WHEREAS:

            The goal of placing a local union under administratorship should be to assure the future fiscal soundness, democratic self-governance, and productive functioning of that local union within the AFSCME family; and

WHEREAS:

            When the International takes over the governance of a local in administratorship, trust between the local membership and AFSCME may be severely strained or shattered, and the healthy emergence of the local from administratorship will rest in part on restoration of that member trust; and

WHEREAS:

            The rules set forth in the AFSCME International Constitution for a local union’s emergence from administratorship require the conduct of an election to fill local officer positions that have become vacant due to the suspension, expulsion or term expiration of the former incumbents, and as part of the administratorship proceedings, other elections, such as constitution revisions, may also occur while it is in progress, each requiring a vote of the entire membership; and

WHEREAS:

            Member confidence in the local’s future as it emerges from administratorship—in the soundness of a new constitution or the ability of newly-elected officers, stewards, delegates and other leaders to effectively lead and represent the local and its members—will depend heavily on their trust in the soundness and impartiality of any election process itself, their perception that the interests of all parties were equally protected, and their assurance that the democratic rights of all participants were fairly and fully preserved; and

WHEREAS:

            It is reasonable to assume that International staff and factions within the local may each have a real or perceived preferred outcome to such elections; and

WHEREAS:

            Restoration of trust between the International and the local requires that even any appearance of impropriety be scrupulously avoided in the conduct of the required election; and

WHEREAS:

            Challenges by the local membership questioning the fairness or appropriate outcome of the election will further delay the resolution of the administratorship and work against the healthy emergence of the local from that process; and

WHEREAS:

            There exist numerous reputable independent election services specializing in the conduct of fair elections, even in highly contentious settings.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

            All elections that occur while an AFSCME local is under administratorship will be conducted according to AFSCME Election Code by an independent election service at the option of the local to ensure security, transparency and auditability of election results.