It has come to my attention that some who received my letter of November 8, 2000, advising you of our plans to terminate the Trusteeship and conduct elections for new officers in March 2001, remain confused about my intentions. I have been told that some members believe that the schedule I laid out in my letter is only a tentative forecast, and that elections may be postponed beyond March.
Nothing could be further from the truth. While much work remains to be accomplished in Local 2, the plan for elections is firm. To assist the members in planning for the transition to self-governance, we have established the following schedule:
· January 15, 2001: Meeting to set salary and compensation to be paid elected officers or officials.
· February 1, 2001: No later than this date, the Trustee will mail to each member in good standing an official notice of the offices and positions to be filled and the time and place of the nomination meeting, as required by Article VI, Section 1(b) of the Uniform Local Union Constitution.
· February 19, 2001: Nomination meeting to be held.
· March 1, 2001: No later than this date, the Trustee will mail to each member in good standing notice of the date, place and time of election and the list of offices to be filled, as required by Article VI, Section 20) of the Uniform Local Union Constitution.
· March 19, 2001: Walk-in election followed promptly by installation of new officers following certification of the election by the Election Officer.
I have begun the process of selecting an Election Officer to oversee the numerous details pertaining to the election and to ensure that it is free, fair, open and democratic. He or she may set other meetings to convey information or set rules and may adjust the above dates slightly to ensure maximum participation by Local 2 members. But I emphasize that there is no secret plan to postpone the election and there are no surprises in the offing. We have worked long and hard to preserve Local 2 for its members, and we look forward to the March 2001 election.
