AFSCME International Constitution

AFSCME International Constitution

Article IV

The Convention
Section 16. No local union or retiree chapter shall be entitled to representation in any convention unless all its per capita tax due to and all special assessments levied by the Federation as of the end of the fourth month preceding the opening of the convention shall have been paid in full by or on the day the delegate seeks to register at the convention. No council shall be entitled to representation in any convention unless the annual affiliation fee for the current year shall have been paid in full by or on the day the delegate seeks to register at the convention.

A local union which would be deprived of representation in full or in part pursuant to the provisions of this Article solely because of an employer's delay in remitting dues deductions in the normal fashion shall be allowed such representation and voting strength as the Convention upon the report of the Credentials Committee shall determine to be equitable.

Section 17. No local union shall be entitled to representation at any convention if it is in violation of a lawful ruling of the International Executive Board requiring affiliation with a council.

Section 18. Prior to each convention, the International President shall, with the approval of the International Executive Board, appoint a Credentials Committee, a Committee on Rules and Order of Business, a Constitution Committee, a Sergeants-at-Arms Committee, and such other Committees as shall be authorized by the Executive Board, designating one member of each Committee as Chairperson. At the convention, the International President, with the approval of the International Executive Board, shall appoint any additional committees required under the rules of the convention, designating one member of each committee as Chairperson, and special committees and the Chairpersons thereof required by any resolution adopted by the convention, unless such resolution provides for a different method of appointment. At each convention at which elections are to be held, the International President, with the approval of the International Executive Board, shall appoint a Committee on Elections, designating one member of the Committee as Chairperson. The International President shall be an ex-officio member of all convention committees, except the Credentials Committee and the Committee on Elections, and of any interim committees that may be established by the convention.

Section 19. Each member of the Credentials Committee shall, upon accepting appointment to such committee, be disqualified from becoming a candidate for elective office at the convention. The Credentials Committee shall receive from the International Secretary-Treasurer, in advance of the convention, all credentials which have been received by the International Secretary Treasurer, such credentials having been stamped as to the date they were received and attached to the envelope in which they were received. The Credentials Committee shall receive from the International Secretary-Treasurer, in advance of the convention, a report on the month-by-month per capita tax payments of each local union for the twelve consecutive months ending with the fourth full month preceding the opening of the convention. The Credentials Committee shall provide facilities for the registration of delegates. The Credentials Committee shall make all decisions concerning the validity of credentials and decide all questions regarding the bona fide absence of delegates and the seating of alternates, such decisions being subject to appeal to the convention. Any delegate whose credential was not received by the International Secretary-Treasurer by the twentieth day prior to the convention or addressed to the International Secretary Treasurer and postmarked by the twentieth day prior to the convention shall be considered an irregular delegate. No irregular delegate shall be seated at the opening of the convention and no irregular delegate shall be included in the initial report of the Credentials Committee. Following the adoption of the convention rules, irregular delegates may be seated by a majority vote of the convention. No delegate shall be permitted to register after 1:00 p.m. on the second day of the convention. The Credentials Committee shall provide each delegate with a complete copy of the Committee's report or reports.

Section 20. The Committee on Rules and Order of Business shall report to the convention its recommendations concerning rules of procedure for the convention. The rules of procedure governing the preceding regular biennial convention shall be in force from the opening of any convention until new rules have been adopted by action of the convention.

Section 21. The Sergeants-at-Arms Committee shall arrange for the seating of all delegates in the convention hall. Under the direction of the presiding officer of the convention, the Sergeants-at-Arms Committee shall maintain proper order and decorum within the hall and shall perform such other duties as the presiding officer shall require.

Section 22. Resolutions, including proposals to amend the Constitution, to be introduced for consideration at any convention shall be signed by the president and the secretary of a subordinate body or by one or more certified delegates. Such resolutions shall be prepared and signed in duplicate and sent to the International Secretary-Treasurer at International Headquarters and postmarked at least twenty days prior to the opening of the convention. The International Secretary-Treasurer shall make copies of all such resolutions available to the delegates and shall properly identify those who submitted the resolutions. No resolutions may be introduced thereafter unless consent is given by a two-thirds vote of the convention; provided, however, that the International President or the International Executive Board may introduce a resolution for consideration by the convention at any time up to and including the fourth day of the convention.

Section 23. The International President shall be the presiding officer at all conventions, but may call any delegate to preside instead.

Section 24.The International Secretary Treasurer shall serve as secretary at all conventions; shall read the convention call to the delegates at the opening session of the convention; and shall maintain an accurate record of the convention proceedings.

Section 25. A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of not fewer than one-third of the delegates seated in the convention.

Section 26. Beginning at the 1972 regular biennial convention and at every second regular biennial convention thereafter, there shall be elected an International President and an International Secretary-Treasurer, both to be elected by the convention-at-large, and International Vice Presidents without priority, to be elected by the delegates representing locals, councils and retiree chapters in each of the Legislative Districts hereinafter established.

Section 27. Legislative Districts are hereby established for the purpose of electing International Vice Presidents. A delegate shall vote only for an International Vice President or International Vice Presidents from the Legislative District in which the subordinate body the delegate represents is located. In any case where the membership of a subordinate body is employed in more than one Legislative District, the votes of such subordinate body shall be cast in the district in which the principal office of a subordinate body is located.

Section 28. One International Vice President shall be elected by the delegates representing locals, councils and retiree chapters in each of the Legislative Districts established in Article IV, Section 27; provided, however, that in any Legislative District containing local unions having a total membership in excess of five percent but less than fifteen percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, two International Vice Presidents shall be elected; and provided further, that in any Legislative District containing local unions having a total membership in excess of fifteen percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, three International Vice Presidents shall be elected. Each delegate representing a local, council or retiree chapter in a Legislative District shall vote for the number of candidates for International Vice President to be elected from such District.

Section 29. In December of each odd-numbered year, the International Secretary-Treasurer shall certify to the International Executive Board (1) the total number of members of all local unions in the Federation, and (2) the total number of members in all local unions in each of the several Legislative Districts. If any such certification which immediately precedes an International Convention at which elections are not scheduled shows that any Legislative District which had, at the previous International Convention, elected only one International Vice President contains local unions having a total membership in excess of five percent but less than fifteen percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, or that any Legislative District which had, at the previous International Convention, elected fewer than three International Vice Presidents contains local unions having a total membership in excess of fifteen percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, announcement of the fact shall be made in the official publication of the Federation. In such a case, the delegates from locals and councils in said District shall, at the next International Convention, elect the number of additional International Vice Presidents to which such District is entitled under the provisions of Section 28 of this Article for a term of two years. If any such certification which immediately precedes an International Convention at which elections are scheduled shows (1) that any Legislative District which had, at the previous International Convention at which elections were scheduled, elected only one International Vice President contains locals unions having a total membership in excess of five percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, (2) that any Legislative District which had, at the previous International Convention at which elections were scheduled, elected fewer than three International Vice Presidents contains local unions having a total membership in excess of fifteen percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, or (3) that any Legislative District contains local unions having a total membership of less than one percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, then upon receipt of such certification, the International Executive Board shall establish a hearing committee consisting of three members of the International Executive Board, and announcement of that fact shall be made in the official publication of the Federation.

Section 30. The hearing committee established pursuant to Section 29 of this Article shall meet as soon as practicable for the purpose of tentatively revising the Legislative District lines. The International Secretary-Treasurer shall furnish to the hearing committee such membership statistical information as it may request. In making such tentative revisions, the hearing committee shall be bound by the following limitations:

A. No revision shall be made which shall place local unions affiliated with the same council in different Legislative Districts.

B. No revision shall be made which shall result in the election of fewer than thirty or more than thirty-five International Vice Presidents. Upon completion of a tentative revision, the hearing committee shall, after due notice to all locals and councils within any Legislative District directly affected by such tentative revision, hold one or more hearings within each directly affected Legislative District. At said hearings, interested parties may express their views concerning the tentative revision and may propose alternative plans for revision. Upon completion of all such hearings, the hearing committee shall report its findings and recommendations to the International Executive Board which shall then approve a final revision plan, which shall meet the limitations set forth above in this section, and copies of such plan shall be mailed to all local unions and councils at least forty-five days prior to the opening of the International Convention. Such plan shall take effect and shall constitute an amendment to the International Constitution at the time for holding nominations at the International Convention unless, prior to such time, a resolution proposing an alternative plan shall have been properly introduced and adopted by a majority vote of the Convention, in which case such alternative plan shall take effect and shall constitute an amendment to the International Constitution at the time for holding nominations at said International Convention. Any such alternative plan must meet the limitations set forth in this section.

Section 31. If the total membership in all local unions in any Legislative District which is represented by two International Vice Presidents shall fall below five percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, or if the total membership in all local unions in any Legislative District which is represented by three International Vice Presidents shall fall below fifteen percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, the delegates from locals councils and retiree chapters in such Legislative District shall, at the next convention at which elections are to be held, elect only the number of Vice Presidents to which such District is entitled pursuant to Section 28 of this Article; provided that, if the membership in all local unions in any such Legislative District has fallen below the threshold for electing a second or third International Vice President by less than one-half percent of the total membership of all local unions in the International Union, the reduction in the number of Vice Presidents to be elected by such Legislative District shall be delayed until the convention to be held four years later, and such reduction shall not take effect then if the certification of membership issued in the December immediately preceding such convention shows that the membership in all local unions in such Legislative District is in excess of the percentage of the membership of all local unions in the International Union required to elect the number of Internation Vice Presidents previously elected by such Legislative District.

Section 32. To be eligible for election as International President or as International Secretary-Treasurer, a nominee must have been a member in the Federation for at least five years continuously at the time of the election. No member of the Judicial Panel and no person who has served as a member of the Judicial Panel during any part of the calendar year in which the convention is held shall be eligible for election at the convention.

Section 33. To be eligible for election as an International Vice President, a nominee must have been a member in a local or locals within the Legislative District the nominee seeks to represent for at least three years continuously at the time of the election, except as provided below. In any election for International Vice President in a Legislative District in which the combined total membership in the local unions in such district has increased by more than fifty percent since the last certification of membership immediately preceding a convention at which elections were held, the requirement of three years' continuous membership shall stand suspended from effect. No salaried employee of the Federation shall serve as an International Vice President. No member of the Judicial Panel and no person who has served as a member of the Judicial Panel during any part of the calendar year in which the convention is held shall be eligible for election at the convention.

Section 34. Nominations of officers, except for International Vice Presidents, shall be conducted in open convention, and no nominating committee shall be used. Any delegate may nominate any eligible member for the office of International President or of International Secretary Treasurer. The delegates shall be divided by Legislative District for the purpose of nominations for the office of International Vice President for their District. Any delegate may nominate any eligible member for the office of International Vice President to represent the delegate's own Legislative District. Following the nominating procedures, nominees shall be afforded the opportunity to decline, and the name of any person so declining shall not appear on the ballot. No person shall be a candidate for more than one office. Any challenge concerning the eligibility of any nominee shall be filed in writing with the International President prior to the opening of the next meeting of the convention following the meeting at which nominations are conducted. Any challenge so filed shall be referred to the Committee on Elections, which shall report on the eligibility of the nominee prior to the election.

Section 35. In any case where there is only one nominee for office, the unopposed candidate shall be declared elected. In all other instances elections shall be conducted by secret ballot. If paper ballots are used, the names of the candidates for International President and International Secretary-Treasurer shall not appear on the same ballot with the candidates for International Vice President. No paper ballot shall have a value of more than 500 votes, and any delegate entitled to cast more than 500 votes shall be given additional ballots to make up the total number of votes to which such delegate is entitled. Any delegate representing more than one subordinate body will, upon request, be given a separate ballot for each subordinate body represented. Write-in votes shall not be valid for any purpose.

Section 36. A majority of the votes cast for any office shall be required to elect. If fewer than the number of candidates to be elected to any office receive a majority, then a new ballot shall be prepared and a run-off election shall be held. If one person is to be elected to the office, the new ballot shall contain only the names of the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes. If more than one person is to be elected to the office, the new ballot shall be prepared as follows: (1) if any candidate receives a majority, that candidate shall be declared elected, and the ballot shall contain only the names of the number of candidates equal to twice the number remaining to be elected who received the greatest number of votes but did not attain a majority; (2) if no candidate receives a majority, the ballot shall contain only the names of the number of candidates equal to twice the number to be elected who received the greatest number of votes.

Section 37. Any delegate desiring to protest the conduct of the election shall lodge a protest immediately with the Committee on Elections.

Section 38. The Committee on Elections shall report to the convention the results of the balloting, together with its recommendations on any protests which have been lodged regarding the conduct of the election.

Section 39. The convention shall review any protest regarding the conduct of the election which is not resolved by the Committee on Elections to the satisfaction of the protestant and all affected candidates. Where the convention finds violations which may have affected the outcome of the election, it shall have the power to order a re-vote, a recount of the ballots, or such other action to remedy the election violations as it deems appropriate.

Section 40. The election of International officers shall, in all matters not specifically provided for in this Article, be governed by the provisions of Appendix D of this Constitution.

Section 41. The International Executive Board may employ an independent agency which shall, subject to approval by the convention, assist in and/or supervise the conduct of the election. Any candidate whose name is to appear on the ballot shall have the right to have present an official observer of the candidate's own choosing in all places where ballots bearing such candidate's name are to be cast or counted.

Section 42. All officers elected at the convention shall take office as the last order of business prior to final adjournment or at three o'clock on the afternoon of the fifth day of the convention, whichever is earlier. Upon assuming office, each new officer shall subscribe to the Obligation of an Officer contained in Appendix B of this Constitution

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