Voting began Sept. 1 for the purpose of amending the constitution of the Seafarers International Union/ AGLIWD/ NMU. As previously reported, SIU members may cast secret ballots at union halls or by mail through Oct. 31, 2006. A constitutional committee was elected at the June 5, 2006 membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., in accordance with Article XXV, Section 2 of the constitution. The members of that committee studied proposed amendments to the constitution that had been submitted by the executive board, and the committee recommended that the changes be approved and brought to a vote by the membership. The full text of their report was published in the August issue of the Seafarers LOG and was presented to the membership at membership meetings.
Some of the proposed changes include a modification of the types of mail services that may be utilized for union election cycles (reflecting the increased use of overnight mail and similar services and the decline of telegrams); creation of a “retiree members” class, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2006; elimination of the position of vice-president at large from the list of elected officers (to take place after the positions are vacated by current officeholders); and a change in the port address of the San Francisco hall.
Seafarers eligible to take part in this vote are full-book members in good standing. The eligibility standard is spelled out in the union’s governing document, the constitution.
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