TWU Vote in Order

To the Editor:

The election procedure is at the core of union democracy. It belongs to the membership. Constitutions and by-laws are formulated to safeguard that ownership.

In April, the former vice president representing the Private Lines in TWU Local 100 resigned from office. To date, there has been no vacancy election.

Recently, members were told the leadership of Local 100 intends to appoint a new VP without an election. The leadership believes the right to appoint the VP stems from an interpretation of the union bylaws and by precedent going back decades. But, oddly enough, members can submit ad hoc "nominees" to replace the VP. Supposedly, Roger Toussaint will take these "candidates" into consideration and pass it on to the executive board.

If the membership is to be denied an election, then the reasons for denying an election should be spelled out plainly. A precedent, no matter how old, is not worth the paper it's not printed on. And don't forget that one man's interpretation is another man's lie.

As defined by the TWU Constitution, a vice president is a local officer. A local officer is an executive board member as stipulated by the bylaws. The executive board is comprised of the local officers and executive board members as defined by the bylaws and the TWU Constitution. And finally, as per the bylaws, a vacancy occurring on the executive board with more than 18 months before the next regular election will trigger a vacancy election within 60 days. An election is indicated and the Private Lines members deserve nothing less.

BILL MOONEY, TWU Member & Vice Chairman, Westchester Division