Election Committee Back Ground Checks

I had asked the election committee if they do background checks on all the candidates to assure that all candidates are eligible to be an officer. This is a valid question because our bylaw Section 13 states “The eligibility and qualifications of officers and delegates shall be in compliance with the Constitution and General Laws.” Looking at the Constitution and General Laws Section 14.3 it states “No member who is disqualified from holding office under the provisions of Section 504 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 shall be eligible for holding office in this union.” I then looked up Section 504 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 and there is a list of convictions that would disqualify a candidate. The election committee informed me that they do not have the resources to be able to do that. This means that they only verify if the candidate is a member in good standing and has been a member for two or more years. This is another example of how our union is failing to observe our bylaws and not assuring that our members are fully protected.

Chris Day