UAW Local 31

Donna Birks

FINANCIAL SECRETARY REPORT

Sister and Brothers,

As an elected delegate to the 35th UAW Constitution Convention, I want to thank the membership for entrusting me to serve and represent Local #31. After being elected as delegate I had the honor of being appointed by Region 5 Director Wells to serve on the Constitution Committee. It was a learning experience and it gave me an upfront view of how the Convention process goes.
 

There are four committees to the Convention and each Committee has a representative from each region (11 regions).
 

The Credential Committee assures all local delegate elections are held within the guidelines of the Constitution, and if there are no challenges to the local elections, the delegates are allowed a seat at the Convention. If there is a valid challenge to a local election, a member from the Credentials Committee goes to that local and oversees another election before their delegates can be seated at the Convention.  
 

The Rules Committee establishes the rules for the Convention, and the Constitution Committee, goes through all the proposed amendment changes to the Constitution and established if the proposed amendment is valid to the Constitution.
 

The last committee is the Resolution Committee, which reads the proposed resolutions to the elected delegates, so they can vote as a body on accepting or declining them.  On each committee a legal representative is assigned to make sure that the Committees stay within the laws set by the Department of Labor. All four Committees meet four weeks prior to the Convention in order to complete their part of the process.
       

I want to congratulate all the newly elected Committeepersons and their Alternates. Things have changed so much in our plants, with the (so called) New GM Rule; it makes the bargaining job more stressful and difficult. Give all the candidates credit for even running. A Committeeperson’s job is mostly a thankless job.
        

There are things that change with time, but there are things that shouldn’t change. One of them is no foreign cars on the local’s parking lot. The other practice that shouldn’t change is using Union Printers for candidate’s campaign literature.  I remember when a candidate passed out campaign literature without a union bug it went straight into the trash.  In the last two local elections (delegate and Committeepersons) I have been handed in-house printed campaign cards or letters. It has always been a practice at the hall to make sure all work and office literature (electrical, plumbing, floor striping, parking lot paving, roofing, vendors, etc.) is performed at the hall that it is done with qualified union labor when possible.
Our local’s secretaries (Jan & Susan) belong to their own union, OPEIU. Nothing official goes out of the hall unless they type it and you will see their union signature at the end of the document. I’m saying this to reiterate that we can’t expect people to buy American Union made vehicles if we don’t patronize other union shops.
 

Don’t forget the Annual UAW Picnic is August 14, 2010, and enjoy your Negotiated Fourth of July Holiday.
                                    Buy American
Buy Union
In Solidarity,

Donna Birks

It shall be the duty of the Financial Secretary to receive all dues, initiation fees, readmission fees, and all other income of the Local Union for any fund from any source and to give official receipts for same, as provided in this Constitution. Financial Secretaries of Local Unions having a check-off arrangement shall issue one (1) receipt for the check received from the company, and otherwise use the procedure outlined above for any other income. No receipt shall be issued to individual members unless the company does not show on the check stub or pay envelope the amount of the deduction and the reason therefor.

The Financial Secretary shall write all checks drawn on the Local Union funds and report in writing every month at a regular meeting of the Local Union giving the amount of monies received and paid out during the previous calendar month, divided as between the various income and expenditure classifications, and the remaining balances in the fund accounts of the Local Union.

The Financial Secretary shall deposit all collections either with the Treasurer, taking a receipt therefor, or in such banks as Local Union Trustees may direct, with advice to the Treasurer as to the amount so deposited.  

The Financial Secretary shall by the 20th of each month, send a report to the International Secretary-Treasurer on blanks furnished by the International Union, together with the correct amount of money due the International Union for the preceding month which begins on the first and ends with the last day of the month. S/He shall receive applications for membership and notify the candidates of their election or rejection. S/He shall assist the International Union in seeing that all members receive the official publication regularly when eligible, provide each member with an official receipt for all monies paid and make available to each member a copy of the International Constitution and bylaws of the Local Union. Union membership cards and/or dues buttons may be issued at the option of the Local Union.

The Financial Secretary shall furnish the International Secretary-Treasurer with the names and addresses of all the officers of the Local Union. S/He shall keep a record of all members initiated, suspended, expelled or deceased, transfers in and out and reinstatements, during her/his term of office and notify the International Secretary-Treasurer of same, and perform such other duties as the bylaws prescribe or the Local Union may direct. There shall be maintained by the Financial Secretary a complete record of all active members of the Local Union. This record shall have the date of initiation, the date and cause of suspension or expulsion, the date of reinstatement, together with the date of death, home address and such other matters as may be deemed necessary to keep a record of the continuous membership of a member of the Local Union.

The Financial Secretary shall not make said record of all active members (membership list) available to anyone except pursuant to the provisions of Article 37, Section 9 of this Constitution.

The Financial Secretary shall keep an inventory of all records and property of the Local Union, the same to contain, when possible, date of purchase and amount paid for each article. S/He shall notify all members in arrears of the amount of their indebtedness and turn over her/his books to the Trustees for audit and approval when called to do so. S/He shall, on the demand of the International Secretary-Treasurer, produce her/his books for examination and audit and shall comply with the provisions of this Constitution. 

Should it be proven that any Local Union Financial Secretary has willfully and intentionally failed to report monthly the full membership of her/his Local Union to the International Secretary-Treasurer; or should it be proven that any Local Union President, Treasurer and/or Financial Secretary willfully and intentionally refuses to sign a check to send in the full amount of per capita tax on the same number of members who have paid dues to the Local Union, the Local Union may be suspended from all privileges and benefits until the deficiency is made good and the officer or officers responsible for such failure shall not be allowed to again hold office in the organization for a period of two (2) years.