United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America - Democratic Structure

Democratic Structure

The fundamental unit of UE is the local union. Because UE was founded by existing independent local unions, the union is structured to provide a higher degree of autonomy to locals than in many other national unions. Local union members elect their local officers, negotiators, stewards, and delegates to the regional council and national convention; set policies for their local, including financial decisions; suggest bargaining demands and vote to approve the union’s full list of contract proposals; vote to ratify or reject contracts and supplemental agreements with the employer; and decide whether to strike, and when to end a strike, by majority vote.

Most UE locals hold monthly membership meetings. Field representatives from the national union assist local unions with bargaining and other activities, but UE’s constitution forbids the staff “to interfere with UE rank-and-file control, including election processes.” Trusteeship of local unions (takeover of a local by the national union) is not provided for in the UE constitution, and has therefore never occurred.

From its founding through 2005 UE had an intermediate structure of geographic districts. In 2005 the districts were replaced by three regions, Western, Eastern and Northeast. Each region holds meetings two or three times a year, composed of delegates from local unions. The regions elect their own officers and representatives to the General Executive Board (the national board of UE), including a full-time regional president. The regions coordinate work among the locals in their area, including solidarity, political action and union education. Several times a year the regions organize training workshops and other educational events through sub-regions – smaller geographic subdivisions.

Until 2003 UE held annual conventions, a frequency rare in organized labor; the union's conventions are now biannual. The five-day convention, consisting of elected delegates from UE locals across the country, is the highest decision-making body of the union. It discusses and approves policy resolutions submitted by locals and regions, on matters ranging from the union's bargaining and organizing strategies to domestic and foreign policy issues. Convention delegates participate in workshops and other educational and cultural events; elect the union’s three national officers as well as the national trustees; and debate and vote on all proposed amendments to the UE constitution.

The salaries of the national officers and staff are specified in the UE constitution, so giving raises to UE's paid officials requires amending the constitution at convention. All amendments to the constitution approved by the convention (including the proposed pay increases) are then sent to all UE locals, to be ratified or rejected by members voting at local union meetings in the weeks following the convention. Every member therefore has a direct vote on whether or not the pay of their national officers and staff will be increased.

Between conventions, decisions of the national union are made by the General Executive Board, consisting of the three national officers, the three regional presidents, and 12 additional rank-and-file representatives elected by the regions.