Nominations Open for Steward, Head Steward, and Executive Board ASE Positions!

May 15, 2020 | Elections

Dear UAW Member,

Nominations for vacant ASE Steward, Head Steward, Defense Committee, and Executive Board positions in UAW 4121 are open Friday, May 15th and will close on Monday, May 25th, at 5:00 p.m. PDT. This is an opportunity to take a leadership position in your department and in the union.

All members who are in good standing are automatically nominated for open positions in their department. This means that you do not have to be nominated by someone else–to run for the position, you simply have to accept your automatic nomination! Please reply to us at elections@uaw4121.org to accept nomination for one position only.

The timeline for the elections is as follows:

    • Nomination Period: Friday, 05/15 – Monday 05/25 (May 24th at 5:00 p.m. PDT is the deadline to submit optional candidate statements and photos)
    • Candidate Statements Posted: Thursday 05/28 (for contested positions)
    • Voting: Monday, 06/08 – Wednesday 06/10 (for contested positions)
    • Runoff (If needed): Monday 06/15 – Tuesday 06/16

(all nomination and voting/runoff periods close at 5:00 PM PDT)

Questions? Email us at elections@uaw4121.org.

Steward Position and Eligibility Description

Stewards are responsible for serving as organizers and points of contact for their department. They help encourage people to join the union, spread information about upcoming events, direct department members to union resources, and help organize the ASEs in the department for collective actions that protect and expand our workplace rights. With the guidance of the contract enforcement committee, they can also represent and support colleagues through the grievance procedure if issues arise. Stewards receive training and support for both of these roles, so there’s no prior experience needed.

Eligibility: To be eligible for the position of Steward, you must have been a union member in good standing for at least ninety (90) days. You may not hold the position of Steward simultaneously with any other elected office (including Head Steward), with the exception of chairs of standing committees other than the Elections Committee. If you wish, you may resign your current position to run as a steward. Simply indicate this in your email to the Elections Committee.

If you have questions about the position or your eligibility, please feel free to contact us at elections@uaw.org, and we can help put you in contact with a current steward to chat with. All Steward positions will last until September 2022.

Open Steward Positions:

There are many open steward positions. For a full list, please see HERE.

If you do not see your department listed, but believe there to be a vacancy, please contact the Elections Committee via email at elections@uaw.org.

Head Steward Position and Eligibility Description

Head Stewards represent the entire ASE unit and meet quarterly (at minimum) as members of the Joint Council, alongside Postdoc Head Stewards and the Executive Committee. Head Stewards also make up the bargaining team which bargains with the UW over our contract. There are currently 12 total Head Steward positions that represent the ASEs (along with four others for the Postdocs).

Eligibility: To be eligible for the position of Head Steward, you must have been a union member in continuous good standing for at least ninety (90) days. You may not hold the position of Head Steward simultaneously with any other elected office (including Steward), with the exception of chairs of standing committees other than the Elections Committee. If you wish, you may resign your current position to run as a steward. Simply indicate this in your email to the Elections Committee.

If you have questions about the position or your eligibility, please feel free to contact us at elections@uaw.org, and we can help put you in contact with a current Head Steward to chat with. The term of this Head Stewardship will last until May 2022.

There is one (1) open Head Steward position.

 

Defense Committee Positions and Eligibility

The primary goals of the Defense Committee are participating in and recruiting for solidarity actions with other unions, conducting direct action campaigns in order to strengthen our position as a local, and building links between UAW 4121 and on- and off-campus organizations dedicated to advancing equity and fairness.

Eligibility: To be eligible for the position on the Defense Committee, you must have been a union member in continuous good standing for at least ninety (90) days. You may not hold a position on the Defense Committee simultaneously with any other elected office, with the exception of Steward and chairs of standing committees other than the Elections Committee.

If you have questions about the position or your eligibility, please feel free to contact us at elections@uaw.org, and we can help put you in contact with a current committee member to chat with. The term of these positions will last until May 2022.

There are 15 open Defense Committee positions available.

 

Accepting Nomination

To accept nomination for one of the above positions, you must send your acceptance in an email to the Election Committee at elections@uaw4121.org, or by mail to Elections Committee c/o UAW Local 4121, 2633 Eastlake Ave E, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98102.

Acceptance must be received by mail or email no later than May 25th at 5:00pm PDT. The written statement of acceptance should state how the nominee wishes their name to appear on the ballot and the region in which they are accepting the nomination, if applicable.

Candidate Statements and Campaign Rules

Members accepting nomination may also submit a candidate statement (up to 500 words) to the Election Committee that must be received by the nomination deadline of May 25th at 5:00 pm PDT. Candidates may also submit a photo, which must have a square aspect ratio and be at least 200×200 pixels in resolution. In the case of contested positions, statements will be posted on the Local Union website no later than May 28th.

Candidates and those campaigning for them are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the rules governing elections and campaigns as laid out in the UAW 4121 Bylaws and the Constitution of the UAW International.

Election Procedure

If only one candidate accepts nomination for a position, that position will be uncontested and will be automatically filled. For contested positions, a candidate must receive a majority of votes to win.

If no candidate receives a majority of the votes for a position, a runoff election will be held on June 15th to the 16th. Voting will take place online.

Online Voting

Online voting by secret ballot will take place from June 8th to the 10th. Instructions for online voting will be emailed to all members before the voting and will be posted on www.uaw4121.org/elections.

If you have graduated or left the University of Washington and are receiving this email in error, please email us at elections@uaw4121.org.

 

In solidarity,

UAW Local 4121 Election Committee 2020-2021
David Carlson
Victor Hu
Sarah Romano