AFSCME International Executive Board Votes to Ensure Fair Elections
March 29, 2012
Preparing for the election of new union leadership at AFSCME’s upcoming convention, Pres. Gerald McEntee this past winter appointed a committee charged with ensuring that process is fair and transparent.
The committee, unanimously appointed by AFSCME’s International Executive Board in December, presented its recommendations at the Spring 2012 meeting yesterday. By a 2 to 1 vote (22-11), board members approved the committee’s recommendations.
During the past month, committee members and International Vice Presidents Sherryl Gordon, Salvatore Luciano and Joseph Rugola conducted hearings in Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
Hundreds of AFSCME members offered input about the elections process at those hearings and committee members carefully considered their testimony in crafting the recommendations they delivered yesterday.
“The input provided by our member at the regional meetings was invaluable in helping us reach a consensus,” said Committee chair Rugola.
“They made it clear that this is their union, that they have enormous pride in being AFSCME members, that the reputation of the union is important to them and that they have a deep and abiding interest in making sure that our elections are fair, open and transparent.”
At the hearings across the country in March, attendees focused largely on the same topics: the nomination process, use of noisemakers, boundaries for campaigning at the convention center, bloc voting regulations, election observers and staff members elected as delegates from their locals. The report makes substantive changes governing each of those areas, with the purpose of ensuring every delegate’s vote is made freely and counted accurately.
The elections – which include selection of a new president, secretary-treasurer and international vice presidents – will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA). “Their system is as foolproof as can be constructed and beyond reproach,” Rugola said of the nationally recognized election monitoring organization.
These recommendations now go to the Convention Rules and Elections committees, which will choose to adopt, amend or reject them. They will then be voted on by the delegates at the Convention.
