The International Constitution provides that, absent a contrary provision in the Local Union’s own Constitution and Bylaws, all officers of a Local Union elected in conformity with applicable law shall, by virtue of such election, be considered to be eligible regular delegates to any International Convention which may take place during their term of office. Therefore, Local Union officers elected in an election conducted in conformity with the (U.S.) federal Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) may serve as delegates (or alternates) to the International Convention either if the Local’s Constitution so provides, or if the Local’s Constitution is silent on how regular delegates are to be selected.
If, at the time of the receipt of the Convention Call, the Local finds that it is entitled to fewer regular delegates than its number of duly elected officers, regular delegates shall be selected from among the officers in accordance with any order so designated in the Local Union’s own Constitution and Bylaws. In the absence of such designation, only the Local Union’s chief executive officer may serve as an automatic regular delegate and any additional regular delegates must be elected by nomination and, if necessary, secret ballot vote of the membership conducted in accordance with applicable law and constitutional provisions.
If, at the time of the receipt of the Convention Call, the Local finds that it has been allocated more regular delegates than the number of duly elected officers, then arrangements may be made at the option of the Local Union’s Executive Board for nomination, and, if necessary, secret ballot election for the additional number of authorized regular delegates. Alternatively, the Local may choose not to send the additional number of regular delegates (above the number of its designated officers) to which it is entitled.
Any Local Union may, by its own Constitution and Bylaws, dispense with the provision that Local Union officers be automatically considered regular delegates to the International Convention, in which case the Local must provide for nomination and, if required, secret ballot election of all regular delegates to which the Local is entitled. In addition to the selection of regular delegates as discussed above, a Local Union may in the same manner provide for the selection of such alternates as it may determine are reasonably required to serve if regularly elected regular delegates are unable to do so. The assumption is that space considerations will permit accommodation of a number of alternates equal to no more than one half of the number of regular delegates allotted to the Local Union.
To be eligible for nomination as a regular delegate or alternate (or as an officer who will serve automatically as a regular delegate or alternate) a person must have been a member in continuous good standing in the Local Union in compliance with the Local Union’s and the SEIU Constitution and Bylaws, and must be in compliance with all other applicable requirements of both sets of bylaws.
The notice of a secret ballot delegate election should be sent to each member’s last known home address at least fifteen (15) days before the date of the election, and the Local must have complied with all other requirements of the LMRDA in the conduct of its election. This obligation applies even if the Local is a public employee local or a Canadian local and thus not otherwise subject to the LMRDA. Local Unions entitled to have a retiree delegate shall select the delegate by procedures provided for in the Local Union’s Constitution and Bylaws for selecting a retired member delegate. Where no procedures are provided for selecting a retired member delegate in the Local Union’s Constitution and Bylaws, the Local Union’s Executive Board shall select the retired member delegate. Only retired members who have been members in good standing for two years prior to the Convention as either members, retired members, or life members of the Local Union may serve as a retired member delegate.