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Article 1, Name Section 1. This organization shall be known as Local # 4121, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW). Article 2, Constitution and
Bylaws Section 1. These bylaws shall in all respects be covered by and conform to the Constitution of the International Union, UAW (hereinafter International Constitution). Article 3, Fiscal Year Section 1. The fiscal year of the Local Union shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31. Article 4, Membership Section
1. Membership of this Local
Union shall be extended to all graduate students at the Section 2. Membership shall be defined as members in good standing as defined in the International Constitution. Section 3. Union dues are payable by members who are employed in positions represented by the Local. Union dues shall be 1.15% of gross pay per month. Section 4. The initiation fee shall be set at ten dollars ($10). Section 5. Any member employed in the unit whose dues are not paid by the end of one (1) calendar month shall automatically be suspended, consistent with Article 16 of the International Constitution. Reinstatement will be granted to members in good standing and will require a reinstatement fee equivalent to the initiation fee, consistent with Article 16 of the International Constitution. Section 6. All members in good standing will be granted full voting privileges. Section 7. Each member in good standing of this Local Union has the right to nominate and vote; express opinions on all subjects before the Local Union; to attend all membership meetings and express views, arguments and opinions on all matters and business, including candidates for office, properly before the meeting; to meet and assemble freely with other members; and, generally, to participate in the activities of the Local Union in a responsible manner consistent with good conscience in order to present and discuss factually and honestly the issues upon which the membership must base its decisions. These rights shall at all times be subject to the rules of procedure governing meetings and other uniform rules and regulations contained in the International Constitution, Bylaws and other official rules of the Local Union. (a) A member in exercising the foregoing rights and privileges shall not take irresponsible actions which would tend to jeopardize or destroy, or be detrimental to, either the Local or International Unions as organizations, or their free democratic heritage, or which would interfere with the performance by this Local Union or the International Union of its legal or contractual obligations as a collective bargaining agent, or interfere with the legal or contractual obligations of this Local Union as an affiliate of the International Union. Violation or abuse of these rights and privileges of membership, or engaging in conduct prohibited by this section shall be considered conduct unbecoming a union member. (b) The membership shall strive to obtain the objectives set forth in the International Constitution and additional objectives as established as the policy of the International Union; to maintain free relations with other organizations; to do all in its power to strengthen and promote the labor movement; to cooperate with its Regional Director, International Representatives and help promote organizational activities. Article 5, Membership
Meetings Section 1. At least one regular membership meeting shall be called monthly with additional meetings called as required, in compliance with the International Constitution. Notice of the meeting time and location shall be given to the membership by e-mail and by posting on the Local Union website and at the Local Union office at least fourteen (14) days in advance for special membership meetings and seven (7) days in advance for regular membership meetings. Section 2. A quorum for membership meetings shall consist of thirty five (35) members of the Local Union in attendance at the meeting. Section 3. Special membership meetings may be called by order of the Executive Board or upon written request from at least thirty five (35) members of the Local Union to the Recording Secretary. The notice provisions of Section 1 of this article shall apply. Section 4. Regular membership meetings will be held only during the academic year, defined as September 16 through June 15. Section 5. Per Article 42 of the International Constitution, questions of a parliamentary nature shall be decided by Robert's Rules of Order. Section 6. The following Order of Business is suggested, but it may be altered: Roll call of officers
Reports of officers, committees and delegates Good and Welfare New business Article 6, Powers of Administration Section 1. The membership is the highest authority of this Local Union and shall be empowered to take or direct any action not inconsistent with the International Constitution or these Local Union Bylaws. Section 2. Between membership meetings or membership votes, the Executive Board shall be the highest authority of the Local Union and shall exercise general administrative authority and shall be empowered to act on behalf of the membership to the extent urgent business requires prompt and decisive action, subject to subsequent membership approval, but the Executive Board may not take action affecting the vital interests of the Local Union without prior membership approval. Section 3. Between meetings and votes of the Executive Board, the President, in consultation with the appropriate officers and staff, shall exercise general administrative authority and shall be empowered to act on behalf of, and take action permitted, to the Executive Board subject to subsequent approval of the Executive Board. Article 7, Local Union Officers Section 1. The elected officers of the Local Union shall constitute the Local Union’s Executive Board and consist of the following: President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, Sergeant-at-Arms, Guide, and three (3) Trustees. All officers shall be elected at-large by a majority of votes cast, for three (3) year terms. Section 2. It shall be the
duty of each elected Local Union official to fulfill her/his duties faithfully
as provided in the International Constitution and Local Union Bylaws, and in
implementation of Local Union Plans.
Local Union officers shall uphold the tradition of widespread member
involvement and membership outreach, which has always been key
to the strength of Local 4121. Section 3. The President is responsible for the supervision of all staff, and shall be empowered to delegate whatever authority is necessary for efficient operation of the Local Union. Section 4. In case of removal or resignation of the President, the Vice-President will succeed to the Presidency in accordance with Article 38, Section 14 of the International Constitution. Article 8, Executive Board Section 1. The Executive Board shall hold regular monthly meetings. Seven (7) calendar days notice of the meeting shall be posted on the Local Union website. Additional special meetings shall be held upon request of three (3) or more officers of the Executive Board to the Recording Secretary. Except in emergency situations three (3) calendar days notice of special meetings shall be posted on the Local Union website. Section 2. A simple majority of the Local Executive Board shall constitute a quorum. Section 3. Minutes will be taken of all Executive Board Meetings by the Recording Secretary and a summary will be read at membership meetings. Section 4. All decisions and recommendations of the Executive Board shall be referred to the next membership meeting. Section 5. It shall be the duty of the Executive Board to see to it that all policies formulated by the membership or the Executive Board are duly executed. Section 6. The Executive Board shall decide upon requests by stewards or members whether to advance a grievance to arbitration. Section 7. The Executive Board shall review the Local Union website, and where necessary shall take steps to bring the contents and policy of the website into conformity with the policy of the International Union, as per Article 29, Section 7 of the UAW Constitution. Section 8. The Executive Board shall appoint at least one of its members to each of the standing committees in a liaison or advisory capacity, except, however, the Election Committee or any Trial Committee. Article 9, Bargaining Team Section
1. The Bargaining
Team shall consist of the Executive Board members. Section
2. The Bargaining Team
members must present initial bargaining demands and the final contract to the
membership for ratification. Article 10, Stewards Section 1. All members in good standing under the jurisdiction to be represented by the Stewards shall be eligible to vote for the Stewards. Section 2. Each Steward will be elected to represent in the order of 100 ASEs. In determining Steward jurisdiction, the Executive Board will make effort to not split departments between jurisdictions. Section 3. All Stewards must attend a Local Union grievance handling training session prior to being the sole representative on any grievance. Section 4. It shall be the duty of each elected Steward to fulfill her/his various duties faithfully as provided in the International Constitution, and Local Union By-Laws, and in implementation of Local Union plans, including outreach and representation. Section 5. Pursuant to Article 45 of the UAW Constitution, Stewards shall be elected for two (2) year terms. Article 11, Standing
Committees Section 1. The Local Union shall have the following standing committees: Bylaws Committee Citizenship and Legislative Committee Civil Rights Committee Community Service Committee Conservation/Recreation Committee Consumer Affairs/Union Label Committee Education Committee Health and Safety Committee Women’s Committee Veteran’s Committee Other committees shall be established as needed by the Executive Board. Section 2. The chairs of the committees will be elected by the members of the committee. Committee meetings are open to all members. Section 3. Committee meeting times and locations will be posted at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting time on the Local Union website. All members will be eligible to serve on committees. Voting members shall be appointed by the Executive Board. Section 4. These committees shall perform all duties assigned to them by the International Constitution, Local Union Bylaws, and such additional duties pertinent to the committee as they may be directed to perform by the Executive Board. Section 5. All committees shall have attendance records and written minutes. Article 12, Attendance Section 1. Any members of the Executive Board or any Committees of the Local Union will be removed from office if they fail to attend two (2) of three (3) consecutive meetings expected of their respective position, unless excused by the Executive Board. Article 13, Elections Committees Section 1. All Local Union elections, strike votes, and contract ratification votes shall be held under supervision of a democratically elected election committee. The election committee shall be responsible for the publication of notice for nominations and elections, the verification of eligibility for candidates, the organization and supervision of election proceedings, and the counting of ballots. Section 2. The election committee shall consist of seven (7) members in good standing and one (1) alternate who is a member in good standing. The term of office for the election committee shall be one (1) year. The chair of the election committee is elected by the members of the committee. Section 3. A meeting of the general membership shall be called for the purpose of nominating and electing Local Union election committee members. Notice of these meetings shall be distributed at least seven (7) days in advance by e-mail, and by posting on the Local Union website and at the Local Union office. Section 4. All members in good standing shall be nominated automatically for the elections committee. Any member in good standing may accept nomination at a membership meeting called for the purpose. Section 5. The election of election committee members shall be held immediately on the close of nominations. Election committee members and one (1) alternate election committee member shall be elected by plurality. Section 6. A vacancy on the election committee shall be filled by the alternate member of the election committee. Section 7. Alternate members of the election committee shall assist in the conduct of the election as needed. The election committee may also recruit and supervise volunteers as needed to assist in the conduct of the election, including overseeing ballot boxes, conveying ballots from the polling place to the location where the ballot count is held, and counting ballots for Elections. In no case shall committee members, alternate members or volunteers be candidates for office in the election nor may they campaign for any individual while actively performing their Election Committee duties. In the event that a person serving as a member or alternate member of the election committee seeks an office, she or he must resign the position on the election committee prior to accepting nomination for that office. Article 14, Local Union Elections Section 1. The next elections for Local Union executive officers shall take place in May 2007 and every three (3) years thereafter. Installation shall take place at the next Executive Board or membership meeting following the election, except as otherwise authorized by the UAW International Executive Board. Section 2. The members of the Local Union shall be notified for nomination and election of Local Union executive officers and other elected positions. The notice shall be announced at a membership meeting, distributed by e-mail, posted on the Local Union website and at the Local Union offices, and in accordance with the UAW Guide for Local Union Election Committees. The notice shall include the dates, times, and places of the election and possible run-off elections, the date and time of the close of the nomination period, and instructions for accepting nomination as described in this Article. Section 3. All members shall be nominated automatically for all Local Union offices. Any member may accept nomination by submitting in writing a statement of acceptance to the Recording Secretary of the Election Committee. Members may only accept nomination for one (1) Executive Board position. The statement of acceptance shall state how his or her name should appear on the ballot. Each member accepting nomination may also submit a candidate statement of up to five hundred (500) words to the Recording Secretary. Statements of acceptance and candidate statements may be submitted separately or together, and may be submitted in person, or by mail, e-mail, or fax. Statements of acceptance and candidate statements must be received by the Recording Secretary no later than ten (10) days after the notice for nomination. After the deadline on accepting nominations has expired, no election of write-in candidates shall be accepted. All Local Union executive officers shall be elected at-large, by a majority of votes cast, for three (3) year terms. Section 4. Candidate statements shall be distributed simultaneously no later than seven (7) days before the election, by posting on the Local Union website, and at the Local Union office. Candidate statements will be made available during the election in accordance with the UAW Guide for Local Union Election Committees. Section 5. Apart from the resources described in this Article that are to be provided equally to all candidates, no other Local Union resources may be used by any candidate to campaign for Local Union office. Section 6. The election shall be held no sooner than fourteen (14) days after the close of nominations. It shall be conducted by secret ballot, and balloting shall be conducted so as to afford all members a reasonable opportunity to vote. Every member must personally cast her/his vote. Section 7. Upon the close of the polls, all ballots shall be conveyed promptly to one location for the ballot count. The election committee shall count the ballots. Section 8. Each candidate may designate one (1) member of the Local Union to be present at the polling places and at the ballot count as a challenger. Section 9. Following each election, the election committee shall report in writing a canvas of the results of the election to the Executive Board and members. The report shall be announced at a membership meeting, distributed by e-mail, and posted on the Local Union website. No protests to election shall be considered unless raised within seven (7) days of the closing of the polls or at the next Executive Board meeting or membership meeting, whichever is later. A protest must either be in writing, or made at the Executive Board meeting. If written, the protest must be actually received by the Local Union Recording Secretary before the deadline. Section 10. The membership may order a new election, either in acting upon a protest or in ratification of a recommendation of the election committee. In the event the membership should order a new election, the matter shall be submitted to the President of the International Union, UAW, in accord with the International Constitution. Section 11. If any elected office other than President shall become vacant, that office shall be filled by election in accordance with Article 38, Section 14 of the International Constitution. Article 15,
Eligibility for Elected Office Section 1. All candidates
for Executive Board of the Local Union must be members and have been in
continuous good standing for one (1) year prior to accepting nomination per
Article 38 of the International Constitution.
The requirements for good standing will be effective Section 2. All other
candidates standing for elected office of the Local Union must be members and
have been in continuous good standing for ninety (90) days prior to accepting
nomination. The requirement for
continuous good standing will be effective Section 3. No member may run for or hold more than one elected office simultaneously, with the exception of chairs of standing committees other than the Election Committee. Article 16, Recall Section 1. A Local Union officer against whom charges have been filed, in accordance with the procedure established by Article 31 of the International Constitution, may be suspended from office pending the outcome of the trial, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote at a membership meeting. Section 2. A Steward may be recalled by the members she or he represents for failure to perform the duties of the office. In order to recall a Steward, at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the members she or he represents must sign a valid recall petition, setting forth specific complaints of the Steward’s failure to perform the duties of the office, and must file such petition with the Local Union Recording Secretary. Section 3. A special meeting for the recall of a Steward shall be held within thirty (30) days of the filing of such a petition, except that no such special meeting for recall shall be held in the months of July, August, or September. If a valid recall petition is presented after May 15th but before September 15th, then the special meeting for recall shall be scheduled for the month of October. The members shall be properly notified of the place, date, and time of any special meeting for recall at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting. Section 4. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present at such a meeting for recall of a Steward shall be required to recall. Quorum for such a meeting shall be twenty-five percent (25%) of the members in good standing eligible to vote for the office in question. Article 17, Appeals Section 1. Consistent with Article 33 of the International Constitution, a member feeling her/himself aggrieved by any actions, inaction or decision of the Local Union or one of its representatives must initiate her/his complaint or appeal within sixty days (60) of the time she/he is aware, or reasonably should have been aware of the action, inaction or decision. This appeal shall be made to the Recording Secretary, which will refer the matter to the Executive Board. Section 2. Within thirty (30) days of receiving notice of decision on the appeal, the grievant may appeal further by submitting her/his appeal in writing to the Recording Secretary for consideration by the membership at the next membership meeting. Section 3. An appeal from the decision of the Local Union membership may be made to the International Executive Board of the UAW in accordance with Article 33 of the International Constitution. Article 18, Budgets
and Finances Section 1. The President and the Financial Secretary are authorized to approve expenditures of up to $1,000, and pay ordinary operating expenses of the Local Union. Section 2. Advance approval of the Executive Board is required for reimbursement of travel and related expenses. If approval is required before the next Executive Board meeting, the President shall have authority to approve. Section 3. No agent or official of the Local Union is authorized to execute a real estate lease, deed, service or maintenance contract or other long term agreement unless the proposed agreement has been reviewed by an outside expert or attorney and has been approved by the Executive Board. Section 4. Reimbursement for per diem expenses when traveling on Union business shall be provided to elected Local Union officials as follows: a) Hotel/Motel: when authorized to stay overnight and with hotel receipt, the reimbursement shall be the single room occupancy rate, or ˝ of a double room if shared with another member. All hotel/motel rates must be approved by the Executive Board in advance. b) Meals: when authorized to travel more than 100 miles from home the reimbursement shall be the current per diem rate established by the International Executive Board up to $30 per day when required to stay overnight, and $15 when not required to stay overnight. When authorized to travel less than 100 miles but more than 50 miles and required to stay overnight, the reimbursement shall be the current per diem rate established by the International Executive Board up to $30 per day. c) Transportation: all air travel must be approved by the Executive Board or President in advance; the actual cost of airfare not to exceed coach fare, or 28 cents per mile, whichever is more economical. Expense for transportation is to be paid for the actual mode of transportation used. Mileage expense can only be paid to the driver of the automobile. A maximum of $35 per round trip for transportation to, or parking at, an airport will be reimbursed with receipt when traveling on Union business. d) Lost time: this will be paid in cases where prior approval, including amount of wages and dates lost time, has been granted by the Executive Board. The Local Union shall pay a representative or member lost time only when that representative or member is performing necessary duties for and on behalf of the Local Union during a time for which she/he would otherwise be compensated by the employer. The amount of lost time should never exceed the amount which the Local Union representative or member would otherwise have received from his/her employer for the same period of time for which she/he is being compensated by the Local Union. Article 19, Local Union Employees Section 1. The President and the Financial Secretary
shall each be paid as a half time position (20 hours per week). The Local Union
shall pay salaries unless paid by the Section 2. The
Executive Board may appoint and remove Local Union employees as necessary to
carry on the business of the Local Union.
All members, elected or non-elected, who have been in continuous good
standing for a period of one (1) year are eligible for full-time (40 hours per
week) or part-time servicing and
outreach staff positions. But no
individual shall be paid for more than one (1) full-time position. The requirement for continuous good standing will
take effect on Section 3. The President and Financial Secretary and Local Union servicing and outreach employees shall receive pay and benefits based on the following. (a) They shall each be paid bi-weekly at an hourly rate based on the top end of the pay scale of employees in the bargaining unit. As of October 2004, this rate is $27.20 an hour. (b) If eligible but not receiving tuition benefits from the University or another source, they shall each be reimbursed for said tuition, upon submission of a receipt, at the level equivalent to what ASEs employed at 50% receive in tuition waivers from the University. (c) If health insurance benefits are not covered by the employer or another source, the cost of GAIP is reimbursed for each of them and their dependents upon submission of a receipt. If GAIP is not available, they and their dependents shall receive a plan with benefits approximately equivalent to GAIP or have COBRA reimbursed. (d) They shall each receive leave, holiday and vacation comparable to employees in the bargaining unit. Article 20, Delegates
from Local Section 1. All delegates to conventions of the International Union, UAW, shall be elected pursuant to Article 8 of the International Constitution. Section 2. The Executive Board shall appoint delegates to Community Action Program state, county, or city councils. Article 21,
Amendments Section 1. Members may move to amend the bylaws in a membership meeting; the motion must be presented in writing and must set forth the amendment(s) sought. The motion shall be read to the meeting and referred to the Bylaws Committee, which will report to the succeeding membership meeting. The notice of that meeting must contain a notice of the particular bylaw amendments that will be considered. If approved by two-thirds (2/3) of those voting at this succeeding meeting the amendment shall be considered adopted. Article 22, General Section 1. All Local Union officers, committees,
stewards and other members handling funds or other property of the Article 23, Strikes Section 1. Strikes may only be called in accordance with Article 50 of the International Constitution. |
| UAW Local 4121 * 4500 9th Ave. NE Suite 300 * Seattle, WA 98105 * (206) 633-6080 |