Page 17 - Work Force June 2016

ATTENTION: Private Sector Local Presidents
2016 Private Sector Local Elections
Elections will be Conducted for All Private Sector Local Officers
Important Information about Slate Petitioning and Slate Voting
The term of office for all current Private Sector Local officers expires June 30, 2016. Private Sector officers and delegates will be elected to three-year terms.
Balloting for Private Sector officers will be conducted between May 15 and June 15, 2016.
Each Local executive board must select its own Election Committee or Election Meeting Chair, if applicable. The Local Election Committees and Election Meeting Chairpersons are primarily responsible for conducting the election, consisting of nominations and balloting.
Members may run as individual
candidates or they may run as a slate. Slate petitioning and slate voting will be an option for candidates for Private Sector Local office (see right).
Note: When circulating and signing individual and slate petition forms, members must write in their own CSEA ID numbers.
In Locals of 150 or fewer members, petitions are not required; instead, applications are used to qualify for office (see below).
Nominating Petitions/Applications for Election are available from your Local Election Committee or Election Meeting Chairperson.
In Local elections, a slate must contain a candidate running for the offices of President, one or more Vice Presidents, as set forth in the Local’s by-laws, Secretary and Treasurer, and any other offices that have been created according to the Local Constitution and by-laws.
In Locals that have the position of Secretary-Treasurer in their by-laws, the slate must include a candidate for that office.
Candidates should know the following:
• A member cannot be a candidate for officer and for delegate on the same slate. An officer candidate must circulate a separate nominating petition in order
to appear on the ballot also as
a candidate for delegate. The member will appear on the ballot as a candidate for office as part of the slate and as an individual for the position of delegate.
• When circulating and signing petition forms, members must write in their own CSEA ID numbers.
• Candidates who run as a slate must complete a Slate Eligibility and Consent Form and a Slate Petition Request Form. By petitioning as a slate, candidates who appear as part of a slate need to submit only one set of the required number of signatures to qualify as a candidate. Individual petitions are not necessary for slate candidates.
• Candidates who withdraw from
a slate must complete a Slate Withdrawal Form and return the form to their election committee.
• More detailed information about election slates will be available from Local election committees.
Did you send your Election Committee Data Form to CSEA
THeadquarters?
o date, all registered Election Committee Chairs and Election Meeting Chairs have received an election package from CSEA to assist them in performing their election duties.This material is necessary to run a proper election.
Election packages are only mailed to those Chairs where their Local President has sent in the required Election Committee Data Form (ECDF).
CSEA Headquarters cannot send material and information to any Chairperson, without first receiving the completed ECDF from the Local President.
Inquiries regarding Election Committees or Election Meeting Chairpersons may be directed to the CSEA Statewide Election Committee at 1-800-342-4146, ext. 1447, or sec@cseainc.org.
Break in membership affects eligibility for union office, voting privileges
Abreak in union membership
status can have long-term future implications. Your membership status affects your eligibility with respect to:
• Seeking or holding union office; • Signing nominating petitions
for potential candidates;
• Voting in union elections; and • Voting on collective bargaining
contracts.
Only members “in good standing”
can participate in these activities. To be in “good standing,” your dues cannot be delinquent.
If you go on unpaid leave or for any other reason have a break in your employment status, your dues will not continue to be paid through payroll deductions. You must make arrangements to pay your dues directly to CSEA to continue your membership status. If you are either laid off or placed on leave without pay status due to becoming disabled
by accident, illness, maternity or paternity, you may be eligible for dues- free membership status for a period not to exceed one year. If you are called up for active military duty you may also apply for dues-free status.
Note, however, you must continue to pay dues to run for office. Dues- free or gratuitous membership allows members to continue their insurance coverage while out of work. It does not protect your right to run for or hold office. This does not apply to members who are on leave due to being called up for military duty. Members on active duty, upon return, are considered to have had continuous membership status for all CSEA election purposes.
Please notify the CSEA Membership Department at 1-800-342-4146, ext. 1482, of any change in your status and what arrangements you are making to continue your membership in CSEA.
Private Sector Locals with 150 or Fewer Members Holding an Election at a Special Membership Meeting
Private Sector Locals with 150 members or less may choose to appoint an Election Meeting Chairperson (instead of an election committee) and conduct an election at a meeting.
Holding an election at a Special Membership meeting simplifies the election process in that, where there are races (more than one candidate for an office), the Election Meeting Chairperson calls a membership meeting for the purpose of electing officers.
Application for office
In these smaller Locals, completion
of the Application for Election to Office replaces the requirement to obtain signatures on a nominating petition. Any member who submits the application and meets election requirements under the Private Sector Local Constitution will qualify as a candidate.
June 2016
The Work Force 17