|
The following represents the amendments to the International Constitution and Bylaws, that were adopted by the Delegates to the 66 th Quadrennial Convention held in Orlando, Florida, July 27-31, 2009.
ARTICLE SEVEN, Section 1. Salary and Allowances (of International President)
ARTICLE EIGHT, Section 2. Salary and Allowances (of International Vice Presidents)
ARTICLE NINE, Section 10. Salary and Allowances (of General Secretary-Treasurer)
ARTICLE TEN, Section 2. Salary and Allowances of (International Trustees)
ARTICLE TWELVE, Section 1 “b” and Section 2 “b”. Salary and Allowances of
(Appointive Officers)
The salary and per diem expenses of International Officers and staff will be increased by 3% effective January 1, 2010 and each year thereafter, compounded.
ARTICLE FOURTEEN, Section 1
The per capita tax payments of Class “A” local unions to the International will be increased by one dollar ($1.00) effective January 1, 2010, and, that the per capita tax payments to the International will be additionally increased by two dollars ($2.00) effective January 1, 2011, increased additionally by one dollar ($1.00) effective January 1, 2012.
There will be no increase in the per capita tax payments in 2013, and, the allocation of the per capita taxes received by the International would remain as currently provided for in the International Constitution and Bylaws.
ARTICLE FOURTEEN, Section 6
A new sub-paragraph (d) is added to this Section and will read as follows:
“After approval has been granted by the Defense Fund Committee to cover a local’s legal expenses, and as a condition of reimbursement, the local union is required to send the monthly invoice from its attorney to the General Counsel of the International.”
ARTICLE SIXTEEN, “Discipline of Members”
A new Section will be inserted in this Article. The new Section will immediately follow the current Section 14, “Trial in Open Meeting.” appearing on Page 32 of the International Constitution, and will read as follows:
“Section 15. Right to a Trial
The International President, at his discretion for good cause shown, may allow a local union to eliminate from its constitution the right of a member to a trial in open meeting as provided in Section 14 above. Should the International President decide that a local has cause to eliminate the right to trial in open meeting, it is necessary for such local to properly amend its constitution accordingly. Cause shall include consideration of the geographical jurisdiction of the local, the number of members in the local, and whether such local regularly conducts business at membership meetings at a single location.”
ARTICLE SEVENTEEN, Section 2
A second sentence is added to this Section to read as follows:
“Appeals concerning nominations or elections must be made within fifteen (15) days.”
ARTICLE NINETEEN, Section 4
A) The second paragraph of this Section is amended to insert the following before the words “have been a member” at the beginning of the second line of this paragraph:
“be actively engaged in the industry within the Local’s jurisdiction and have worked for at least one hundred and twenty (120) days in the past thirty-six (36) months, and”
AND
B) The second paragraph is also amended to add the following sentence as the last sentence:
“The continuous good standing for two years is not broken unless the member has been suspended under the Local’s Constitution and Bylaws.”
As amended above, the second paragraph of Article Nineteen, Section 4 will now read as follows:
“Officers of affiliated local unions must be members of such local unions but to be eligible for elective or appointive office in any local union of this Alliance a person shall be actively engaged in the industry within the Local’s jurisdiction and have worked for at least one hundred and twenty (120) days in the past thirty-six (36) months, and have been a member of that local union in continuous good standing for two years, except that this provision shall not apply to any newly-chartered Locals or where such requirement has been waived in writing by the International President in special cases where the circumstances in his judgment warrant it. Time served as an officer of a local union shall be applicable towards the “one hundred and twenty (120) days in the past 36 months” requirement. The continuous good standing for two years is not broken unless the member has been suspended under the Local’s Constitution and Bylaws.”
It is noted that in order to be absolutely clear as to the meaning and intent of the above amendment, the following explanation was provided for clarification to the delegates and is provided here for guidance. This explanation will be made part of the permanent record:
The working-at-the-trade requirement is fairly common in labor unions. Its purpose is to prevent people from controlling the union who have no attachment to the industry. It ensures a continuing on-going interest in the labor union by requiring candidates to have a stake in the industry.
The additional authority vested in the International President to waive this requirement is designed for (although not limited to) Locals with jurisdictions that do not generally have sufficient work to meet the criteria to hold office. In such cases a liberal interpretation supporting the democratic process is intended.
In addition, “actively engaged in the industry…” is not intended to apply to those individuals who work under an employment contract with a Local such as a hired Business Representative or Executive Director.
The “continuous good standing” amendment conforms to long-standing IATSE practice dating back decades and satisfies the legally required grace period.
ARTICLE NINETEEN, Section 5
A new second paragraph is added to this Section, to read as follows:
“Whereupon failure of a local union to obtain a quorum for a general membership meeting and upon written application to the International President by the local union, the International President may reduce or waive the quorum requirement for the next general membership meeting of the Local on such terms and conditions as are just and reasonable in the circumstance as determined by the International President.”
| 
