Article VII

Election of Officers & Delegates

(The election of Local officers shall be held in accordance with the
Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, 1959)

SECTION 1 – All officers shall be elected every three (3) years by mail ballot. At the September meeting, the Election Committee, hereafter referred to as the Committee, shall be appointed by the President and shall consist of a Judge of Election and at least three (3) tellers, but no more than five (5) tellers.

Members of the Committee shall execute a written statement to the President that they will not become candidates in the upcoming election. The Committee shall meet and the post, no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the November meeting a "Notice of Nomination." Said notice shall include at least the following:

Time / Date / Place of nomination
Officer subject to nomination
Term of office
Prerequisites of nomination

SECTION 2 (a) – Nominations for all officers shall be made at the November meeting. Rules governing the election shall be provided at the meeting and the Judge of Election shall review them with the members in attendance.

Nominations are made in the order listed in Article 6. No nominee shall be placed on the ballot unless he/she signifies his/her acceptance by providing the exact spelling of his/her name for the ballot and written notification to the Judge of Election within five (5) days after the nomination meeting. Once a nominee accepts his/her nomination he/she becomes a candidate.

Any candidate may submit within five (5) days after the nomination meeting , a typed statement of not more than 200 words. This statement will be published unedited in the local’s newsletter. Typographical enhancements, such as the use of bold type, special fonts, or graphics will be removed.

(b) - After all candidates for office have been determined it shall be the duty of the Committee to post a list of all candidates and election rules in all stations and branches.

SECTION 3 (a) – It shall be the duty if the Committee to prepare ballots, have them printed and mailed. The mailing must be done at least fifteen (15) days before the last day on which the ballots must be received in the designated box for counting.

(b) - Ballots shall be mailed in a stamped envelope having the return address of the Election Committee in the upper left-hand corner and containing only the following: voting instructions; a ballot(s); and two (2) envelopes. The first and larger envelope shall be stamped, shall be pre-addressed to the Election Committee at a designated Post Office box and shall contain a pre-labeled voter’s name and address in the upper left hand corner. The smaller envelope shall contain the words "SECRET BALLOT ENVELOPE" on it’s front. Each voter shall insert his/her completed ballot in the small second envelope without any writing or other means of identification upon it, seal it and enclose this envelope in the larger envelope addressed to the Election Committee.

(c) – To be valid, ballots must be returned at a date and time determined by the Committee at the designated Post Office box no later than midnight on December 21st.

(d) – Only votes for candidates duly nominated and properly on the ballot shall be counted. Unopposed candidates shall not be included on the ballot. The election of officers shall be made by a plurality of the votes cast. In the event of a tie vote, the contested race will be decided by plurality of the members assembled at the January meeting by a secret ballot.

SECTION 4 (a) – Immediately following the election, the Committee will prepare "Election Results" to be mailed to all stations and branches. All officers elected will assume their positions effective January 1st. Unopposed candidates will be elected by acclimation by the Secretary at the January union meeting. Installation of officers shall be made at the January union meeting.

(b) Adequate LWOP will be allocated by the President to perform the above duties and those outlined in Article 12, Section 4.

SECTION 5 - (a) At the regular January membership meeting, in the year of the convention, the membership will determine the number of delegates to the National and State convention upon approval of the yearly budget.

(b) Nominations for the National Convention shall be held at the January membership meeting. Delegates for the National Convention must be Executive Board members. The voting for delegates will be by secret ballot at the February membership meeting. The President will appoint a committee to conduct the election. Expenses for these delegates may include LWOP, travel, lodging, meals, and registration fees and must be decided at the January meeting by the membership.

(c) In the event a duly elected delegate is unable to attend, the President may replace the delegate. The replacement delegate must be the next highest vote receiver in the election. That delegate would receive the same compensation and expenses as the delegate they replaced.

SECTION 6 - The elected President or his/her designee shall serve as a delegate to all meetings, conferences, seminars or other functions that he/she deems necessary for the betterment of the local Union or sanctioned by the membership.

SECTION 7 - Any officer or delegate elected or assigned to represent the Local at a Union affair shall paid his/her expenses for all lost wages to include night differential, Sunday premium and Holiday pay if applicable. Compensation will not include overtime pay for officer or delegate. The President shall have the right, at his/her discretion to authorize the use of LWOP necessary to represent the membership of the Local. All such LWOP will be reported in the Treasurer's report at the next monthly Union meeting.

The Secretary and Treasurer should have the right, at their discretion, to take one day per month, LWOP, to perform or conduct any union business, the Union compensating for all lost wages.

SECTION 8 - (a) Any postal employee eligible to be a member of the American Postal Workers Union who voluntarily holds a managerial, supervisory, or EAS position with the responsibility for issuing or recommending discipline, or applying or interpreting the National Agreement for the equivalent of one pay period in a year shall be ineligible to hold office at any level of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) or to be a delegate to any convention held by the APWU or any subordinate body of the APWU, so long as the employee continues to serve in such position and for a period of one (1) year from the time the employee vacates such position.

Any postal employee who has submitted an application to a managerial, supervisory, or EAS position with responsibility for issuing or recommend discipline or for applying of interpreting the National Agreement shall withdraw such application prior to acceptance of nomination for any office in the APWU.

(b) Any postal employee who shall voluntarily, after August 31, 1984, hold, accept or apply for any managerial or supervisory position or the PASS Program, for any period of time, whether one day or permanently, shall immediately vacate any office held by that member in the national, local or department of the APWU, the Postal Press Association, or any subordinate body of the APWU which receives financial support or uses the name of the American Postal Workers Union.