On Tuesday, delegates began consideration of resolutions dealing with important union matters, including recommitments to organizing and the IBEW’s Code of Excellence, working with contractor partners at the National Electrical Contractors Association, and a host of others
The Resolutions Committee, chaired by Tacoma, Wash., Local 483 Business Manager Alice Phillips, made recommendations to the convention delegates, which were acted upon Tuesday and will continue to be considered throughout the week. Folsom, N.J., Local 351 Business Manager Daniel Cosner is the committee’s secretary.
Resolutions are non-binding, but they articulate the delegates’ beliefs on important issues and influence IBEW policy going forward. Below are actions taken on Tuesday after discussions by delegates.
Resolutions Passed
Delegates approved the committee’s recommendations of concurrence for the following resolutions:
Resolution No. 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 No. 2: Strongly encourages all locals in every IBEW branch — outside of the construction branches, 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 No. 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 No. 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 No. 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 No. 6: Urges convention delegates to go on record in support of continuing to foster and enhance the working relationship with NECA.
Resolutions Not Passed
The following resolutions were not passed, with delegates approving the committee’s recommendations of nonconcurrence:
Resolution No. 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 recognizes 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 No. 9, No. 10 and No. 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 sees 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 believes attending meetings in person builds solidarity in a manner that cannot be replicated through virtual meeting attendance.
Out of Order
The following resolution was ruled out of order by the chair of the convention after consultation with the parliamentarian:
Resolution No. 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 Constitution cannot be changed by resolution, the resolution and was ruled not in order and unable to be considered.