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ARTICLE
1 - NAME
This Local shall be known as Local 4900, Communications
Workers of America, AFL-CIO.
ARTICLE
2 - JURISDICTION
Jurisdiction of this Local shall be the jurisdiction assigned
by the International Union and appearing on the face of the Local Charter.
ARTICLE
3 - OBJECTIVES
The objectives of Local 4900 shall be to represent and serve
the workers within its jurisdiction in accordance with the By-Laws and Rules of
the Local and the Constitution and policies of the
ARTICLE 4 - LOCAL STRUCTURE
Section 1
The structure of the Local shall consist of the following:
(1) Membership;
(2) The Officers: President,
Division Vice President(s);Secretary-Treasurer,
(3) The Executive Board:
The officers and the Area Representatives;
(4) The committees.
Section 2
Divisions:
A. There shall be as many
divisions as the Executive Board shall recommend and the membership shall
approve;
B. The composition of a
division shall be as the Executive Board recommends and the membership shall
approve;
C. There shall be one
Division Vice President elected for each division.
Section 3
Areas:
A. There shall be as many
areas within a division as the Executive Board shall recommend and the division
membership shall approve;
B. The composition of an area
shall be as the Executive Board recommends and the membership shall approve;
C. There shall be one Area
Representative elected from each area unless otherwise approved by the Executive
Board.
ARTICLE 5 - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1
Eligibility:
Any
person eligible for membership in the Communications
Workers
of America, as defined in Article V of its Constitution, shall be eligible for
membership in this local if performing work within the local's jurisdiction, or
if employed on a part-time or full-time basis by the union.
Section 2
Application:
Membership in the local shall be obtained after payment of
the local initiation fee of two dollars ($2.00) and upon the approval of any
membership committee authorized to accept or reject membership on behalf of the
local subject to the right of the local to overrule the decision of a membership
committee.
Section 3
Transfers:
The
transfer of membership from this local to the jurisdiction of another local and
from another local to the jurisdiction of this local shall be made in accordance
with Article V of the Union Constitution.
Section 4
Resignation:
Resignations
from the Local shall be in accordance with the Constitution.
ARTICLE
6 - LOCAL DUES AND ASSESSMENTS
Section
1
Local
Dues
Each member of the local shall pay dues in an amount
established by the CWA Convention.
Section
2
Local
Special Assessments
The
membership of this local may levy a special assessment only by secret ballot
referendum.
ARTICLE
7 - GOVERNING AUTHORITY
Section
1
The
affairs of this local shall be governed by its membership in accordance with the
Constitution and policies of the union in the following manner:
A. Through
action taken in Division, Area and Unit meetings and by referendum of the
membership;
B. Through
action of the local Executive Board. The
Executive Board shall establish administrative policies which become necessary;
C. Through
action of the local officers;
D. The
actions and decisions of the Executive Board and the local officers may be
overruled by the membership.
Section 2
Executive Board
The local Executive Board shall consist of the officers and
the Area Representatives.
ARTICLE
8 – DIVISION/AREA UNIT MEETINGS
A. Area
membership meetings shall be held a minimum of six (6) times per calendar year
and provided that a minimum of one (1) such meeting is held within every two (2)
month period.
B. Notice
of meetings shall be given in advance and shall consist of location, date and time;
C. Special
Division area meetings shall be called by its Division Vice President upon
receipt of a petition signed by ten percent (10%) of the Division membership.
Such special meetings shall be held within ten (10) calendar days.
D. Special
area meetings shall be called by its Area Representative upon
receipt of a petition signed by ten percent (10%) of the area membership.
Such special meetings shall be held within ten (10) calendar days.
ARTICLE
9 - LOCAL DELEGATES TO THE UNION CONVENTION
A.
Delegates to the union convention shall be local officers serving in the
following order:
1. President
2. Division Vice President(s)
3. Secretary-Treasurer
4. Alternate and additional
delegates, if necessary.
B.
Upon the recommendation of the Executive Board and the approval of the
membership, any additional delegates and/or alternates that the local is
entitled to may be elected by a special election.
C. In
the event the local elects more than one (1) delegate to the union convention,
the local shall determine the convention votes assigned to each delegate in
accordance with the union constitution.
D. The
President shall be the first convention delegate.
The Division I Vice President shall be the second Convention delegate (or
first alternate convention delegate); The Division II Vice President shall be
the third convention delegate (or second
alternate delegate); Division III Vice President shall be the
fourth Convention delegate (or third alternate delegate).
The Secretary-Treasurer shall be the fifth convention delegate (or fourth
alternate).
E. It
shall be the duty of the Secretary-Treasurer of the local to certify the local
delegates to the union convention to the Secretary-Treasurer of the union within
the same time limits specified in the Union Constitution.
ARTICLE 10 - LOCAL COMMITTEES
A.
The local shall have the following regular committees:
1. Education Committee
2. Election Committee
3. Organizing Committee
4. Legislative-Political Committee
5. Membership Committee
6. Community Services Committee
7. Finance Committee
8. Building Committee
9. Activities Committee
10. Safety Committee
11. Committee on Equity
B.
Members of all committees shall be appointed by a majority vote of the
Executive Board subject to the right of the membership to overrule such
appointments.
C.
Vacancies on committees shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointments.
D.
A member of any local committee may be removed by a majority vote
of the Executive Board.
E.
The president, with the Executive Board's approval, may appoint any other
committees as it becomes necessary.
F.
Duties of the committees:
1. Education Committee:
The Education Committee shall assist in
developing the local's educational program and with the local officers,
be responsible for effectuating the union's and the local's
educational program.
2. Election Committee:
The Election Committee shall conduct all nominations, elections and
referenda of this local.
3. Organizing Committee:
The Organizing Committee shall assist the local officers in organizing
all members within the local's jurisdiction.
4. Legislative-Political
Committee: The Legislative-Political
Committee shall assist in developing and pursuing the programs of the union and
the local in the legislative field. It
shall be
responsible
for the local's program to register each qualified voter.
5.
Membership Committee: The
Membership Committee or Membership Committees shall accept or reject membership
applications in accordance with the By-Laws and Rules of the local and
the Constitution and policies of the union.
6. Community
Services Committee: The Community
Services Committee shall
assist the Executive Board in establishing a
program of community involvement to assure local awareness of community
needs.
7. Finance Committee:
The Finance Committee shall audit the financial records of the local and
make a written report quarterly to the local. The committee shall perform any
other financial duties assigned by the President.
8. Building Committee:
The Building Committee shall manage and control under the direction of
the Executive Board of the local, all real
estate which the local acquires for use as a local headquarters or for
furtherance of any legitimate object of the local.
The Committee shall also
operate in conformance with the By-
Laws of
the CWA Building Corporation.
9. Activities Committee:
The Activities Committee shall coordinate
social and other activities of the local in conjunction with all other
committees.
10. Safety Committee:
The Safety Committee shall work in the field of
health and safety, and shall assist in developing the local's program for
furthering the health and safety of the membership.
11.
Committee on Equity: The
Committee on Equity shall work in the area of special concerns for women and
minorities in the local membership and assist in developing and sustaining a
local program to insure equality and
representation to all members
ARTICLE 11 - ORDER OF BUSINESS
A.
The Order of Business at a local meeting shall be as follows:
1.
Call to order
2.
Roll call
3.
of previous meeting
4.
Report of officers
5.
Report of committees
6.
Unfinished business
7.
New business
8.
Adjournment
The order of business may be
suspended by a two-thirds (2/3's) vote of the members present.
ARTICLE
12 - LOCAL OFFICERS, AREA REPRESENTATIVES, CHIEF STEWARDS, STEWARDS AND THEIR
DUTIES
A.
The officers of this local shall be:
1. President
2. Division Vice President(s)
3. Secretary-Treasurer
B.
Duties of the President:
1. The President
or their designate shall preside at meetings of the local and at meetings of the
local Executive Board and shall be responsible for the conduct of the local
business.
2.
Shall perform whatever additional duties as may be assigned by the local
or required by the policies and Constitution of the union.
C:
Division Vice Presidents and their duties:
1.
The Division Vice Presidents shall direct and assist the Area
Representatives of their respective divisions.
2.
The Division Vice Presidents shall perform such other duties as may be
assigned by the local, the local Executive Board or the local President.
3. The
Division Vice President shall be responsible for all work locations within
his/her divisions.
D.
Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer:
1.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain a record of the local and keep
minutes of the local Executive Board.
2.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall furnish both the District Vice President
and Secretary-Treasurer of the union with two (2) copies of any changes in the
Local By-Laws.
3.
The Secretary-Treasurer
shall be responsible for furnishing the Secretary-Treasurer of the union with
all the proper forms signed by local officers which are required by State and
Federal laws immediately upon their execution.
4.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall be bonded and shall be custodian of all
assets of the local and shall make a report to each membership meeting.
5.
The Secretary-Treasurer
shall cause the payment of all bills approved by the President.
6. The Secretary-Treasurer shall perform such
duties as may be assigned by the local, the local Executive Board, or the local
President.
E. Area
Representatives and their duties:
1.
The Area Representatives shall work under the direction of the Division
Vice Presidents and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the
local, the local Executive Board, or the local president
2.
The Area Representatives shall preside at meetings of their respective
areas.
F.
Chief Stewards and their duties:
1. This
local shall have as many chief stewards as may be deemed necessary by the Area
Representative and approved by the Executive Board.
2. The Chief
Stewards shall be from their
respective groups. And may be elected.
The Area Representatives may appoint Chief Stewards.
3. The Chief
Stewards shall work under the direction of the Area Representative of their
respective area. They shall perform
such duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by their Area
Representative.
G.
Stewards and their duties:
1.
This local shall have as many Stewards as may be deemed necessary by the
Area Representatives.
2.
The Stewards shall be from their respective groups, and may be elected.
The Area Representatives may appoint Stewards.
3.
The Stewards shall work
under the direction of the Area Representative of their respective area.
They shall perform such duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by
their Area Representative.
ARTICLE
13 - CONDUCT OF MEETINGS AND QUORUM
A. Division,
Area and Unit meetings of this local shall be conducted under these By-
Laws and Rules of the Local and in conformity with the Union
Constitution. On questions where the
local By-Laws, the Rules of the Local, or the Union Constitution do not clearly
apply, Roberts Rules of Order shall govern.
B.
The members in attendance at Division, Area and unit meetings shall
constitute a quorum.
C.
A majority of the officers, or a majority of the members of a committee
shall constitute a quorum for those bodies.
D.
Motions effecting entire membership shall be referred to the Executive
Board. The Executive Board shall
find the motion in order or out of order. The
Executive Board may refer motions to a committee or refer the motion to the
membership.
ARTICLE
14 - NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF LOCAL OFFICERS/DELEGATES, ALTERNATE DELEGATES,
AND MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section
1 – Nominations/Elections
A.
Nominations for President and Secretary-Treasurer shall be local-wide.
Nominations for Vice Presidents shall be from their respective divisions.
Nominations for Area Representatives shall be from their respective
areas.
B.
Delegates to conventions and all meetings:
The President, Division Vice Presidents and the Secretary-Treasurer shall
serve as local delegates during their terms of office.
In the absence of any above listed officer, the respective alternate
delegate shall serve as the delegate.
C.
The term of office shall be three (3) years or until their successors
have been duly elected and qualified.
D. Such
election shall be conducted via the US Mail with ballots being mailed to the
last known address of each member in good standing and
the local shall supply prepaid first class postage on a pre-addressed
return envelope. The member shall be
responsible for maintaining their address with the Secretary-Treasurer.
All write-in votes will be void.
E.
The membership shall elect a President and Secretary-Treasurer
local-wide. The membership shall
elect the Vice Presidents by their respective
divisions.
F.
President, Division Vice Presidents and Secretary-Treasurer shall be
elected by a majority of the votes cast. Area
Representative shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast.
G. Each election year, the
Election Committee shall conduct the nominations and local elections in the
following manner.
1.
On the second Thursday of July, the numbers of members in the areas, Districts
and local-wide will be determined.
2.
On the second Thursday of August, a notice of nominations and a nomination form
shall be mailed to the last known home address of members of the Local.
The notice shall include the necessary information for submitting
nominations. Nominations shall be made by
3. The deadline for
receiving nominations will be the second Thursday of September at
4. The election ballots
shall be mailed to the members on the second Thursday of October.
5. The run-off election
ballots, if necessary, shall be mailed on the second Thursday of November.
6. The Local Executive Board
shall take office on the second Thursday in December.
Section
2 - Vacancies and Appointments
A.
Vacancy in the office of President:
1. If the
office of President becomes vacant, the Executive Board shall immediately assign
a Division Vice President to act as President
until a special election can be held.
B. Vacancy
in the offices of Division Vice President(s), Secretary-Treasurer, Area
Representatives and alternate delegates to the convention:
1. The
Executive Board shall fill all vacancies by temporary appointment until a
special election can be held.
C. All
vacancies shall be filled by special election within sixty (60) days of the
vacancy and the successor shall serve the balance of the unexpired term.
D. The
method for all special elections shall be conducted by US Mail.
E.
If there is only one (1)
nominee for any position, the
nominee shall be elected by acclamation.
ARTICLE
15 - STRIKES
The
calling, conduct and termination of strikes affecting this local shall at all
times be carried on in compliance with the Rules prescribed by the Union
Constitution.
ARTICLE
16 - CHARGES, TRIALS AND APPEALS
Section
1 - Charges:
Members of the local may be
fined, suspended or expelled for any of the acts enumerated in the Union
Constitution.
Section
2 – Trials:
Any accused person shall be tried under the provisions of the
Union Constitution.
Section
3 – Appeals:
A member of this local, upon being found guilty by a local
trial court, may appeal as provided in the Union Constitution.
Section
4 - Local Trial Court
A.
A trial court of this local shall be composed of three (3) persons who
are members of this local and not parties to the proceedings.
B. Each
Area Representative shall nominate a member from their Area to serve as a member
of the trial court. A panel shall be
established by a random drawing at a local Executive Board
meeting from the nominees.
The term of office shall be the same as the Local Executive Board.
Section
5 – Enforcement of Penalties:
If a member who is found guilty by a local trial court fails
to comply with any final penalty assessed by the trial court or an appellate
body, the local may seek enforcement of the penalty in a court of competent
jurisdiction and the guilty member shall be liable for the reasonable
attorney’s fees of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) incurred by
the local in bring such an action.
ARTICLE
17 - RECALL OF LOCAL OFFICERS AND
AREA
REPRESENTATIVES
A. The
officers of this local (President, the
Vice President(s) and Secretary-Treasurer) may be recalled in conformity with
the provisions of the Union Constitution.
B. The
Area Representatives of this local may be recalled in conformity with the
provisions of the Union Constitution, but by their respective areas and the
respective membership comprising that area.
ARTICLE 18 - AMENDMENTS TO LOCAL BY-LAWS
These
By-Laws may be amended by the
following method:
By referendum of the membership.
ARTICLE
19 - REFERENDUM OF THE LOCAL
A.
The local Election Committee shall submit any questions to a referendum
of the membership, when directed to do so by a motion.
B. Questions submitted to referendum shall be
determined by a majority vote of those voting on the question
ARTICLE
20 - FISCAL YEAR AND AUDIT
A.
The fiscal year shall be from October 1st to and including September 30th
of the succeeding year.
B.
The financial records of this local shall be audited by the Finance
Committee at least quarterly. The
results of such audit shall be
available to all members of the local.
ARTICLE
21
A
person elected to an office of the local, after meeting all other
qualifications, shall be duly installed upon taking the following oath:
"I (give name) hereby accept the office of (name of office) of Local
4900, Communications Workers of America, with full knowledge of the
responsibilities and duties of such office."
"I promise to faithfully discharge my duties according to the
By-Laws of the local and the Constitution and policies of the International
Union."
"I further promise to give my successor in office all books and
records in my possession. I shall at
all times endeavor to serve my local and the International Union to the best of
my abilities, so help me God."
Article 22 – Expenses
A.
1. Per
diem for out of town meetings (convention, District meetings, etc.) will be set
by IRS guidelines, but daily meal expenses will be held to actual expenses,
receipted and vouchered. (Officers,
for purposes of these rules shall be considered as all Executive Board Members).
2.
Members, when out of town on authorized Union business, shall be allowed
one personal phone call per day at the Local's expense with receipts and
vouchers required.
3.
The Local shall reimburse members who are authorized to use their
personal vehicle for business of the Local with the IRS permitted cost per mile.
4.
Board members shall be
paid the following vehicle compensation in addition to the IRS permitted cost
per mile:
After accumulating 4,000 miles of
5. All
vouchers for payment must be submitted within ninety (90) days of the date the
expense was incurred.
Section
B - Wages
1.
Wages for members authorized to absent themselves from work to perform
Union business shall be the individual member's lost wages.
2. The
President, Vice Presidents, and Secretary-Treasurer shall authorize absences
from work that require lost time wages.
3.
Area Representatives shall have twelve (12) hours per month of
Union absence time to maintain their respective units.
4.
Officers’ Wages
The President's wage is set at $75,500.
Division Vice Presidents and Secretary-Treasurer is set at $71,500.
Future raises would be based on contractual raises of the largest
bargaining unit in the local jurisdiction.
SECTION C - AREA REPRESENTATIVES
Area
Representatives' monthly salary shall be equal to 20% of the weekly base wage of
the Division Vice Presidents.
SECTION
D - STRIKES
All Officers and Area Reps shall not be paid wages for the
duration of the strike of largest
bargaining unit in the local jurisdiction.
SECTION
E - BENEFITS
1. The
Local shall maintain the benefits of full time Officers as close as possible to
the benefits received as if they were still in the employ of their
respective Company.
2.
The Local shall not be required to maintain the stock match, stock
purchase or 401K benefits of the Companies.
3.
The telephone concession benefit shall be the equivalent of the Ameritech
for all full time Officers.
4. The
Local shall maintain a travel life insurance policy for Board members.
SECTION
F - EMPLOYEES OF THE LOCAL
1.
The employment (hiring and termination) conduct, and discipline of
employees of the Local shall be the
responsibility of the President or his/her designee.
2. The
President shall advise and seek counsel of the Executive Board regarding
employees' labor agreement.
SECTION
G - EXECUTIVE BOARD
1.
Minutes: The
Secretary-Treasurer shall conduct a roll call vote of the entire Board on all
non-consensus Executive Board actions (motions) and record such results in the
Minutes of the Executive Board.
2.
Consensus Actions: The Chair shall ask for an affirmative response from each of the
Executive Board members before directing the Secretary-Treasurer to record that
the Board was in consensus on any issue, action or policy.
SECTION
H - OTHER
1.
It shall be the responsibility of the President, Division Vice Presidents
and Secretary-Treasurer to maintain
the property of the Local. Major
expenditures shall be first approved by the Executive Board.
2.
When the Local surpluses out-of-date office equipment and similar
materials, those items shall be first offered for sale to the membership before
sale outside of the Local.
3.
Funeral flowers, Bibles or In-lieu:
A. The definition
of immediate family in members collective bargaining agreement to determine the
scope of this rule.
B. Areas
shall elect either Bibles or Funeral flowers per situation and advise the
Secretary-Treasurer of their election.
C. A Bible
shall be given to either the member or member's family in the event of a death
in the family.
D. Flowers shall
be provided at the funeral of the member or family member.
E. Contributions
in lieu of flowers or a Bible will be made upon the member's or family's
request.
SECTION
I - LOCAL 4900 ASSISTANCE FUND RULES
1.
To be eligible for strike assistance, one must be a member in good
standing of Local 4900.
2.
The member must perform his/her strike obligation as requested by the
Local.
3. Members
may apply for assistance after having been on strike for seven (7) calendar days
and have met their strike obligation.
4. Members
receiving compensation such as vacation, holiday or disability pay shall be
excluded from receiving strike assistance for that period.
5. A
committee, appointed by the President, from the striking unit at the time of the
strike shall be established to help administer the fund.
This committee shall be chaired by the Secretary-Treasurer.
6. The
weekly assistance amount shall be an amount determined by the Executive Board on
a yearly basis: and this amount
shall be payable until 7 days after termination of the strike or the fund is
depleted.
1.
FUNDING:
Four
Hundred Dollars ($400) a month shall be deposited in a non-interest bearing
account for the sole purpose of being the Local's COPE Fund.
The deposit shall be made from a dues remittance from the International.
2.
DISTRIBUTION:
A. Area
Per-Capita
(1) A one-dollar ($1.00) per member per year of the COPE Fund shall be
made available to each of the Areas.
(2) Additional motions to increase the per-capita may be approved.
RECIPIENTS:
The criteria to receive a political contribution shall be:
A. Publicly announced
political parties that represent the interests of working people;
B. Publicly announced
candidates for office on the community, city, town or
State level of government who represent the interest of working people.
4.
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS:
In the event that an Area raises additional COPE Funds, those funds also
will be allocated to that Area.
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