Delegates considered several proposed amendments to the IBEW Constitution on Sept. 24, touching a wide variety of topics.
The proposed amendments were introduced by Law Committee Chairman Bob Dean, business manager of Vacaville, Calif., Local 1245, and Secretary Mark Lynch, business manager of Philadelphia Local 98.
Proposed Amendment 12 would amend Article 17, Section 13 to allow local union executive boards to make spending decisions between meetings that cannot wait for the general membership meeting without later being overturned by the membership.
The proposed amendment was submitted by the international president and international secretary-treasurer.
The Law Committee urged concurrence, and the amendment was adopted.
Delegates rejected a proposed amendment to Article 16, Section 3, directing local unions to form a “political action committee” with a membership that mirrors the demographics of the local membership.
The proposed amendment was submitted by Portland, Ore., Local 48.
The Law Committee recommended nonconcurrence because the common meaning of a “political action committee” is a tax law designation for a separate dedicated fund for making political donations, not an actual committee. Second, it is against the policy recommendations of the IBEW that locals form their own PACs. Finally, proposed Resolution 39, which the delegates later adopted, had nearly identical language.
The proposed amendment was not adopted.
Delegates adopted an amendment to Article 16, Section 11 barring any candidate in a local union election from serving as an election judge or teller in that election.
The amendment was proposed by the international president and international secretary-treasurer.
The committee urged concurrence. The amendment was adopted.
Delegates considered an amendment to Article 17, Section 8 to restrict the decision-making authority of business managers who have lost elections but have not yet been replaced by the winning candidate.
Business managers who chose not to run would retain their full authority, but losing candidates would be restricted to decisions “necessary to operate” the union. Any decision outside that scope would have to be approved in advance by the local’s international vice president.
The amendment was proposed by the international president and international secretary-treasurer.
The Law Committee recommended concurrence.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Local 2085 Business Manager Jeff Skinner spoke in support.
“I faced a series of actions by the previous business manager that caused significant issues for the membership. This is common sense,” he said.
The amendment was adopted.
Proposed Amendment 16 would add a Section 21 to Article 16 allowing locals to use secure online election tools in certain elections, as long as they complied with legal requirements and local bylaws.
The proposed amendment was submitted by Halifax, Nova Scotia, Local 625 and Ottawa Local 2228.
The committee recommended nonconcurrence for two reasons. First, the IBEW Constitution already gives locals the authority to amend their own bylaws on the manner of elections and is silent on the matter. Second, laws on online voting are not settled in either the U.S. or Canada.
Several delegates rose to speak on both sides of the question.
Kennewick, Wash., Local 112 Business Manager Travis Sellers spoke against adoption.
“A local union can seek an approval for alternate means of elections. The legal status is still in question and would be different in Canada and the United States. We shouldn’t amend the Constitution. The international president should address it case by case,” he said.
Buffalo, N.Y., Local 2154 Business Manager Heather Owczarzak spoke in favor of adopting the amendment.
“We went from 50% to 90% participation when we incorporated online voting. Our members support it. Mail-in participation in elections is now down to 30%, and younger members prefer not to do this. By making an amendment, we would not have to go through the bylaw amendment process to use this tool,” she said.
The proposed amendment was not adopted.
Next, delegates considered adding a Section 4 to Article 27, requiring the IBEW to underline in print any changes made to the Constitution by the amendment process during the 41st IBEW International Convention.
The proposed amendment was submitted by Buffalo, N.Y., Local 2154.
The Law Committee recommended nonconcurrence, saying the resulting marked-up copy of the constitution would be confusing to the membership.
The committee’s recommendation of nonconcurrence was approved, and the proposed amendment was not adopted.
Proposed Amendment 18 would add a section to Article 15 barring union functions from using a venue that uses “sex appeal as its primary marketing tool.”
The amendment was submitted by Austin, Texas, Local 520.
The committee urged nonconcurrence because harassment and discriminatory misconduct is already prohibited by Article 25, Section 1(t), and the vague amendment would lead to disputes over its meaning.
Erie, Pa., Local 56 Business Manager Brent Bricker spoke in favor of the nonconcurrence.
“I understand and respect the intent behind this amendment, but the proposed language could create disputes and leave the local with uncertainty when scheduling events,” he said.
Local 520 Business Manager Jonathan Murray spoke in favor of adoption.
“While it should be obvious, this may not always be followed. At Local 520, we stand with our sisters. Solidarity forever,” he said. “It may not be appropriate for the Constitution to be changed for this, but the laws need to be modified.”
The committee’s recommendation of nonconcurrence was accepted, and the proposed amendment was not adopted.
The delegates then considered a proposal to amend Article 23, Section 5 to prohibit a local union from requiring a member to resign or be dropped from their home local before allowing the member to transfer their membership into the local union.
The proposed amendment was submitted by the international president and international secretary-treasurer.
The committee recommended concurrence.
Baltimore Local 24 President Jon McLaughlin spoke in favor of adoption.
“An ‘A’ member should not be put in a position where they might lose their pension benefits to transfer their membership. We adopted a resolution yesterday to strengthen the Pension Benefit Fund. We should not strengthen it with one action and weaken it with another,” he said.
No one spoke against adoption, and the recommendation of concurrence was approved.
The international president and international secretary-treasurer submitted another proposal, this time to amend Article 23, Sections 8, 9 and 10.
The proposed amendment would eliminate all admission fees for members transferring membership.
The committee recommended concurrence, there was no discussion, and the recommendation was adopted.
The next proposal would amend article 23, Section 3, adding conditions to the issuance of travel cards by local unions. Since the 19th century, there have only been three conditions that must be met for a local to issue a travel card: be in continuous good standing, pay dues sufficient to cover the length of the card and have no charges that the member is facing.
The proposed amendment would require six months of good standing, delay issuance until the first of the month and require international vice president approval.
The proposed amendment was submitted by Arlington, Texas, Local 220.
The committee urged nonconcurrence because the travel card system has been working well with just the three requirements, and local unions have complete autonomy over whether to accept or reject a travel card.
Los Angeles Local 11 Business Manager Robert Corona spoke against adopting the proposed amendment.
“Our Constitution has recognized the same traveling rights since the founding of the IBEW, and home locals should not be creating unnecessary barriers for their members,” he said.
Local 220 Business Manager Joshua Worthey spoke for adoption.
“Credentials are not always shared in all locals. A member can get a classification here, travel somewhere else, get a higher classification, then sign our books at a higher classification. We are not talking about traveling then — we are talking about shopping for classifications,” he said.
The delegates adopted the committee’s recommendation of nonconcurrence.
Finally, the delegates considered a proposed amendment to Article 25, Section 9, 12 and 16, to clarify that all appeals must also be signed and in writing. The IBEW Constitution states that all charges against members must be in writing and must be signed. This applies the same standard to appeals.
The international president and international secretary-treasurer submitted the amendment.
The Law Committee recommended concurrence to what it called a “straightforward change.”
There was no discussion, and the proposed amendment was adopted.
