21. Notwithstanding the provisions of Secs.1 and 4 of this Art., should the I.A.M. experiencean increase in membership through plant expansions, organizing or mergers with other organizations which would warrant an increase in the number of G.V.Ps., from 7 to 8 or 9 G.V.Ps., the E.C.shall have the authority to institute such increase.

Installations

SEC. 22. G.L. officers shall be installed by theI.P., or his/her deputy, and they shall assume theduties of their respective offices July 1, followingtheir election, or as soon thereafter as the result ismade known; provided, that each officer shall qualifywithin 10 days after being notified to appear forinstallation.

Recall Provisions

SEC. 23. A L.L. in good standing with the G.L.may propose the recall of any 1 or more of the G.L. officers, the Committee on Law, and delegatesto the A.F.L.C.I.O. and the C.L.C. by filing withthe G.S.T. a petition for the recall of such officer orofficers, together with the endorsements thereofunder the seal of at least 15% of the L.Ls. in goodstanding with the G.L., not more than 15 of whichshall be located in any 1 state, province or territory. Every petition for a recall must contain aclear, concise statement of the specific chargesagainst such officer or officers upon which the proceeding is based. All circulars issued by a L.L. forthe purpose of securing the endorsements of otherL.Ls. must be identical as to content and form,including the endorsement form attached thereto.All such circulars shall bear the date of issuance, bemade returnable to the L.L. issuing same and deposited by such L.L. with the G.S.T. within 45 daysafter the date thereof.Upon receipt of the petition and endorsements forrecall, the G.S.T. shall notify the officer or officerswhose recall is sought and furnish him/her or themwith a correct copy of the petition and the numbersof the L.Ls. appearing as endorsers thereof. Suchofficer or officers may, within 10 days thereafter, filea written statement of defense, containing not morethan 500 words, with the G.S.T., who shall causethe same to be printed and mailed to all L.Ls. concurrently with the call for the endorsements fornominees hereinafter provided for.In the event the officer or officers whose recall issought declines to defend the charges and resignsfrom office, thereby creating a vacancy or vacancies,said vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by an appointment or appointments by the E.C. not later than60 days after the occurrence of such vacancy orvacancies. Those members appointed to fill the unexpired terms of office shall meet all eligibilityrequirements of the Constitution pertaining to candidates for the office to which they are appointed.In the event the officer or officers whose recall issought opposes the recall, the G.S.T. shall, on the1st of the month next following, issue a circular to allL.Ls. calling for endorsements of nominees forthe office or offices held by the officer or officerswhose recall is sought. The selection of candidatesand the election, and the tabulating and counting ofthe votes, except as hereinafter modified, shall proceed in accordance with the election laws set forth,substituting the name of such months as may benecessary to hold an interim election in place ofthose months specified in other Secs. of this Art.Unless the officer whose recall is sought lacks thenecessary qualifications or files a written declinationwith the G.S.T., his/her name shall be printed uponthe official ballot together with the name of the oneother candidate who has received at least 25 endorsements and the greatest number of endorsements ascandidate for nominee for that office. Should theofficer whose recall is sought decline to be a candidate or lack the necessary qualifications, then thenames of 2 members who have each received at least25 endorsements and greatest and next greatestnumber of endorsements, respectively, as candidatesfor nominee for such office, shall be printed uponthe official ballot as candidates for such office.The candidate for any office who received thegreatest number of votes in any recall election shallbe promptly notified of his/her election by theG.S.T. If the officer whose recall is sought is notelected, his/her tenure of office shall terminate 15days after the result of the election is announced andthe newly elected officer shall thereupon assume theduties of the office.