OBJECTIVES:
- To identify and examine the duties and responsibilities for specific positions within the Local- President, Vice-President, Chief Steward, Treasurer and Secretary.
Now that we have examined the enormous role and responsibilities of Locals and the necessity of engaging in a team approach to administering a Local, let us now look at the specific positions of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and Chief Steward. Again, while each local has the authority to establish its own Local Executive structure, UTE recommends that each Local Executive include, at a minimum, the five aforementioned positions. Other positions may be included, but much thought should be given to the necessity of the position, the desirability of said position, the jurisdiction of the position, its duties and responsibilities in administering the Local, the size of the Local, the Local’s geographic location (s) and its composition, its value or lack thereof in the decision making process and other such considerations. If the position is not unique and distinct from the other identified positions, perhaps the question should be asked if indeed the position is needed and what added value it brings to the Local. Again, the final determination for these matters rests exclusively with the Local and its members.
Each Local as well has relatively unlimited discretion in assigning duties, responsibilities and portfolios to each of its Executive Officer positions, and indeed many Locals have many contrasting duties attached to its position. From time to time, however, each position and its duties and responsibilities should be reviewed to ensure that it continues to meet the ever-changing needs of the Local and its membership.
While each Local may determine the need to identify specific duties and responsibilities uniquely related to any or all of its Executive Officer positions, the following are perhaps some of the core functions for the specific positions.
At the September 2008 Presidents’ Conference, a workshop was conducted concerning conflict within Locals. Many of the workshop participants reported that one of the major irritants to in-fighting and conflict in Locals was the fact that duties of Officers were not clearly defined. It was reported that this oversight led to jurisdictional disputes among Local Executive Officers, duplications in efforts, political posturing and general overall conflict. As a result, much thought should be given to the specific duty to be carried out and the specific position to whom that duty should be assigned. As a matter of routine as well, all Local Officers should report to the Local Executive meetings and general membership meetings as to the duties assigned to them and the progress or outcome of these assigned functions. Moreover, Locals should, from time to time, review the assignment of duties to ensure that they are still attached to the appropriate position and that all Executive Officers shoulder their fair share of the Local’s workload.
At the same time, we should remain mindful that a small handful of Local Executive Officers, on their own, cannot possibly run an effective and successful Local and at the same time, achieve the delicate balance between our union work, our assigned work from our employer, our family lives and our personal time. As a result, it becomes necessary to engage more members to become active and share in the workload to maximize the effectiveness and strength of the Local. In order to achieve this end, I encourage you to revisit the theories, concepts and practices that we discussed during the Developing Membership Activism Course that was previously given to your Local and in which many of you participated.