ACT-UAW (UAW Local 7902) 2008 Election: Notice of Nominations

Published February 22, 2008

ACT-UAW (UAW Local 7902) will hold its triennial election for the offices shown below in Spring 2008.

If you are eligible for these offices, you have already been automatically nominated to them. This is the only notice of nomination you will receive. To run for any of these offices, you must follow the highlighted instructions below.

The term of each office is three years. The responsibilities of each office, and the definition of "member in continuous good standing," can be found below.

In general, a member may hold only one office at a time; however, a member may simultaneously hold the office of Steward and another office. Therefore, you may accept nominations for more than one office, with the following restrictions:

• You may accept a nomination for only one of the following offices: President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, Trustee, Sergeant at Arms, Guide, Unit Chairperson, Joint Council Delegate. In other words, you may run for Steward and another office at the same time, and if elected to both offices, may hold them simultaneously.
• If you are a member of both Units, you may accept both Units' nominations for Steward, but you may accept only one Unit's nomination for Unit Chairperson or Joint Council Delegate. In other words, if you are a member of both Units, you may run for Steward in both Units, along with one other office.

The Election Committee will confirm each accepting nominee's eligibility. If any office is contested: 1) the Election Committee will meet with all candidates for contested offices on Monday March 24 at 7:00pm in ACT-UAW's office at 113 University Place, 9th Floor, New York NY; 2) the Election Committee will mail an Election Notice regarding all contested offices to all eligible voters, and make absentee ballots available, on March 27, 2008; 3) voting for contested offices will occur on April 17, 2008.

We urge all nominees to read and understand the Election Rules, which are available on our website at http://actuaw.org/election_rules_081.html. If you have questions, please contact the Election Committee at election@actuaw.org. Printed copies of this notice and the Election Rules are available in the ACT-UAW office.

In addition to the automatic nominations described above, any member may nominate any other members s/he desires for any position. To nominate a fellow member, you must send notification in writing, either by certified mail (return receipt requested) or by hand delivery, to ACT-UAW Election Committee, 113 University Place, 6th Floor, New York NY 10003, by March 7, 2008. You must also notify the nominee, so that s/he will be aware of his or her obligation to accept the nomination as described above. Failure to give the nominee notice will not invalidate his or her nomination, nor excuse the nominee's obligation to accept before the deadline above. If a nominee does not respond, it shall be deemed a rejection of the nomination.

DESCRIPTION OF OFFICES

Executive Committee
These officers serve our entire Local:

President is the chief official of our Local. S/he presides over all meetings of our Local, appoints committee members not otherwise elected, serves as an ex officio member of all committees, and countersigns all checks issued by the Financial Secretary. The President may also delegate duties to other board members in order to advance the interests of the membership.

Vice Presidents assist the President in all duties. There are two Vice Presidents: First Vice President and Second Vice President. If you are eligible, you may run for one, but not both, offices (your nomination acceptance letter must specify which office's nomination you are accepting). In the absence of the President, the First Vice President performs all the duties of the President.

Recording Secretary is responsible for all the records of our Local and has the general responsibility for our Local's correspondence (except correspondence that is directly related to the duties of the other officers).

Financial Secretary is responsible for our Local's accounts. S/he handles all dues and other income, maintains membership lists, and pays our Local's bills. The Financial Secretary also is responsible for our Local's property.

Trustees conduct biannual audits of our Local's funds and property. There are three Trustees.

Sergeant at Arms maintains orders at membership meetings. This can mean helping to check in members at meetings and ensuring that discussion is orderly. The Sergeant at Arms introduces new members and visitors, and performs other duties as assigned.

Guide helps to preserve order at meetings and to assure that everyone present is a member in good standing. The Guide performs other duties as assigned.

Unit Officers
Our Local is an amalgamation of two Units, one serving The New School and another serving NYU. Each Unit has its own officers, who are elected only by members of that Unit:

Unit Chairperson is the chief executive of the Unit, has a vote on the Joint Council, and is an ex officio member of the Executive Committee.

Joint Council Delegates have a vote on the Joint Council, along with our Local's Executive Officers and Unit Chairpersons. In an amalgamated Local like ours (a Local with more than one contract, and therefore one Unit per contract), the Joint Council is considered the membership body of the Local, and our Local's highest authority, aside from the members themselves; it approves our Local's Financial Report, has a say in political action, and is a forum for the Units to report and discuss concerns of the membership, contract negotiations, and important issues. The Executive Committee reports to the Joint Council. Joint Council meetings are held monthly.
    Other major responsibilities: Representing members in grievances. To do this effectively, a delegate must be knowledgeable about our contract and legal union rights; we train all new delegates. Introducing new employees to our Local. We ask all delegates to take responsibility for contacting new employees to make sure they sign up for our Local, receive their union information packet, and get a good first impression of our union. Each Delegate is assigned a School or Department. Assist in organizing Membership Meetings, rallies and other Local events. We depend on Delegates to get the word out and encourage fellow members to participate in Local activities. This could involve distributing flyers in your assigned area, sending out an encouraging email to members, or phoning members to come to a rally.
    Qualifications Needed: You must be a committed person who cares about fellow faculty, is willing to stand up against injustice in the workplace, and is dedicated to keeping our union strong and united. Delegates need to be leaders, whether they're standing up for our contract in one teacher's grievance, or standing up for our union as a whole.
    Our Bylaws specify that there will be one Delegate for every 75 Unit members.

Stewards represent members in grievances, introduce new employees to our Local, and assist in organizing Membership Meetings, rallies and other Local events. Our Local will determine the number of Stewards. A member may simultaneously hold the office of Steward and another office.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS

Member in continuous good standing: a person who has signed an ACT-UAW Membership Card, and has either paid dues or signed a dues authorization card allowing his or her employer to deduct dues from his or her pay. This is not the same as a member in good standing, which is a person who has signed an ACT-UAW Membership Card, and has not notified the Local of his or her permanent separation from the Local's Units. Nominees for elected office must be members in continuous good standing, for the periods listed above; whereas voters must simply be members in good standing.