All locals are required to follow the standards of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), a federal law governing internal elections in unions.
You can find easy to follow, detailed steps for conducting internal union elections according to LMRDA standards in the US Department of Labor’s publication, “Conducting Local Union Officer Elections” (view in HTML or PDF).
Here are some special considerations when electing delegates:
- Members of the local must be given a suitable opportunity to nominate candidates for the office of delegate and alternate. (AFT-Oregon Constitution Article IX(3)(a)).
- Notice of election must be at least 15 days in advance (AFT-Oregon Constitution Article IX(3)(b)), and must be sent by first class mail to the last home address of each member.
- Delegates must be eligible as defined in the local’s constitution or bylaws in order to nominate or be nominated, and to vote.
- Election must be by secret ballot.
- Officers elected by secret ballot, who have as a defined duty in the local’s constitution and bylaws to be a delegate, may serve as such, provided the office was elected by secret ballot according to all these same requirements.
Questions? Contact Karen at KarenB@aft-oregon.org.