1. The Chairpersons of the General Committees in each district, as
2. hereinafter set forth, shall form an Association of General Chairpersons
3. each to function independently of the other, for the purpose of
4. formulating concerted movements relating to wages, rules, and working
5. conditions of transportation service employees in their district.
6. District No. 1 shall include all rail lines in the United
7. States.
8. District No. 2 shall include all rail lines in Canada.
9. District No. 3 shall include all bus lines in the United
10. States and Canada.
11. All General Chairpersons on properties where the combined
12. membership represented by the United Transportation Union is one
13. hundred (100) or more, shall be members of the Association of General
14. Chairpersons in their respective districts as outlined above. Where the
15. combined membership represented by the United Transportation Union
16. on a property is less than one hundred (100) the General Chairpersons
17. on that property shall elect one of their group to be a member of the
18. Association in their respective districts. Members of the Association of
19. General Chairpersons shall attend all meetings of their Association and
20. represent their committees with pay and proper expenses to be paid
21. from the General Fund of the International.
22. The International President shall convene the General Chairpersons
23. during the year 1969 for the purpose of organizing the Association in
24. each district. Each district shall elect, by secret ballot, a Chairperson, a
25. Vice Chairperson, and a Secretary to serve as officers of their
26. Association.
27. Following the reorganization of General Committees in 1971, and
28. quadrennially thereafter, the International President shall convene the
29. Association of General Chairpersons for the purpose of reorganizing and
30. electing officers.
31. Each Association shall adopt by-laws for its special government
32. consistent with the provisions of this Constitution.
33. The Association will be convened by the International President
34. whenever necessary and will be convened by him when a majority of
35. the General Chairpersons within a district of the Association request a
36. special meeting, provided the requests are uniform in object and
37. purpose and the meeting is limited to subjects over which the
38. Association has jurisdiction.
39. In any general or concerted wage-rules movement, members in an
40. Association cannot withdraw support of a movement which has been
41. approved by a two-thirds vote of the members of an Association, unless
42. sanction thereto is given by a majority vote of eligible members of the
43. Association and approved by the International President. In the event
44. any transportation company refuses to be represented by the
45. conference committee representing the companies in a general or
46. concerted movement, the International President may exclude the
47. General Committee on such company from participation in the
48. movement.
49. A strike may be authorized by the International President in
50. support of a general or concerted wage-rules movement, provided such
51. action is approved by a two-thirds vote of the members in any
52. Association. Such vote may be taken as the International President
53. may direct by mail, wire, or while in session.
54. In any general or concerted wage-rules movement the
55. International President and Assistant President shall appoint a
56. negotiating committee representative of each of the former
57. organizations and crafts represented by them which are involved in the
58. movement. The negotiating committee shall assist in the prosecution
59. of the wage-rules movement as directed by the International President.
60. When in the judgment of the International President and the
61. negotiating committee a final offer of settlement has been received, the
62. offer with the committee’s recommendation shall be submitted by
63. referendum to the Membership of the crafts involved in the movement
64. for their acceptance or rejection. Following receipt of the offer of
65. settlement, each General Chairperson shall have fifteen (15) days to
66. submit questions pertaining to the offer. The negotiating committee
67. will consolidate the submitted questions into a single, uniform list.
68. When the answers to these questions are determined by the
69. negotiating committee and the carriers’ representatives, the agreed
70. upon questions and answers will be distributed to the General
71. Chairpersons and made a part of the offer of settlement.
72. A majority of the members voting of each of the crafts to be
73. covered or affected by the terms of the proposed agreement shall be
74. required to ratify the offer of settlement.
75. The terms of the settlement shall be submitted, by the
76. International President, to each Local involved in the movement, in
77. sufficient quantity to permit circulation to the membership, and/or the
78. terms may be mailed to each member in a special edition of the UTU
79. News. Recommendations of the President and/or Negotiating
80. Committee may be included along with a digest or summary of the
81. provisions of the settlement.
82. The Board of Directors shall establish and publish procedures for
83. the conduct of referendum elections which shall thereafter be contained
84. as an appendix to this Article; guaranteeing each affected member the
85. right-to-vote on wages, rules and working conditions.
86. Voting and tabulation of the results must be completed within
87. twenty-one (21) days from the date the proposal is dispatched or
88. presented by the International President. The final result and
89. tabulation of voting shall be furnished to each Local involved in the
90. movement and shall be printed in the UTU News.
APPENDIX: Agreements shall be sent via first-class mail in an envelope marked “Important – Agreement and Ballot Enclosed”. The ballot will be a self addressed, postage paid post card that will contain space for the member to print name,local number and railroad employer.
