Changes in the Bylaws..

[wmyounce755]

Hello, Back in 2008, Locals 768, 797, 801 and 919 amalgamated with Local 755 that was under Trusteeship because of no Officers. The Officers of Local 797 took over. Bylaws was amended and We got out of Trusteeship in 2009. Now with the NEW Bylaws in place and New Officers in 2009. Not sure on other Plants/Shops under the New Local 755. My plant was not given the 2009 Bylaws and then the Bylaws was amended again in 2010 and 2011 and still never passed out to the members of My Plant. Now in Jan. I was told of a rule in the Bylaws about having to go to 3 out of 6 meetings to be eligible to run for an Union Steward, and Nominations where set for April. Here is Bylaw of rule:

Under Article VIII-section E.

Nominees for stewards must be in good standings, as determined by the IUE-CWA, to be eligible for nomination. In addition thereto, nominees must have attended three (3) of the last six (6) regular membership meetings prior to the date nominations were open. Any member who misses a membership meeting because of Union activity or leave of absence from the Employer shall be credited with attendance at said regular membership meeting. All members will be credited with attendance at regular membership meetings upon cancellation of such a regular membership meeting.

My Question is, Since We were never given the Bylaws prior to Jan. union meeting, Do I / We have to be held to the bylaws? My plant former 797 has never had this type of rule in it's Bylaws so no one was use to having to go union meetings to be able to run for any union spot.

Thanks for your time and advise on this matter.

[David A Foulkes]

My Question is, Since We were never given the Bylaws prior to Jan. union meeting, Do I / We have to be held to the bylaws?

Do you have a copy of every law of the state in which you live? If not, would you say those laws does not apply to you? Of course not. The same principle applies here. Just because you don't have a copy of the bylaws does not mean they don't apply to you (as a member). They do. And while they weren't provided to you, I suspect there was nothing preventing you from asking for a copy, which you should have been allowed to receive.

The larger question behind this is the amendment of those bylaws over the years -- was that amendment handled correctly? That is, if the bylaws include(d) a provision for amending them, was the procedure found therein followed properly? If not, those amendments might be null and void to begin with. But that gets us closer to bylaw interpretation (which is viewed with the same disdain as absentee voting and crocodile roping) so you may need to try and figure that out for yourself.

In the end, whatever the bylaws properly include applies to all members whether they are aware of it or not.

[wmyounce755]

Thanks David. I thought that be the case. I'm trying to make sure my Leadership is not trying to pull a fast one.