Your Vote — and Running for Office Yourself

This is where ownership gets real: choosing who leads, and deciding to lead.

Your vote. Elections in our union are by secret ballot, and the right to vote belongs to active members in good standing.

📜 From Our Governing Documents

“No member of this Local Union shall be permitted to vote unless he or she is an active member in good standing in this Local Union at the time of the election.”
— Local 109 Constitution, Article IX, Section 8 (Elections)

💬 In plain terms: Keep your dues current (Topic 3.2) and your vote is guaranteed. The constitution also builds in real protections around elections — nominations run on notice to all members, an independent Election Board oversees the process, and members even have a path to petition for a recount if something looks wrong. Your vote isn’t just counted; it’s protected.

Running for office yourself. You don’t have to settle for choosing among other people’s names. You can put your own forward — with one qualification:

📜 From Our Governing Documents

“… no person shall be nominated, elected, or appointed to a Local Union office or as an Executive Board member of this Local Union unless such person has been an active member of this Local Union in continuous good standing for at least the preceding twelve (12) months.”
— Local 109 Constitution, Article IX, Section 9 (Elections)

💬 In plain terms: Stay in good standing for a continuous stretch (our constitution sets it at the twelve months before nomination) and you’re eligible to run for office or to be a delegate to the International Convention. That’s the whole point of Topic 3.1’s “hold any office” — it’s a door open to ordinary members, not a closed club.

💡 Think first: You’d like to run for a Local office. What’s the main membership qualification you need to meet? Decide, then click.

Continuous good standing for a set period before nomination — our constitution sets that at the preceding twelve months. In other words: keep your dues current over time, and running for office is genuinely open to you. Voting picks the leaders; this right lets you be one.