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Special Edition: GAO Union Draft Constitution Available for Your Input
August 6, 2008
The draft GAO Union Constitution outline is now available for bargaining unit members’ review and input. We would like to request your input on the draft Constitution outline prior to voting on it. To seek your input, we will be holding multiple listening sessions in August in both the field and headquarters.You can download the draft constitution outline and slides for the listening sessions.
Our Union Constitution will define the leadership and operation of our Union. Because our Union is a democratic organization guided by the will of its members, we need a Constitution to formally define how our Union makes decisions. The Constitution will define how we elect representatives for office, their number and roles, and how they will work together. It will also establish procedures for dealing with conflicts, determining organizational priorities and providing our Union’s services. It should be noted, however, that a Constitution does not define all the specific operations and workings of a Union, and only defines general principles and structures. Bylaws created based on the final Constitution will clarify the most specific operations.
The draft Constitution outline provided for your comment represents a framework, and in many cases includes several options for moving forward. The draft defines options for the following elements:
• a preamble to serve as our Union’s mission statement;
• two types of union membership;
• an Assembly for collecting input from across the agency (large and small models);
• five Executive Officers for the efficient transaction of union business;
• two core committees; and
• procedures for elections, amendments, and removal from office.
The Constitution Committee will incorporate your input for the final proposal. We will incorporate your input in our decision-making processes as we revise and finalize the draft Constitution. After debate among the Interim Council on the outstanding issues and options, the council will pass and propose a final version of the Constitution, which the Interim Council will send out for your ratification vote. Once our final Constitution is approved by the bargaining unit, we will begin elections for the constitutionally-defined union leadership.
Please give us feedback on the draft Constitution outline. Join us for listening sessions on the Constitution. Lunchtime listening sessions will be held at noon on Thursday, August 14 and Thursday, August 28 in Headquarters room 2T59, with field office sessions to be announced soon. We will schedule additional listening sessions if needed. If you have comments, questions or concerns, please contact your Interim Council representative or contact the Constitution Committee through Stephen Ulrich at ulrichs@gao.gov.
The Constitution Committee has been working since January to prepare a draft Constitution. We reviewed the constitutions of other union locals. We consulted with union experts. We drafted proposals for review by the Interim Council and received their input. We identified areas of particular concern for input by you, the Bargaining Unit members.
Thank you for your time and attention, and for helping to guide our Union’s future.
Union Contacts
If you have questions or comments, or need assistance from the Union, please email your Interim Council representative (listed below). You can also send questions and comments to ICquestions@gaoanalysts.org.
Members of the bargaining unit are welcome to observe Interim Council meetings, either in person or by phone. In addition, members are invited to submit or share thoughts at the beginning of the meeting. Please contact your representative or another member of the IC for more details, including the call-in number for those who cannot attend in person. The Interim Council meets each Wednesday at 3:30 PM ET in room 2T59.
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