Delegates to the 40th International Convention voted on 31 proposed amendments to the IBEW's constitution addressing everything from streamlining internal self-governance processes to addressing fundamental questions of human dignity on the job and in our nations.

Among the most significant actions by the delegates was an increase in the pension benefit and per capita dues and adding language to the IBEW declaration opposing racism, sexism, and fascism. Delegates rejected changing the name of the IBEW, replacing Brotherhood with "Union," and a proposal to change how International officials are elected.

You can read more about the per capita and Pension Benefit Fund changes on Page 8 of this issue.

The work of considering proposed amendments began on the second day of the convention and continued the fourth and fifth.

Since 1958 members of convention committees received a $50 per diem and reimbursement for expenses.

And while times have changed, Article II, Section 4 had not.

International President Lonnie R. Stephenson and International Secretary-Treasurer Kenneth W. Cooper proposed an amendment that would double committee members per diem to $100. They also approved removing now redundant language in Article XXVII, Section 2 which specified the per diem for the Law Committee separately from the others.

Delegates also approved a change to Article II, Section 9, increasing payment to future convention delegates for travel and per diem. Delegates to the convention have been reimbursed 90 cents per mile for travel to and from the convention and received $1,000 for convention related expenses since at least 1998, even as costs have risen.

Those will now be raised to $1.00 per mile and $1,250 for future conventions.

Article XX, Sections 4 and 5 were then amended to allow an applicant for membership to make a written Oath of Admission outside the physical presence of IBEW members where it is impractical to do so. Permission would have to come from the international president. If granted, applicants could sign a modified Oath that removed traditional opening "in the presence of members of the" IBEW.

Delegates approved a change to Article XVII, Section 4 that requires locals to use electronic payment of the per capita tax to the International Office.

Any exceptions would require a special arrangement with the international secretary-treasurer.

The Law Committee concurred with the proposal, noting that nearly all locals already use electronic payments and the few that don't greatly reduce the efficiency of International Office operations. The amendment was approved by acclamation.

The convention then considered two amendments that sought to clarify the eligibility requirement for delegates to the convention.

The convention approved a change to Article II, Section 10 that requires delegates to be in good standing not only for 24 months before nomination, but also that they remain in good standing through the convention unless special permission was granted by the international secretary-treasurer.

The law committee recommended rejecting a competing amendment on good standing that only required a 24-month continuous good standing requirement after a delegate was nominated.

By acclamation, the delegates agreed with the law committee's recommendation of nonconcurrence on the competing amendment.

To close the second day of the International Convention, delegates approved a change to Article II, Section 10 to codify what had been long-standing IBEW policy. The offices of business manager and/or president may be automatic delegates if the local union bylaws so provide and depending upon the number of delegates the local has for the convention.

Delegates were then presented three proposals to alter the IBEW Declaration, which stands apart from the rest of the Constitution as more of a statement of principles as opposed to laying out the rules and procedures on how the brotherhood functions.

The three proposals sought to change the list of movements opposed by the IBEW in its Declaration; two added racism and sexism, and a third added fascism. Debate on three proposed amendments was combined and the Law Committee concurred with the only one that also added fascism to the list.

"The events in the United States on Jan. 6, 2021, show that authoritarianism and anti-democratic movements such as fascism are on the rise," wrote the Law Committee in support of the change. "Your committee believes that fascism is just as subversive as communism or Nazism" (both of which are already included in the Declaration).

No delegate spoke in opposition and a unified delegation approved the proposal by acclamation.

Four amendments were proposed to amend Article XXV, Section 1 to expand the list of member misconduct that is punishable by the IBEW to include bullying, harassment, or discriminatory conduct.

Because of the similarities between the amendments, the Law Committee combined debate and concurred with the proposal that created a standalone section to the Constitution.

The final proposal, which was adopted by the full Convention without opposition, authorized the IBEW to punish harassment, bullying or discriminatory conduct at work or work activities and at union facilities or activities because of race, color, religion, age, creed, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected class.

The assembled delegates then rejected a proposed amendment that would have changed the name of the IBEW to the International Union of Electrical Workers after a spirited debate.

Delegates also rejected by voice vote several proposed amendments to Article III, Section 1, 2, 3 and 4 to directly elect international officers.

A proposal to amend Article XV, Section 14 to restrict construction wiremen (CWs) from holding union office was ruled out of order because it violated federal labor law. It was not put to a vote.

Since its founding, the IBEW has understood the value and necessity of producing an official publication to keep in contact with the membership and keep them connected to the IBEW.

Article IV, Section 3 requires "monthly" publication of The Electrical Worker and Stephenson and Cooper proposed giving more flexibility regarding the timing and manner of producing The Electrical Worker.

In addition to allowing more or less frequent publication, the change would allow the international president to make The Electrical Worker a purely digital publication.

The delegates approved the committee recommendation by voice vote.

The Law Committee recommended concurrence and the delegates approved by acclamation a proposal from Stephenson and Cooper that would clear up an ambiguity in the Constitution about how a member resigns from the IBEW.

Article XX, Section 2 is clear about how one joins the IBEW, but there was nothing about leaving. The proposed amendment adds a new section to Article XX, Section 2 that requires a member wishing to resign to notify their local president or recording secretary in writing to the local hall.

The Law Committee recommended concurrence. Stephenson could not determine the decision from the voice vote and called for a standing vote, with each faction standing in turn. The majority approved the Law Committee's recommendation, and the amendment was passed.

Delegates considered two proposed amendments affecting how delegates to the International Convention are elected.

Article II, Section 10 requires that delegates and alternates to the convention be elected by secret ballot, but the Constitution is silent about the form of election for alternates. Some simply use the highest vote getters who were not selected as a delegate. Others hold a separate election specifically for alternates.

A proposed amendment, which passed without opposition, added a single sentence to Section 10 clarifying that either method is valid.

Next, a proposed amendment was considered that would add language to Article II, Section 10 of the Constitution. Local union delegation size is based on the membership numbers of local unions, specifically the average monthly membership for the 12 months prior to March 31 of the year of the International Convention.

Locals can and do hold elections for delegates at many different times, in some cases, months or even years before that March 31 deadline. The result is that the number of delegates elected may not match the size of the official delegation the local is entitled to.

Official delegates may have to resign, or new delegates must be added, but there is no existing procedure in the Constitution to adjust the size of a delegation once delegate elections have taken place. Stephenson and Cooper proposed an amendment to fill that gap.

If a local union has too few delegates, under the proposed amendment, the local would promote the delegate candidate that won the most votes without being selected and so on until the delegation is full. If the local has too many delegates, the election winner with the least votes would be demoted, again, until the delegation is correctly sized.

If there were no more candidates to choose from, the amendment proposal empowered the Executive Board to appoint a delegate, but that delegate would be ineligible to vote in elections for international officers.

The Law Committee concurred, no one rose in opposition and the committee's recommendation of concurrence was approved by acclamation.

Delegates then considered a proposal to amend Article XVI, Section 11, which requires local unions to select a judge and as many tellers as are required to conduct and oversee elections.

The Constitution is silent, however, on when they need to be chosen.

This amendment proposal from Stephenson and Cooper requires judges be in good standing for at least two years and be chosen 60 days before nominations are due.

The Law Committee concurred, noting that, today, judge selection sometimes occurs after the election process is already underway. By putting election judges in place early, they will have time to attend training sessions from the International Office to ensure the election is run appropriately.

No one rose in opposition and the committee recommendation was approved by acclamation.

A similar proposed amendment sought to add a timeframe for filling positions.

Article XVI, Section 16 requires that vacancies in local union offices and positions as well as seats on the Executive Board be filled, but it doesn't say when.

Stephenson and Cooper proposed an amendment requiring locals to fill those positions within 10 days.

The Law Committee wrote that it believed 10 days was insufficient and submitted a substitute amendment setting the requirement at 15 days.

No one rose in opposition and the committee recommendation was approved by acclamation.

Article XXVII, Section 2 allows amendments and resolutions for the International Convention to come from two sources: local unions and international officers. No matter the source, they must be submitted to the international secretary-treasurer at least 45 days before the International Convention.

This shared deadline creates at least two problems that officers hoped to solve with a proposed amendment.

First, it wastes time when local unions and international officers work separately to craft nearly identical amendments, as happened more than once this year.

Second, it doesn't give the international officers sufficient time to research and analyze proposals from local unions that affect the use of international funds.

The proposed amendment would keep the 45-day deadline in place for local union amendment and resolution proposals but would allow international officers to propose amendments or resolutions any time prior to the start of the Convention.

The Law Committee concurred, writing that the new procedure would be both more efficient and would give the international officers time to consider and respond to local union proposals.

No one rose in opposition and the committee's recommendation was approved by acclamation

Only one proposed amendment was altered on the floor.

The proposal altered Article III, Section 1 requiring anyone who intends to be nominated as a candidate for constitutional office to provide a "Notice of Intent to Be Nominated" 90 days prior to the start of the International Convention.

Several reasons were offered in support by the Law Committee, including ensuring compliance with rules prohibiting campaign donations from non-members. Further, tens of thousands of dollars are spent to procure and program voting machines, no matter how many or even if no elections are contended.

The Law Committee urged concurrence, noting that several large international unions have similar provisions including UA, LIUNA and the Ironworkers.

During debate, a question was raised about what would happen if a candidate was ruled ineligible to run after the 90-day cut off and an amendment to the proposed amendment was offered from the floor. The amendment created a procedure to reopen the nominations for that race only.

First, the floor approved the amendment by voice vote and then approved the Law Committee's recommendation of concurrence by a standing vote.

Finally, the delegates considered an amendment to ensure the fiscal integrity of local unions.

Article XVI, Section 5 forbids local unions from combining the offices of treasurer and financial secretary. The positions have separate roles managing local finances and act as a check on each other.

This amendment adds a section to Article XVI prohibiting local unions from combining the roles of president, treasurer and recording secretary, the other positions that oversee how local assets are used.

The recording secretary and the president direct how money should be spent. The president and treasurer sign the checks. Where the positions are combined, a single person could disburse funds without oversight.

For those local unions who have combined offices, a vacancy would open, and it would be filled through the normal process.

The Law Committee concurred that keeping them separate was a critical step to keep faith with the membership. No one rose in opposition and the committee recommendation was approved by acclamation.

The Resolutions Committee was chaired by Tacoma, Wash., Local 483 Business Manager Alice Phillips. Folsom, N.J., Local 351 Business Manager Daniel Cosner was the committee's secretary.

Delegates began work on resolutions on Tuesday, May 10, and concluded on Friday, May 13.

Resolutions are non-binding, but they articulate the delegates' beliefs on important issues and influence IBEW policy going forward.

The following actions were taken:

Concurrence

Delegates approved the committee's recommendations of concurrence for the following resolutions:

Resolution 1: Reaffirms the support of past conventions to a rededication to organizing. Calls on the international president to continue developing strategies and policies that strengthen locals' ability to organize workers and employers in all branches throughout the U.S. and Canada. Recommends that organizing continues to be the highest priority of the entire IBEW.

Resolution 2: Strongly encourages all locals in every IBEW branch — outside of the Construction Branch, which already must employ at least one full-time organizer — to appoint a member who, to the greatest extent possible, can focus on organizing.

Resolution 3: Strongly encourages all local unions to implement a policy that provides that apprentices working in the local's jurisdiction shall, on Day One of their work or as soon as possible afterward, be admitted into the IBEW through the local union.

Resolution 4: Calls for convention delegates and the entire IBEW to recommit to implementation of the Code of Excellence program and the program's core values to realize the objectives of the IBEW Constitution. Encourages each local to implement the Code by using updated tools and training materials.

Resolution 5: Urges and authorizes the international president and international secretary-treasurer to work diligently to open negotiations with NECA to seek an increase in the contribution rate to the NEBF, and to seek an increase in the pension rate paid to beneficiaries.

Resolution 6: Urges convention delegates to go on record in support of continuing to foster and enhance the working relationship with NECA.

Resolution 15: Calls on the IBEW, through the IBEW Strong initiative, to reaffirm its commitment to full participation and involvement in, and to leadership opportunities for, its diverse membership. Urges the union to be united in the fight to improve the lives of all workers and their families and to lead the labor movement by example.

Resolution 16: Reaffirms the IBEW's commitment to full participation and inclusion in, and to equality of opportunity for, all members by continuing to support the RENEW/NextGen, Women's, Veterans and Retiree committees at every local. Calls on the union to continue engaging with the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus to encourage the development of chapters at locals. Asks the union to reaffirm its commitment to full participation and opportunities for leadership and involvement of its diverse membership by recognizing affinity committee leadership development.

Resolution 17: Urges the IBEW to continue to identify, support and mentor women and to challenge itself to identify how to build on the successes of the Women's Committee and Women's Conference to ensure that the union reflects the membership's diversity. Calls on the IBEW to encourage locals to establish women's committees.

Resolution 18: Calls on the IBEW to continue supporting the RENEW/NextGen initiative and to preserve its mission through young workers' participation at IBEW meetings. Urges the union to recommit to establishing and supporting RENEW/NextGen committees at every local and to engage young workers for help with a variety of efforts to recruit workers into the electrical industry.

Resolution 19: Calls for every local to identify a member to act as an advocate to help newly organized veterans and conduct community outreach. Urges every local to form a veterans committee. Recommends that each state and province appoint a chairperson to support their district's international veterans committee member.

Resolution 20: Urges the IBEW, NECA and the Electrical Training Alliance to keep developing and implementing programs designed for veterans' admission into apprenticeships through the Veterans Electrical Entry Program. Calls for the ETA to work with locals and the military to provide appropriate training and procedures. Recommends that the IBEW Convention goes on record for the continued full support of VEEP.

Resolution 21: Urges the IBEW to work with NECA and the ETA to develop and coordinate relationships with Helmets to Hardhats. Asks delegates to the convention to go on record in full support of H2H and make efforts to increase awareness and participation within the IBEW.

Resolution 24: Urges the convention to go on record encouraging all locals to affiliate with and participate in the IBEW Safety Caucus.

Resolution 25: Calls on the convention to go on record affirming that each local shall use the web-based accident reporting system to report all serious lost-time accidents and fatalities to the International Office as outlined in the IBEW Constitution.

Resolution 26: Recommends that the convention go on record in support of continuing to work with the National Safety Council in its effort to improve workplace safety for our members and encourages locals to join the National Safety Council to use the resources available to members.

Resolution 27: Recommends that all construction locals continue to fully participate in local business development practices. Calls for these locals to encourage members to participate in these efforts and urges them to market their training facilities to existing and potential customers and contractors. Encourages these locals to work closely with contractors to help create sustainable employment in all IBEW branches.

Resolution 28: Calls for all construction locals to continue full participation in the Sustainable Project Information Resource Inventory and Training (SPIRIT) program. Asks all these locals to participate in SPIRIT training and to actively pursue business opportunities. Encourages these locals to work closely with the IBEW's project information resource vendors to create sustainable work across the union.

Resolution 29: Urges locals to coordinate with their Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees to actively market their superior electrical training curricula, programs and facilities to customers, elected officials and educators to foster better understanding of the availability, importance and necessity of a community-based, world-class electrical training program and facility.

Resolution 30: Calls on the convention to go on record for the continued support and promotion of our industry's National Training Institute and to encourage full participation in NTI.

Resolution 34: Encourages locals to use all available political tools provided by the AFL-CIO and IBEW International Office.

Resolution 35: Notes that the IBEW encourages all U.S. locals to cultivate fundraising programs to strengthen members' participation in political action and to build the union's national political fund. Seeks these locals' commitment to raise at least $12 per member, per year, for the national IBEW PAC. Encourages all U.S. locals to negotiate a payroll deduction or political "check-off" with their employers with donations forwarded to the IBEW PAC for use in helping to elect candidates supported by locals. Discourages U.S. locals from operating their own PACs because of reporting requirements and the possibility of duplicate contributions, which could result in fines, and instead send contributions to the federally registered IBEW PAC. Notes that having one federally registered IBEW PAC shows IBEW members' determination, strength, commitment and wish to create a U.S. where working people's needs are prioritized over corporations, where millions have access to good, living-wage jobs, and where family-sustaining careers are the rule.

Resolution 36: States that the IBEW encourages all locals in Canada to cultivate fundraising programs designed to strengthen members' participation in political action and to build up the union's national political fund in that country. Urges all locals in Canada to recommit to raising at least $10 per member, per year, to the IBEW First District PAC Fund.

Resolution 37: Encourages all IBEW members to receive The Electrical Worker newspaper electronically, and the International President to implement a policy requiring that all new IBEW members receive The Electrical Worker electronically.

Resolution 38: Calls on convention delegates to strongly support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's commitment to developing a state-of-the-art national electric vehicle charging network in the U.S. as well as Canada's investment in electric vehicle charging and EVITP training. Encourages all construction locals in both countries to explore opportunities to implement EVITP to ensure that the IBEW can provide skilled workers to perform this work. Urges construction local unions in Canada and the U.S. to encourage signatory contractors to bid for electric vehicle infrastructure projects to ensure that we perform this critical work.

The committee noted that the IBEW and its signatory contractors have an unprecedented opportunity to lead the buildout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the U.S. and Canada. The focus of the original resolution was on electric vehicle charging in the U.S., so the committee recommended a substitute resolution that recognizes electric vehicle infrastructure is providing work opportunities in Canada as well.

Resolution 39: Urges convention delegates to recommit support for and defense of the Davis-Bacon Act. Calls on locals to participate in Davis-Bacon prevailing wage surveys in cooperation with the Department of Labor and supports the department's proposed updates to outdated Davis-Bacon regulations.

Resolution 40: Urges convention delegates to strongly support the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's commitment to expanding broadband internet infrastructure to create equal access to broadband for communities across the U.S. Encourages utility, telecommunications, and construction locals to work with employers and contractors to ensure that IBEW members build and maintain the expanded broadband network.

Resolution 41: Calls for all locals to commit to requiring all newly elected officers to participate in New Officers Training.

Resolution 42: Recommends that all locals commit to requiring all election judges to participate in Election Judge Training.

Combined Resolution, Mixed Concurrence

Resolutions 12, 13 and 14: Calls on amending the IBEW Constitution and future publications to use gender-neutral language. Encourages the use of gender-neutral language at IBEW meetings, parliamentary proceedings, presentations, videos and other communications.

The committee combined Resolutions 12, 13 and 14 because all three recognize the importance of using gender-neutral language. The committee said that Resolution 12 could result in a significant cost to the IBEW because it appears to call on the union to reprint all existing publications using gender-neutral language, and that Resolution 13 does not specifically require the next printing of the IBEW Constitution to include gender-neutral language. Because Resolution 14 captures the intent of Resolutions 12 and 13 and provides clear direction on which documents should be modified on their next printing, the committee recommended nonconcurrence with Resolutions 12 and 13 and concurrence with Resolution 14.

Nonconcurrence

The following resolutions were not passed, with delegates approving the committee's recommendations of nonconcurrence:

Resolution 8: Called for allowing email to be used in combination with or in place of postal mail. The committee supports the use of email to communicate with members, but federal labor law in the U.S. continues to require that election notices be mailed to every member.

The committee recognized that Canadian law may permit election notices to be sent by email, but as written, the proposed resolution would have impermissibly allowed notices to be sent by email across both nations.

Resolutions 9, 10 and 11: The committee combined its reports on Resolutions 9 and 10 (to allow for unlimited use of virtual meetings) with its report on Resolution 11 (to require that votes cast by members attending virtual meetings be treated the same as votes cast in person).

The IBEW permits meetings to be held virtually, as appropriate and with prior approval. The committee saw no reason to expand the policy to allow for unlimited virtual meetings, citing grave concerns about the ability to ensure attendance at such meetings is private and limited to members. Further, the committee believed attending meetings in person builds solidarity in a manner that cannot be replicated through virtual meeting attendance.

Resolutions 22 and 23: The committee combined its report on Resolutions 22 and 23, which urged the IBEW to establish an Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to be used by all branches and locals.

The committee stated its agreement with the goal of developing a more diverse and inclusive workforce and noted its recommended concurrences with Resolutions 15 through 19. The IBEW actively supports IBEW Strong and other affinity groups through the Civic and Community Engagement Department, which focuses on DEI, community services, and the needs of underrepresented workers. Also, International President Stephenson has assigned a senior executive assistant the additional duties of promoting DEI throughout the IBEW. Given that the functions called for by Resolutions 22 and 23 are already performed within the IBEW, and that the international president has the exclusive authority under Article IV, Section 3(c) of the IBEW Constitution to "establish such departments in the organization or in the I.O. as in his judgment are necessary…," the committee recommended nonconcurrence with the two resolutions.

Resolution 31: Called on the International Office to establish a working group to create a system for a union-wide Book II that would allow out-of-work members to sign the book at their home local, to indicate the areas in which they are willing to work, and to handle re-signing at their home local.

The committee stated its belief that the existing system properly balances the interests of members who wish to travel for work opportunities with each local union's responsibility to maintain the integrity of its own referral system. Accordingly, the committee did not see a sufficient need to modify the referral system and recommended nonconcurrence.

Resolutions 32 and 33: The committee combined its report on Resolutions 32 and 33, noting that they contained similar language urging the convention to compel the International Office to amend the Category One language of "right to reject" to "right to reject for just cause" and to include this new language in all collective-bargaining agreements.

The committee noted its understanding that some members and locals are frustrated by the "right to reject" provision. The committee is concerned that negotiating a provision that would allow contractors to reject only with just cause could have unintended consequences. In instances where contractors may be abusing "right to reject," the committee recommends that locals work with NECA to curb such abuse. The committee recommended nonconcurrence with Resolutions 32 and 33.

Out of Order

The following resolution was ruled out of order by the chair of the convention after consultation with the parliamentarian:

Resolution 7: Called on the International Office to offer the same health plan benefits to state organizing coordinators and international lead organizers that are received by international representatives. After consultation with the convention's parliamentarian, the resolution was found to conflict with Article 4, Section 3(d) of the IBEW Constitution. Because the international president's authority and powers provided by the Constitution cannot be changed by resolution, the resolution was ruled not in order and unable to be considered.