Striving For a Better Election Process
New York Nurses United
- a rank & file caucus of nurses working together to build a stronger, democratic,professional organization & union.
*This is not an official State Association or Union site*
Through the efforts of some of our members (in the form of filing an election complaint with the Department of Labor), some progress has been made in this area. Our organization has finally established an election protest procedure and a committee to hear any complaints related to the election process.
Our organization must follow federal laws established for union elections by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA).
For an overview of the LMRDA as it relates to union elections, download the powerpoint below. (This is a helpful resource If you are running for office.)
From the U.S. Department of Labor at www.dol.gov
Additional resources to help you better understand these requirements are provided by the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) at:
Remember, if you have a concern related to an election you must first follow the union's internal protest procedures to the letter. If you believe that a violation has not been appropriately addressed at the conclusion of the internal process, you can then file a complaint with the Department of Labor following the process outlined here:
According our union's election protest procedure, pre-election protests must be filed within 72 hours of having knowledge of the problem. Post-election protests must be filed within 15 days of the announcement of the results of the election. There are also very strict time limits for appeals.
While the policy is somewhat restrictive and far from perfect, it's better than what we had before, which was no internal process. Hopefully, this will save members from the hassle, expense, and stigma of having to go outside of the organization for assistance with these issues moving forward.
Sign into "members only" on the organization's official site to see the internal election protest process- it's listed under board policies. Email us if you need help accessing or understanding the policy.
Call for Additional Reforms
Changes are needed to ensure a more democratic transparent election process, to encourage participation and provide the membership with more opportunities to make informed decisions. We propose the following :
- Having candidate forums so members can hear from and meet candidates.
- Facilitating campaigning by email to keep the costs of campaigning minimal and encourage members with less name recognition to run.
- Having the election and balloting process in New York instead of our ballots being produced and sent to Minnesota which interferes with our right to have observers.
Your comments and ideas are welcome. Click on the "Contact Us" or "Message Board" links in the navigation menu on the left side of this page to continue the discussion.
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