Should Ecology have it own local? Part 4: Creating an agency-based local - How is it done?

By Paul Pickett, Assistant Chief Steward

Some employee members of WFSE have been discussing whether Ecology should have its own agency-based Local. Over the last few months we havel explored this issue in a series of articles.

This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring an agency-based Local for Ecology. Previous articles discussed what a Local is and does, some of the trade-offs between a geographic and agency-based local, and how other agency-based Locals do business. This final article looks at process: if we wanted our own Local, how would we do it?

The fundamental requirement of creating a Local is approval by the International (AFSCME) Executive Board. The rest of the process leads to that event, based on principles of transparency and member inclusiveness. The International is most likely to approve a Local if the Council (WFSE) supports the proposal. And the Council is most likely to support the new Local if the existing Locals support the creation of a new Local. The process all starts with the members of the proposed new Local supporting the effort.

So the first step is to ensure support of members. These newsletter articles are part of the process of educating Ecology members about the issue. More information sharing and discussion is likely needed. Eventually Ecology members will need to show their support by their signatures on a petition.

By the rules, members need to petition the International. However, the logical first step is to petition the existing Local to support the new Local. So Ecology members in the Lacey building would petition Local 443 to pass a resolution in support of creating an Ecology Local.

Another step that could be included to demonstrate the support of members would be an advisory vote of members. If this course were desired, the petition could ask Local 443 to run an advisory vote of their Ecology members, and then support the new Local if the Ecology members vote in favor of it.

This process could be repeated in each of the field offices for their own geographic Local if members there wanted to join as “charter members” of the new Local. However, members in field offices could also wait until a new Local is created and later ask to be moved from their geographic Local to the agency Local.

Support of the existing Local is a key step. No formal action by WFSE would be needed. However, discussions with Council leadership would be critical to ensure that any concerns were being addressed and that they would support the decisions of Ecology members and the Locals.

If Ecology members supporting an agency Local were successful in these steps, they would be ready to submit a request to the International. Part of that submittal would be a draft Constitution and By-Laws that meet AFSCME’s requirements. Therefore, members would have to put together a process to develop these documents. A good approach may be to build off the existing Constitutions and By-Laws of other Locals, adding any unique Ecology touches that support our values. These documents would have a process of amendment included, so they don’t have to be perfect the first time around.

So finally, Ecology members would have demonstrated their support of the proposal, won support of existing Locals and WFSE leadership, and developed draft Constitution and By-Laws. They now could develop an application for a Charter for the new Local, which would include documentation of the process, and send it to the International for final approval. If all has gone well and the support is strong, AFSCME would create the new Local. The Ecology Local could then elects its officers and begin doing the Local’s business for its members.  .  ■

If you are interested in being part of the workgroup to explore Ecology forming its own Local, contact Paul Pickett, Rebekah Padgett, or Jim Wavada for more information.