AFGE Local 12 Washington, DC General Campaign Rules for Electing Officers and Delegates

Transcription

1 AFGE Local 12 Washington, DC 2018 General Campaign Rules for Electing Officers and Delegates 1. Application of AFGE Local 12 Constitution/Bylaws The election will be conducted, insofar as lawful and practicable, in accordance with the provisions of the AFGE Constitution, dated 2012, and the Local 12 Bylaws insofar as lawful and practicable Election Committee Banks, Christopher T - OASAM DBC Banks.Christopher@dol.gov Brown, Ivan - OFCCP Brown.Ivan@dol.gov (CHAIR) Cobet, Aaron BLS Cobet.Aaron@dol.gov Jefferson, Irene ETA Jefferson.Irene@dol.gov Jones, Kim - OWCP Jones.Kim@dol.gov Lee, Darlene M - OFCCP Lee.Darlene@dol.gov Lemberg, Kenneth - ETA Lemberg.Kenneth@dol.gov Rogers, Ron - MSHA Rogers.Ron@dol.gov 3. Officers & Delegates to be Elected Nominations and election will be conducted for the offices of President, Executive Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Head Steward and Delegates. Nominations and election for delegates will be conducted for the following: AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council (4 delegates) AFL-CIO Maryland State and District of Columbia Convention (4 delegates), AFL-CIO Virginia State Convention (1 delegate), AFL-CIO Northern Virginia Central Labor Council (5 delegates), AFGE National Convention (6 delegates), AFGE National Capital Area Council (Council 1) (6 delegates) 4. Term of Office The term of office will be for two years. Installation for those elected will occur as soon as practicable. Page 1 of 8

2 5. Eligibility to Hold Office Pursuant to AFGE Constitution Appendix A, Part I, Section 1(e) in order to be eligible to hold office a person must be: 1. A member in good standing. 2. Be a member for one year of an AFGE Local, immediately preceding the closing of the nomination process. 3. Must not be a member in any labor organization that is not affiliated with the AFL- CIO. Section 504 of the LMRDA prohibits persons convicted of certain crimes, including robbery, bribery, extortion, embezzlement, grand larceny, burglary, arson, violation of narcotics laws, murder, rape, assault with intent to kill, assault which inflicts grievous bodily injury, and violations of Title II of the LMRDA, from holding office for 13 years after conviction or after their release from imprisonment, whichever is later. 6. Campaign Literature The LMRDA requires that all candidates be treated equally regarding the opportunity to campaign. In addition, Section 401(g) of the LMRDA provides that any money received by AFGE Local 12 or any other labor organization by way of dues, assessments, or similar levy, or monies of any employer may not be used directly or indirectly to support the candidacy of any person in a union officer election. This prohibition extends to equipment, vehicles, office supplies, records, and personnel of the AFGE Local 12 or any other labor organization and to employers, whether or not they employ AFGE Local 12 members. Accordingly, union officers and employees may not campaign on time paid for by the union. Candidates and their supporters are required to observe all applicable employer regulations when posting campaign notices or placing campaign literature in public locations and to respect materials placed in public locations in support of opposing candidacies. Campaign related messages may not be sent from union or employer addresses or computers. Campaign related messages may be sent from private, non-employer supplied addresses. The campaign messages may be sent to members at their employer address as long as a union list of members and/or union list of members addresses is not used. A union list is one that was created by the union or in a person s capacity as a union official. Page 2 of 8

3 Candidates can make campaign calls, provided that they use a personal list to make those calls from a personal cell phone or home phone. Candidates must campaign on their own time. If the candidate is in a pay status with the employer or the union, they should not be campaigning. Candidates must keep all receipts for campaign purchases (including copies of campaign literature) to demonstrate that they paid full market price for all products and services. Candidates must keep track of all campaign donations to prove that all funds contributed to their campaigns were from private individuals as opposed to unions or employers. Section 401(e) provides that members may not be subjected to penalty, discipline, or improper interference or reprisal of any kind in the exercise of their right to support the candidate of their choice. If you witness any candidate, potential candidate, member, or anyone else engaging in this type of activity, immediately contact the Election Committee and provide a detailed description of what occurred. The LMRDA also prescribes that members, in the exercise of the right to support candidates of their choice, may not be subjected to penalty, discipline, or reprisal of any kind by a labor organization or its members.. Inspection of Membership List Under the law and AFGE Rules, each candidate has the right to inspect a list containing the names and last known addresses of all Local 12 members subject to a collective bargaining agreement. The right to inspect does not include the right to copy and is limited to once within 30 days before the election. A candidate may arrange with the Election Committee for an observer to inspect the list on behalf of the candidate. The membership list will be available for inspection at the Local 12 office between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, from May 16, 2018 through June 6, Any candidate who wishes to inspect the list should contact the Election Committee. Candidates are required to report to the Election Committee any mailing lists being utilized outside of the inspected membership list. If you witness any candidate, potential candidate, member, or anyone else utilizing a mailing list outside of the inspected membership list, immediately contact the Election Committee and provide a detailed description of occurrence. Page 3 of 8

4 8. Distribution of Campaign Literature AFGE Local 12 will comply with any reasonable request by a candidate to distribute campaign literature at the candidate's expense. Candidate will be allowed to post campaign material and one photo on the L12 Website. Specifications for the literature are listed below. Arial font size 12. Be single spaced. 300 word count limit. [The statement will be cut off after the three hundredth word] 2x2 photos Microsoft Word format. Candidates will be responsible for handling and sending their own campaign mailings. Candidate must contact the election committee and provide the committee with mailing labels which Local 12 will print for the candidate free of charge. The printed labels will be returned to the candidate within a reasonable time frame. Requests will be honored in the order received. 9. Voter Eligibility All members of Local 12 in good standing will be eligible to participate in the election. Section 4(e) of the Local 12 bylaws states, Individuals who are not members and who wish to participate in any election must deliver a signed SF-118 to the treasurer or his/her designee by the close of business two work days prior to the election. 10. Ballot Preparation The Local 12 Election Committee will supervise the design of the official ballot and comprehensive voting instructions. The ballot will be designed by True Ballot who is the election firm who has been hired by Local 12 to conduct the election. Candidates MUST confirm with the election supervisor in writing the EXACT spelling of their name as it will appear on the ballot. This must be confirmed not later than 5:00 pm on May 25, Candidates names will be listed alphabetically on the ballot in each race. Page 4 of 8

5 11. Election Dates / Polling sites The primary election will occur on June, 2018 between the hours of 10:00 am 2:00 pm. The polling sites will be at the following locations: Francis Perkins Building C5320, Room 6 MSHA Building Rooms 4F456 & 4E460 BLS Building Conference Room 10 Patriots Plaza Building OASAM Conference Room , 12 th floor Should there be a need for a runoff election, it will occur on June 19, 2018 with polling hours between the hours of 10:00 am 2:00 pm. The polling sites will be at the following locations: Francis Perkins Building C5320, Room 6 MSHA Building Rooms 4F456 & 4E460 BLS Building Conference Room 10 Patriots Plaza Building OASAM Conference Room , 12 th floor 12. Absentee Ballots Members must request absentee ballots in writing. Members can request an absentee ballot by to the Election Committee members or by mailing their written request to AFGE Local 12 Election Committee at PO Box 1212, Washington, D.C Written requests for absentee ballots must contain the following information: 1) Full name 2) Home address, 3) Agency 4) Day-time telephone number 5) Clear statement that you are requesting an absentee ballot If you request an absentee ballot by , then you will receive an confirmation. Absentee ballot requests for the June, 2018, General Officer and Delegate Election must be received before 4 p.m. on June 1, Completed absentee ballots must be received by 2 p.m. on the day of the election at AFGE Local 12 Election Committee, PO Box 1212, Washington, D.C An absentee ballot received at the PO Box after 2 p.m. will not be counted. Page 5 of 8

6 13. Ballot Tally TrueBallot will conduct the tally at the Francis Perkins Building, Room C5320, immediately after the polls close on June, During the counting of ballots, only TrueBallot and the Election Committee will physically handle the ballots. However, candidates or their observers will be permitted to watch the entire counting process. All ballots, counted and uncounted, will be kept in view of the observers at all times. Write-in votes are not permitted, according to the AFGE Constitution. In races with two candidates, the candidate who receives the greatest number (plurality) of votes cast will be declared elected. In races with more than two candidates, if no single candidate receives a plurality of the votes (50% plus one), a run-off election will result between the two candidates who received the most votes. The winner of the run-off election will be declared elected. In case of a tie, the outcome of the election will be determined by coin flip under the supervision of the Election Committee. The ballot counting process will continue non-stop until completion. 14. Observers Each candidate is entitled to have observers present at the various stages of ballot mailing and tally. A candidate may act as his/her own observer. No ballot-related function will take place without the Election Committee present, and observers will be given notice and opportunity to attend. Observers will be required to present identification and sign an observer register at the polls and ballot tally. Candidates should submit the names of their observers via to the Election Committee no later than 5:00pm on June 4, Rules for Observers 1. Each observer should identify himself/herself to the election officials, sign the observer log, and indicate which candidate he or she represents. An observer should notify election officials if he or she is scheduled to be replaced later in the day by another observer. 2. While present in the polling or tally area, each observer should wear a badge provided by election officials clearly marked Observer if requested to do so. 3. Observers, accompanied by election officials, should inspect the voting booths (or voting machines) and the empty ballot box prior to the start of the voting. Page 6 of 8

7 4. Observers must not campaign in the voting area in any way. They may not wear buttons or other campaign apparel, distribute campaign material, or engage in conversations with voters about candidates or the election campaign. 5. Observers should remain in the area(s) approved by election officials where they are able to see the voter registration and balloting process. 6. Observers may count the number of voters at the polling site and note their names.. Observers may not roam around the voting area or disrupt the polling process in any way. They should direct any questions or report any problems directly to election officials as soon as possible so that any necessary corrective action can be taken. 8. Observers may challenge the eligibility of any voter by clearly specifying the basis for the objection to election officials. (For example, I challenge the eligibility of Voter X because he is a new employee who has not yet paid dues. ) 9. During the tally of ballots, observers may challenge the accuracy of the way votes are read from marked ballots and recorded on tally sheets and should state any objection to election officials as soon as possible so that any necessary corrective action can be taken. 10. Observers may not touch or handle ballots at any time or interfere with the tally process. 15. Installation of Officers Newly elected officers will be installed in accordance with the AFGE Constitution and the AFGE Local 12 Bylaws. 16. Preservation of Records Local 12 will post the results of the election at the Local 12 office, union bulletin boards, on the union s website, and will the general membership. Local 12 will preserve all election records for a period of one year. Page of 8

8 1. Questions or Problems Candidates and members with questions about the nomination or election procedures should contact a member of the Election Committee via . Any violation of these rules should be reported promptly to the Election Committee so that corrective action can be taken, if necessary. 18. Election Protests In order to be acted upon, all protests concerning the conduct of the election must be in writing and received by the Election Committee at any time during the election but no later than 10 days after the tally. Should there be a run-off election; protests regarding that election must be submitted to the Election Committee no later than 10 days after the tally. The above rules are not all inclusive. Additional election rules or clarifications may be issued by the Local 12 Election Committee as needed during the election period. Issued By: Local 12 Election Committee Date: 5/15/18 Page 8 of 8