Transport Workers Union of America, Local 514
Official Election and Campaign Rules
- Constitution and By-Laws
Nomination and Election for the below listed offices and positions of the Transport Workers Union, Local 514, will be conducted by secret mail ballot in accordance with Article VIII of Local 514 By-laws, the TWU International Constitution, and the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended:- President
- Vice President
- Financial Secretary-Treasurer
- Recording Secretary
- Chairman of Maintenance
- Chairman of Material Logistic Specialists
- Chairman of Plant Maintenance
- Chairman of Maintenance Control Techs
- Five (5) Executive Board Members at Large
- Thirteen (13) Convention Delegates
- Eight (8) Sergeant at Arms
- Term of Office
Member(s) elected shall fill a term of office for three (3) years. The term of office shall start and end at the designated July Membership meeting. - Eligibility
Any Member who is in good standing and who is current in his/her union dues, for twelve (12) months immediately preceding nomination, is eligible to run for office.The Election Board will review union dues records to determine the eligibility of all nominees. Ineligible nominees will be advised of the reason(s) they are not eligible to run for office. Pursuant to TWU 514 Bylaws, “Article VIII (d), anyone who actively engages in dual unionism (such as trying to persuade TWU Members to sign cards or support another union), will not be permitted to hold any office of TWU 514 or any Section of TWU 514 for a period of five (5) years. Said five (5) years shall be from the last known date of such dual union activity.” - Nominations and Election Notice
A Notice of Nomination and Election will be posted at the TWU 514 Union Hall, and on bulletin boards, at work sites, online at twu514.org and mailed to the Members’ last known address no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the May Membership meeting. Candidates may run for one office and Convention Delegate. - Nomination Meetings
Nominations in writing or on-line at twu514.org must have: the employee name and employee number of both nominator and nominee. (A member may choose to self nominate) Nominations will be accepted on-line at twu514.org or in writing at the Union Offices, 11945 E. Pine St. Tulsa, OK, 74116, no later than 3:30 pm, the day following the May nomination meeting.
Nominations for Tulsa and GSW will be accepted from the floor at their regularly scheduled May Membership meetings.Tulsa
Place : TWU Local 514 Hall
11945 E. Pine St.
Tulsa Ok. 74116GSW
Place : TWU Office - Accepting Nominations
The Election Board will notify each nominee of which office(s) he/she was nominated for in writing. It is the responsibility of the nominee to notify the Election Board of their decision, through the information provided in the packet sent to the nominee. The nominee will have ten (10) business days following the nomination meeting to make their decision known to the Election Board of which nomination(s) he/she is accepting. - Candidates Name on the Ballot
The candidate’s name will appear on the ballot exactly as it was placed in the nomination, unless the candidate notifies the Election Board through the nominee acceptance information packet. The order of the candidate names will be determined randomly. - Meeting with the Candidates
The Election Board will establish meeting times to discuss the election and campaign rules.The Election Board may be contacted by email at election@twumail.org and will be available to clarify any other issues. - Inspection of TWU 514 Membership List.
Each candidate may inspect (not copy or photograph, etc.) the TWU 514 membership list once by appointment on May 31, 2022. No candidate is entitled to receive a copy of the list. - Campaign Restrictions
Federal law prohibits the use of any union or employer funds to promote the candidacy of any person in a union officer election. This prohibition applies to cash, facilities, equipment (i.e. Cell Phones/texting), vehicles, office supplies, etc. Union officers and employees may not campaign on time paid by the union or the company. Federal law also provides that candidates must be treated equally regarding the opportunity to campaign and that all members may support the candidate(s) of their choice without being subject to penalty, discipline, or reprisal of any kind. Any expenditure of union or employer funds on behalf of a candidate, even if the amount is small, is a violation of federal law. - Distribution of Campaign Literature
TWU 514 will honor any reasonable request to distribute campaign literature to the membership at the candidate’s expense. Candidates must provide pre-stuffed envelopes, sealed with proper postage ready to be mailed in addition to the cost of processing. If email is requested there is a cost of $20.00 per mailing. Requests will be honored in the order received. - Observers
Candidates are entitled to have an observer present at all stages of the election process. Candidates are required to notify the Election Board of the identity of their observer prior to the election. Observers must remain in the area(s) approved by the election officials where they are able to see the tally process. They may not touch or handle ballots at any time or interfere with the tally process, nor shall they be allowed to roam around the tally area which shall be segregated to ensure security. During the tally, observers may challenge the accuracy of the way votes are read from the marked ballots and recorded and should state any objection to the election officials as soon as possible so that any necessary corrective action can be taken. - Ballots
The printing of the ballots and accompanying materials such as envelopes will be done by Collins Printing at the direction of TrueBallot. TrueBallot is a balloting agent that administers union elections throughout the United States. The ballot folding, insertion, and bundling will be completed and mailed first class. - Voter Eligibility
Any member who has paid union dues to TWU 514 through the date of the election and is otherwise in good standing will be eligible to vote. - Mailing of the Ballot
Ballots will be mailed to the last known address of members in good standing by June 14, 2022. The voted ballots must be received at the U.S. Post Office 5313 East Independence, P.O. Box 580069, Tulsa, OK 74115. by 8:30am on July 18, 2022.. For a ballot to be counted it must be returned in the supplied return envelopes. This will not reveal how the member votes because the return envelope is separated from the ballot envelope before the ballot envelope is opened. Members are urged to follow voting instructions to ensure their ballot is not voided. - Replacement Ballots
In the event a member does not receive a ballot by mail by June 21, 2022 or his/her ballot is misplaced or damaged, a Replacement Ballot may be obtained by contacting the Election Board at election@twumail.org. Replacement ballots will be sent out within 24 hours. - Retrieving Ballots
The Election Board shall retrieve ballots from the Secured Post Office Box located at U.S. Post Office 5313 East Independence, P.O. Box 580069 Tulsa, OK 74115 at 8:30 am on July 18, 2022 by the authorized Election Board members on file with the United States Postal facility. It shall require a minimum of three (3) Election Board members to receive ballots from postal authorities. - Verifying Ballot Eligibility
TrueBallot will verify the eligibility of ballots by scanning the barcode shown through the window of the returned ballot envelope. The database will be updated to indicate whether the voter is in good standing, whether a duplicate ballot has been issued or is otherwise eligible. - Challenged Ballots
Any ballot received from a member that is not listed on the good standing list shall be marked “Challenged” and placed with other challenged return envelopes. All challenged ballots shall be handled in accordance with guidelines established by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. - Opening the Return Envelopes
After verifying eligibility, all eligible Business Reply envelopes will be opened and the Ballot envelope will be removed . - Opening the Ballot Envelopes
Only after all Ballot envelopes have been removed from the Business Reply envelope will Ballot envelopes be opened. - Tallying the Ballots
After all the ballots have been removed from the Ballot Envelope, TrueBallot will tally the votes. Tabulations are accomplished via Optical/digital scanning of each ballot, using a high-speed optical scanner. After a preliminary tally of the first batch of approximately 30- 75 ballots, TrueBallot will then project the image of each ballot from that batch onto a screen in the presence of all interested parties and the TWU 514 Election Board. The ballot image is compared to the database record that contains the tally data. Once it is demonstrated that the system is working, subsequent batches need to be audited only (1) to find the problem ballots, such as over voted or under voted ballots, or (2) in the event of a very close race which could be affected by a change in interpretation of a very small number of ballots. In each case, TrueBallot will conduct the level of audit appropriate to the situation. - Determining the Winner
A plurality of votes cast will determine the winner. In the event of a tie, a recount will be conducted and if there is no clear winner and still a tie, then it will be determined by a coin flip of the tied candidates. - Election Results
After the tally is complete, election results will be posted on union bulletin boards and the TWU 514 website.
As required by Article XV (Section 6) of the TWU International Constitution, the Local 514 Financial Secretary-Treasurer shall store all nominations and election records for at least one year after the election. - Questions or Problems
Candidates or Members with questions about the nomination or election process should contact the Election Board by email at election@twumail.org Furthermore, any violation of these rules should be reported promptly to the Election Board, so that corrective action can be taken, if necessary. - Protests
Any member in good standing who believes that he/she has been improperly denied the opportunity to be a candidate for an elective office, or believes that an election in which he/she was a candidate was improperly conducted, may file a complaint with the TWU 514 Executive Board. If the member is not satisfied with the action of the TWU 514 Executive Board, the member may within 15 days (or within 30 days after filing the complaint with the TWU 514 Executive Board, if the Board has not taken final action within that time), file an appeal to the International TWU pursuant to Article XXIII of the TWU International Constitution.
The above rules are not inclusive. Additional election rules or clarifications may be issued by the TWU 514 Election Board as may be required during the nomination and election period.
Approved this day, 23 of March, 2022.