3.1 Election Process

Members in good standing, including members on long-term disability and workers’ compensation, shall elect by secret ballot a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Recording Secretary and three at-large members of the Executive Committee. Members of each constituency shall elect by secret ballot their departmental delegate(s). At any election those candidates for office receiving the most votes cast shall be elected. All officers and delegates shall take office immediately upon certification of the results by the election commissioner (Article IV, Section 2.7 ELECTION COMMISSIONER).

Members in good standing may vote for a member who is not on the ballot (write-in or sticker candidate), provided that they list the candidate’s full name and the office being sought and that the candidate was a member in good standing for the six months immediately prior to the nominating meeting.

These elections shall take place every two (2) years on the second Thursday in June except as hereinafter specifically provided in sub-paragraph A and B:

A. If a collective bargaining agreement is scheduled to expire within six (6) months after the scheduled election, elections will be held on the second Thursday of the month six (6) months prior to the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement. In the event that elections are held early, the terms of the officers and delegates so elected shall be extended and the next elections shall be held at the regular time;

B. If negotiations for a successor collective bargaining agreement are in progress as of the second Thursday in May in any year in which an election regularly is scheduled to take place, the terms of office shall be extended one year, and the elections shall be held on the second Thursday in June.

3.2 Notice of Elections

Not less than 15 days before the election, a notice of the impending election date, place and time shall be mailed to the last known address of each member in good standing. At least one month prior to the election, the election date, time and place will be posted on all Union bulletin boards at any location where the Union is the recognized or certified bargaining agent of its members.

3.3 Nomination Procedure

Two months prior to the election of Union officials, notice shall be posted on all Union bulletin boards of those offices to be filled and the date, time, place and proper form for submitting such nominations.

All members in good standing shall be given a reasonable opportunity to nominate a candidate of their choice at a general meeting called for that purpose. Departmental delegates shall be nominated only by members from the department that the delegate is to represent. Other Union business may be conducted at a nominating meeting.

No member shall be eligible for nomination or election or office unless he or she has been a member in good standing for the six months immediately prior to the date of the nominating meeting. As a condition for being listed on the ballot, each nominated member must sign a statement indicating his or her willingness to serve if elected, and submit such statement to the Recording Secretary within three days following the nominating meeting. No member may run for more than one office in any election.

3.4 Campaign Rules

Use of Union resources to support any candidate is strictly prohibited. All candidates for office may inspect upon request a current list of names and addresses of members eligible to vote for them at least thirty days before an election.

3.5 Absentee Ballots

The Election Commissioner shall have responsibility for preparing ballots for a general election. As soon as such ballots are prepared, the Election Commissioner shall mail with a stamped, addressed return envelope ballots to all members working at Globe satellite locations or on long-term disability, workers’ compensation or leaves of absence who have so notified the Election Commissioner prior to the meeting at which nominations were conducted. In addition, the Election Commissioner shall have the authority to provide absentee ballots upon request to members otherwise unable to vote in the regular manner, subject to rules adopted by the Governing Board consistent with applicable law, except that no absentee ballots shall be mailed out within a week of the election.

Only the Election Commissioner shall cause to be distributed and shall receive absentee ballots, and shall be responsible for ensuring that all absentee ballots are sealed in an envelope and counted with the other ballots on election night.

3.6 Vacancies

An officer or departmental delegate shall automatically vacate office (1) upon no longer being employed in any bargaining unit(s) represented by the Union, (2) in the case of the delegate, upon being transferred from one department to another, or (3) upon his or her appointment to a non-bargaining unit position, except that in the case of (2) the Governing Board may suspend the rule by a two-thirds vote.

In the event the President resigns or must vacate office during his or her term or the office becomes vacant for any other reason, the office shall be filled by the Vice President. Vacancies occurring in all other offices, whether by resignation or as provided in this section, shall be filled by Governing Board appointment. Except as to the offices of president and treasurer, no replacement shall be required within two months of a regular election. The Executive Committee may nominate candidates and make recommendations to the Governing Board prior to all appointments.

Vacancies shall be posted on all Union bulletin boards. Executive Committee vacancies shall be filled by the Governing Board at a meeting held no sooner than four weeks but no longer than six weeks of the date of the vacancy.

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