(March 16, 2023)
Good afternoon, Union Brothers & Sisters,
At the February 7, 2023, general meeting, Brother Malik Ali, Brother Michael Glover, and Sister Adele Van Arkens accepted their nomination from the floor to represent LL1681 as Delegates at the upcoming 23rd Annual DL 140 Convention in Montreal.
In the DL 140 Bylaws, Article 4.06 ‘Representation and Vote’ states that: “District Lodge Delegates must qualify as per the provisions of Article 5.07” ‘Qualifications for Office.’ Article 5.07 prescribes that, “Any member in continuous good standing within an affiliated Local Lodge under the District Lodge, shall be entitled to run for District office.”
The Candidates must:
(A) be members who are and have been in continuous good standing for at least two (2) years prior to
the date of the close of District Lodge nominations
(B) have attended 50% of the regular quorum of Local Lodge meetings that their shifts or assignments would allow during the twelve (12) months prior to the close of District Lodge nominations.
Originally, it was declared that these three (3) nominees are ineligible to run as delegates to the DL140 Convention, as they did not attend the requisite number of meetings. The initial interpretation of Article 5.07(b) was incorrect, as it was inferred that for members to be considered in good standing, they are required to attend at least 50% of regular meetings held in YEG during the previous calendar year (i.e., January-December 2022). In actuality, members must fulfill this requirement for the twelve (12) month period from the date of the nomination meeting (i.e., February 2022-February 2023).
After reviewing attendance records (i.e., membership sign-in book) with the Conductor Sentinel, it has been determined that Brother Malik Ali and Sister Adele Van Arkens are indeed in good standing, and as such, their names will appear on the ballot. However, since Brother Malik Ali’s membership with the IAM is less than one (1) year, he does not meet Article 5.07(a). Subsequently, he is unable to stand for election, thus his name will not appear on the ballot. The Executive wants to thank Brother Ali for accepting his nomination, affirming his desire to represent the Membership at this important annual conference. We would also like to apologize to the two (2) other nominees for the misinterpretation of the DL 140 Bylaws.
Good luck to all candidates in the upcoming election.
In Solidarity,
Russ Dillon
Interim Recording Secretary
IAMAW LL1681
recordingsecretary@iamaw1681.c