Pursuant to Article IX (6)(A)(2) of the IUBAC Model Constitution, the Local 23 Election Committee hereby promulgates the following rules and procedures for the 2025 officer election:

Appointment of Election Administrator

Pursuant to Appendix 7, Paragraph (A)(7) to the Model Constitution, the Election Committee has engaged MK Election Services to assist in the conduct of the election. Among other duties, MK Election Services will assume responsibility for the printing, mailing and counting of the ballots. You may contact Kenny Mostern at MK Elections at kenny@mkelections.com or by leaving a message at 412-548-2140 The Election Committee and the Election Administrator and their designees and representatives, shall at all times discharge their duties and responsibilities faithfully and impartially.

Form of ballot

The Election Administrator will prepare a ballot proof and circulate it by email to the candidates, or their designees, for approval as to accuracy. Candidates will have 48 hours to respond. If no response is received, the ballot will be deemed acceptable.

Slate Voting

Slate voting will be permitted for this election. Candidates will be provided with a Slate Declaration Form at the Nominations Meeting. All candidates who wish to run as a slate must sign the form indicating their intent to run as a slate member. The Slate Declaration Form will also allow candidates to name their slate. Slates will be given preference on the ballot over individual candidates. The ballot shall state that by placing a mark in the slate box, the voter will have voted for all the individual candidates on that slate. Any candidate who chooses not to be a member of a slate will run as an individual candidate. Members will be permitted to vote for a slate or for individual candidates regardless of whether the individual candidates are members of a slate.

Placement of Names on the Ballot

At the time of the candidates’ meeting immediately following the Nominations Meeting, the order of placement of slate names on the ballot will be determined by lot. The names of individual candidates will be listed in the order of nomination, as provided in Article XI(1)(A)(11) of the Model Constitution.

Observers

Pursuant to Appendix 7, Paragraph (A)(6) to the Model Constitution, each candidate may designate in writing one observer, who must be a member in good standing of Local 23. The written designation should be provided to the Election Committee Chair, Don Mays, donaldmays10@gmail.com. The designated observer is in addition to the candidate himself who retains the right to directly observe all aspects of the election. There is no obligation to designate an observer.  Each candidate on a slate shall be considered to be represented by each and every other candidate on the slate and by any and all observers designated by that slate or any candidate on the slate.

Campaign Mailings

All candidates have the equal right, at their own expense, to mail campaign literature to all or part of the membership. No candidate has the right to an actual copy of the membership list. Arrangements for campaign mailings have been made with Qwestcom Graphics, Inc., 5572 Brecksville Rd, Suite A, Independence OH 44131, www.qwestcomgraphics.com. The main contact person is Tom Day, tom@qwestcomgraphics.com,  216-789-9208. Any candidate who wishes to do a mailing should contact Qwestcom to schedule their mailing and make arrangements for any additional services the candidate may wish to purchase (e.g., design or printing). The candidate also must notify, in writing (email), the Election Committee Chair of the date of the mailing and whether the mailing is for the whole or some portion of the membership, donaldmays10@gmail.com. The Election Committee Chair will coordinate with the Local 23 staff to have the appropriate mailing list transmitted to Qwestcom.

Inspection of the Membership List

All candidates have the right to inspect the membership list once within thirty days prior to the election (March 14, 2025). There is no right to copy or take photographs of the list. Any candidate who chooses to exercise this right should contact the Election Committee Chair by email to make arrangements to inspect the membership list at Local 23’s office in Amherst, donaldmays10@gmail.com.

Freedom to Exercise Political Rights

All Union members retain the right to participate in campaign activities, including the right to run for office, to support or oppose any candidate, to aid or campaign for any candidate, and to make personal campaign contributions. This includes, but is not limited to, the right to distribute campaign literature (and otherwise to solicit support for a member’s candidacy) outside a meeting hall before, during and after a Union meeting. Where any candidate or other member of the Union exercises or attempts to exercise any right to campaign for or against a candidate, members of the Union shall have the reciprocal right to hear or otherwise receive such campaign advocacy.

Campaigning must not involve the expenditure of Union or Employer funds. Accordingly, candidates and members may not campaign on time that is paid for by the Union or by an Employer. Campaigning incidental to regular Union business is not, however, a violation. Further, campaigning during paid vacation, paid lunch hours or breaks, or similar paid time off is also not a violation. An endorsement of a candidate may be made by a Union officer or employee, but solely in his/her individual capacity. The Union or a Chapter, as such, may not endorse or otherwise advance a candidacy, even if all members agree on the endorsement or candidacy.

Printing

The ballots and ballot materials will be printed by Allegheny Commercial Printing in McKees Rocks, PA. The ballots will be printed on or around January 27. Candidates have the right to observe. Please contact Kenny Mostern of MK Elections after January 21 for an exact date and to arrange to observe the printing. 

Mailing

The ballot packets will be assembled and mailed by RJW Hired Hands in Dormont, PA on or around January 31. Candidates have the right to observe. Please contact Kenny Mostern of MK Elections after January 21 for an exact date and to arrange to observe the printing. All unused balloting materials will be delivered to the office of the Election Administrator where they will be securely maintained for the duration of the election.

Post office boxes

Two post office boxes will be used for the election by the Election Supervisor. They are:

Undeliverable mail:  P.O. Box 23426, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

Voted ballots: P.O. Box 190, Amherst, OH 44001.

The Election Administrator will pick up the undeliverable mail on a regular basis between February 3, 2025, and March 12, 2025, two days before the count date. The Election Administrator will contact the Union to obtain better addresses. If the Union is successful in obtaining better addresses, the Election Administrator will then remail the ballot. If any candidate wants to observe, the candidate should inform the Election Administrator and arrangements will be made.

Duplicate Ballot Requests

Any member who did not receive a ballot or who requires a duplicate ballot should call the 24-hour message line of the Election Administrator at 412-548-2140, and provide their name, address, IU number, and reason for the request. Any requests received by the Union will be sent to the Election Administrator. The Election Administrator will send ballots to those members who request them and will keep a record of all requests. In the event more than one ballot is received from a member, the last ballot sent to the voter will be counted.

Count Day

At 9 AM on March 14, 2025, in the presence of observers, if any, the Election Committee will pick up the mail at the post office and return it to the Union office at 8497 Leavitt Road, Amherst, OH 44001 for processing and counting as set forth in the Model Constitution.

Eligible Voters

Members in good standing whose dues are paid through February 2025 are eligible to vote. Contractors and supervisors are ineligible to vote. A contractor member (member who becomes an individual contractor, member of a contracting partnership, or executive officer of a contracting corporation, hiring one or more individuals), or a supervisory member with the effective authority to hire, fire, and impose substantial discipline who is employed in such position on a continuous and ongoing rather than project-by-project basis, shall lose the right to vote in elections until six (6) months after the first day of the month in which such member ceased to be a contractor or to exercise such supervisory authority.

Void Ballots

Any ballot envelope that is returned that appears to have been tampered with, including having been opened and resealed, will be deemed a void ballot. Any member who has made a mistake in marking a ballot should request a duplicate ballot rather than risk opening and resealing the envelope. In addition, any ballot which identifies the voter with the ballot or from which the voter’s choice cannot be ascertained, shall not be counted. As provided in the Model Constitution, any ballot received that does not have BOTH the member’s name and IU member number on the outer envelope will be deemed void. Voters who return a ballot without using a secret ballot envelope will have been deemed to have ceded their right to a secret ballot, but not their right to vote, and the ballot will be counted.

Counting the Ballots

If on any ballot the total number of candidate votes exceeds the number of persons to be elected to that position, that portion of the ballot shall be void, except where a voter has marked the ballot for a full or partial slate of candidates, the slate vote only shall be counted. Where a voter has marked a ballot for both a full or partial slate and for some or all of the candidates listed under that slate heading, the markings for the individual slate members shall be disregarded, and the slate marking shall be counted as a vote for every member of that slate. In the event of a tie vote for any office, there shall be a re-run election as soon as practicable for that office only.

Protests and Appeals

Any member in good standing wishing to protest the qualifications of any candidate may appear before the Election Committee before the Nomination Meeting is adjourned at the time and place specified. No protest to a candidate’s qualifications by a member who has not appeared shall be considered thereafter. Within seven (7) days after the Nomination Meeting, the Election Committee shall investigate any protest lodged, determine whether or not each nominee as to whom a protest lodged qualifies, and notify in writing of its decision each such nominee and the member lodging the protest. The Election Committee’s determination on eligibility shall be final and binding, subject to any appeal filed with the International Union pursuant to the provisions of Code 8 of the IU Constitution.

Protests to any aspect of the election procedure, after nominations, shall be filed in writing by email with the Chairperson of the Election Committee, within two (2) days after the event occurs as to which a protest is sought to be raised, donaldmays10@gmail.com. If the Election Committee promulgates any rules (including these “2025 Election Rules, Regulations and Procedures”), protests to any such rules shall be filed within two (2) days after the rule is available to candidates and must set forth the basis for the protest by identifying the specific provision of the IU Constitution, Model Constitution and/or LMRDA alleged to be violated.

The Election Committee shall investigate any protest filed and shall, within ten (10) days after a protest is received, notify the member protesting and all candidates for any office as to which the protest was filed of its decision upon the protest. If the protest is upheld before the date of the election, the Election Committee shall, if possible, order such changes in the election procedure or other remedies as are necessary to eliminate the defect, including, if necessary, rescheduling the election. As to any protest upheld, but not remedied before the election, the Election Committee shall determine after the election whether the defect found could have affected the outcome of the election. If so, it shall order a rerun election of the office or offices affected.

The decision of the Election Committee upon any protest shall be final and binding unless and until overturned by the International Union upon such appeal as the International Union may provide pursuant to the provisions of Code 8 of the IU Constitution.

If a rerun election is ordered either by the Election Committee after protest or by the International Union upon appeal:

(a)   the candidate with the highest vote total in the official tally for each office as to which a rerun is ordered shall serve in that office until rerun election is completed.

 (b)   the rerun shall be held within sixty (60) days from the date of the order, except that if an order of the Election Committee requiring a rerun election is timely appealed to the International Union, the rerun election shall be held within sixty (60) days from the date of a final decision by the International Union upholding that order.

These 2025 Election Rules, Regulations and Procedures are an exercise of the authority granted by the Constitution to the Election Committee and have been adopted unanimously by the Election Committee to supplement the IU and Model Constitutions.

Don Mays, Election Committee Chair, donaldmays10@gmail.com

Mike Collins, Election Committee Member

Russ Cerisano, Election Committee Member