Chapter Elections and Procedures

April 13, 2001

MEMORANDUM

To: Chapter Presidents

Re: Chapter Elections and Procedures for Selecting Convention Delegates and for Designating Proxies

As you know, the 48th NTEU National Convention will take place July 29 through August 2, 2001, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I take this opportunity to remind you that it is time to be taking steps to ensure that your chapter's delegates to the Convention have been properly selected.

Remember that no one can attend a National Convention as a delegate unless he/she has been elected as such in a secret ballot election. Under the NTEU Bylaws, Part IV, Section 3, a Chapter President and all Chapter Vice Presidents, by virtue of their election to chapter office (ex officio), automatically qualify as delegates to a Convention which occurs during their term of office. These are the only chapter officers who automatically qualify. Each must be duly elected in accordance with the NTEU Bylaws and the chapter's own bylaws.

Attached to this memo is a copy of Part IV, Section 2, of the NTEU Bylaws governing chapter elections and a copy of Chapter 19 of NTEU's Chapter Manual, which gives step by step guidance on conducting chapter elections. You will want to understand both of them thoroughly before undertaking a chapter election. If the chapter bylaws are inconsistent with the national bylaws, the national bylaws govern. In the event of a conflict, you may wish to consider a chapter bylaws change in order to minimize confusion.

Basic Rules Governing Convention Delegates

President or Vice President Elect
Ex Officio delegates are those who actually hold chapter office at the time of the Convention. A chapter officer elected before the Convention to take office after the Convention is not a delegate unless the chapter bylaws explicitly so provide.
Appointed Officers
A Chapter President or Vice President must be elected, not appointed, to the position in order to be a delegate. The only exception is that a duly elected Vice President who moves into a vacant presidency is a delegate by virtue of his/her election to the vice presidency.
Number of Delegates
A chapter is entitled to as many delegates as it has votes, as set forth in Article VIII, Section 2, of the NTEU Constitution. The chapter may send fewer delegates than it has votes, but not more.
Additional Delegates
A chapter may, in its bylaws or by vote of its executive board, increase the number of delegates beyond the ex officio delegates, up to its maximum vote entitlement. If, for example, a chapter has a President and 3 Vice Presidents, and a vote entitlement of 5, the executive board may decide to send an additional delegate. However, the board may not select the additional delegate. Selection may be made only by the chapter membership in a secret ballot election (with 30 days notice and sent by first-class mail to chapter members).
Alternate Delegates
Alternate delegates may be selected only by a formal, secret ballot election. Neither the chapter executive board nor the Chapter President may appoint alternate delegates. As a general rule, most chapters do not select alternate delegates, but if they wish to do so, alternates may be elected during the regular chapter elections or at a special election (with 30 days notice and sent by first-class mail to chapter members).
Too Many Ex Officio Delegates
If more qualified delegates wish to attend than a chapter has votes, then the chapter must conduct a special meeting (with 15 days notice and sent by first- class mail to chapter members) to decide by secret ballot which delegates will represent the chapter at the Convention.
Reimbursement of Convention Delegates
A chapter is not required to reimburse delegates for travel expenses to the Convention. The chapter may, through its bylaws or executive board, authorize full or partial reimbursement of Convention expenses. However, all delegates who attend the Convention must be reimbursed at the same rate. There must be no discrimination among delegates. If the chapter can afford to pay only one delegate's expenses, for example, but more wish to attend, the chapter may either a) divide the money equally among all those qualified delegates who wish to attend, or b) conduct a chapter meeting to decide, by secret ballot, which delegate shall receive reimbursement.
Proxy Election
If your Chapter's President and Vice Presidents, or any one of them, are planning to attend the Convention, no further election is required. Remember that all ex officio delegates are entitled to attend the Convention on equal reimbursement terms. Any delegates who choose not to attend should sign a waiver (form #5) to that effect, a form for which is provided in this package.
If no one from your chapter can attend the Convention, the members must be given the opportunity to vote on whether they choose to be unrepresented or whether they choose to assign their votes to a proxy delegate. Proxy selection may never be made by appointment of the President or the Executive Board. Like all delegates and alternates, all proxies must be elected by secret ballot by the chapter members. Election can take place in a regular or special election, in a mail ballot or ballot box election. (Only 15 days notice is required but, again, it must be mailed first-class to all chapter members.)

Under the basic rules set forth above, a special meeting of the chapter membership is required in the following circumstances.

If no ex-officio delegates can or will attend the Convention, the membership must vote on whether to be represented, and, if so, by whom.
If the chapter has decided to pay expenses for a limited number of delegates, but more wish to attend, the membership must elect from among the delegates those who will receive expense reimbursement.
If the chapter has more willing delegates than it has votes, the membership must elect, from among those wishing to attend, the delegates who will represent the chapter at the Convention.

The procedures for special membership meetings for the three circumstances described above are as follows:

To Decide On Whether To Be Represented, And, If So, By Whom

Written notice must be mailed, first class, to each chapter member, at his/her last known address, at least 15 days prior to the meeting. The notice must announce the meeting and the purpose for the meeting, and we suggest that you use the attached Notice 1 for this purpose.

Notwithstanding your chapter bylaws, no quorum requirement exists for this meeting.
1. The first issue to be presented for a vote is whether the chapter wishes to be represented or unrepresented at the Convention. The vote can be by show of hands or a standing vote.
2. If the majority votes to be unrepresented, then the issue is resolved, and the chapter need take no further action.
3. If the majority votes to be represented, it must then vote on whether to be represented by a chapter member or by a proxy delegate from another chapter. Again, a secret ballot is not required. If no member has expressed a willingness to attend on the available terms (usually without reimbursement of travel expenses), this vote need not be taken, and the proxy vote proceeds.
4. If the majority votes to be represented by a chapter member and only one member is willing to serve on these terms, then a secret ballot vote is not necessary, and this person can be declared the winner after being formally nominated. However, if more than one chapter member is willing to serve as a delegate, then a secret ballot vote is necessary to determine which chapter member will serve as delegate.
5. If the majority votes to be represented by proxy at the Convention, then the following procedures apply:
1. Nominations will be received from the floor. Only duly elected delegates from another chapter are eligible to hold a proxy.
2. If only one nomination is made, that candidate can be declared the winner without formal election.
3. If a contest exists between multiple nominees, then a secret ballot vote is needed.
1. If More Delegates Wish To Attend Than Will Be Reimbursed
1. Notice of the meeting must be mailed to each chapter member, at his/her last known home address at least 15 days in advance of the meeting. Use Notice 2 for this purpose.
2. No quorum requirement will apply.
3. The question of who will receive travel expenses must be decided by a secret ballot vote.
4. The losers in this vote remain free to attend the Convention as delegates but at their own expense.
1. If More Delegates Wish To Attend Than The Chapter Has Votes
1. Follow the same procedures set forth in II (A) - (D) above but use Notice 3.
2. The losers in this circumstance are not allowed to serve as delegates to the Convention even if they attend at their own expense.
Any delegate or alternate delegate who is not a Chapter President or Chapter Vice President and who is not elected pursuant to Part IV, Section 2, of the NTEU Bylaws, or pursuant to the procedures described herein for a special membership meeting, may not be certified by the Committee on Credentials as a delegate. Similarly, an assignment of proxy not made by election pursuant to Part IV, Section 3, of the Bylaws, would constitute an invalid proxy delegation, and the Committee on Credentials may not certify the proxy as valid.
I strongly urge you to work closely with your Field Representative to ensure that your chapter is following the proper procedures. If we are diligent in this way, our 2001 Convention will be conducted smoothly, and we will minimize the chances of jeopardizing the outcome of any election because of technical, procedural errors. I cannot overstress the importance of proper conduct of chapter elections both to your chapter and to NTEU as a whole. Election problems are extremely disruptive for a chapter, and they undermine the members' confidence in the union and the chapter leadership. Election problems are much easier (and far less costly) to prevent than to correct. Thank you for your cooperation in this important area.
Attached Form
Colleen M. Kelley
National President
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