1. 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
- Six (6) Executive Board Members at Large
- Fourteen (14) Convention Delegates
- Eight (8) Sergeant at Arms
2. Term of Office
Member elected shall fill a term of office from July 25, 2016 through July 29, 2019.
(a) Any member who is in good standing and who is current in his/her union dues through May 2016 is eligible to run for office. Pursuant to Local 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 Local 514 or any Section of Local 514 for a period of five (5) years. Said five (5) years shall be from the last known date of such dual union activity.
4. Nominations and Election Notice
A Notice of Nomination and Election will be posted at the Local 514 Union Hall, and on bulletin boards, at work sites, at twu514.org and mailed to the members last known address no later than April 29, 2016
5. Nomination Meetings
Nominations in writing must have employee name/employee number of nominator and nominee. Nominations will be accepted in writing at the Union Offices, 11945 E. Pine St., no later than 3:30 pm May 16, 2016 or will be accepted from the floor on the following date and times:
Tulsa
May 16, 2016 – 7:15AM, 11:45AM, 3:45PM, 11:30PM
Place : TWU Hall, 11929 E. Pine St. Tulsa, Oklahoma
GSW
May 16, 2016 – 7AM, 7PM
Place : Candlewood Suites, 4200 Reggis Ct. Fort Worth, Texas
6. Candidate Eligibility
The Election Committee 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.
7. Declining Nominations
A candidate declining nomination must do so in writing/email to sallan@twu514.org and sblack@twu514.org, or at the meeting, no later than 3:30pm on June 1, 2016.
8. Candidates Name on the Ballot
A candidate’s name will appear on the ballot exactly as it was placed in nomination, unless the candidate notifies the Election Committee, in writing or by email, how it should appear, ie., proper, familiar, or nickname, no later than 3:30 pm June 1, 2016. The order of the names will be determined by a random drawing.
9. Meeting with the Candidates and TWU.
A TrueBallot representative will be available to candidates by phone to clarify any issues related to TrueBallot’s printing and mailing, ballot security and verification, and tabulation systems. TrueBallot can be reached at 1-888-513-5128. The Election Committee Chair, Shawn Allan (918) 694-3783 or by email will be available to clarify any other issues.
10. Inspection of Local 514 Membership List.
Each candidate may inspect (not copy or photograph, etc.) the Local 514 membership list once by appointment on June 15 or 16, 2016 No candidate is entitled to receive a copy of the list.
11. 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 candidates 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.
12. Distribution of Campaign Literature
Local 514 will honor any reasonable request to distribute campaign literature to members at the candidates expense, which shall include the cost of postage and labor. Candidates must provide mailing pieces and envelopes if mailing pieces are not self- mailers. Requests will be honored in the order received.
Candidates are entitled to have observers present at all stages of the election process. 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 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.
The printing of the ballots and accompanying materials such as envelopes will be done by TrueBallot, Inc., 415 W 18th Street Suite 6, Merced, California. TrueBallot is a balloting agent that administers union elections throughout the United States. The folding, insertion, and bundling of the ballots will be done on June 8 & 9, 2016 by TrueBallot’s subcontractor, ABS Direct, 4724 Enterprise Way, Modesto, California. On June 10, 2016 the ballots will be delivered by ABS Direct to Stockton, California main post office and mailed first class.
15. Voter Eligibility
Any member who has paid union dues to Local 514 through the date of the election and is otherwise in good standing will be eligible to vote.
16. Mail Ballot Specifications
Ballots will be mailed to the last known address of members in good standing by June 10, 2016 The voted ballots must be received at the U.S. Post Office 5313 East Independence Tulsa, OK 74115. P.O. Box 580069 by 9am on July 18, 2016. For a ballot to be counted it must be returned in the supplied return envelope. 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.
17. Replacement Ballots
In the event a member does not receive a Ballot by mail by June 17, 2016 or his/her Ballot is misplaced or damaged, a Replacement Ballot may be obtained by contacting TrueBallot. A toll-free hot line will answer calls at 1-888-513-5128. Replacement ballots will be sent out within 24 hours.
18. Retrieving Ballots
Election Committee members shall retrieve Ballots from the Secured Post Office Box located at U.S. Post Office 5313 East Independence Tulsa, OK 74115. P.O. Box 580069 at 9:00 am on July 18, 2016 by matching their signatures with signatures on file with the United States Postal authority. It shall require a minimum of three (3) Election Committee members to receive Ballots from postal authorities.
19. Checking Eligibility
TrueBallot will verify the eligibility of ballots by scanning the bar code showing through the window of the return ballot envelope. The database has been updated to indicate whether the voter is in good standing, has previously been registered, whether a duplicate ballot has been issued or is otherwise eligible.
20. Challenged Ballots
Any Ballot received 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.
21. Opening the Return Envelopes
After verifying eligibility, TrueBallot will open all eligible Business Reply envelopes and remove the Ballot envelope.
22. Opening the Ballot Envelopes
Only after all Ballot envelopes have been removed from the Business Reply Envelope will TrueBallot commence to open Ballot envelopes.
23. Tallying the Ballots
After all the Ballots have been removed from the Ballot Envelope, TrueBallot will tally the votes. Tabulation is accomplished via Optical/digital scanning of each ballot, using a high-speed optical scanner. After a preliminary tally by displaying the first batch of approximately 75 ballots. TrueBallot will project the image of each ballot from that batch onto a screen in the presence of all interested parties including candidates and their representative,the organization’s Election Committee and staff. 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 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.
24. 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 then there will be a run-off election of the original candidates.
25. 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.
26. Questions or Problems
Candidates and members with Questions about the nomination or election process should contact a member of the Election Board. Further, any violation of these Rules should be reported promptly to the Election Committee so that corrective action can be taken, if necessary.
27. Protests
Any member in good standing who believes that he or she has been improperly denied the opportunity to be a candidate for an elective office or position, or believes that an election in which he or she was a candidate was improperly conducted, may file a complaint with the Local 514 Executive Board. If the member is not satisfied with the action of the Local 514 Executive Board, the member may within 15 days (or within 30 days after the filing the complaint with the Local 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 Local 514 Election Committee as may be required during the nomination and election period.
Approved this 29th Day of April, 2016.
TWU Local 514 Election Committee
- Shawn Allan, Chairman
- Shawn Black, Co-Chairman
- David Jones, Recording Secretary
- Donna Floreaa
- Michael Salamon