Procedures to form a new Local
The MAPE Board of Directors has adopted the following procedures for formation of a new Local.
A new Local within a certain region of MAPE may only be formed by following the procedures as prescribed below:
- A petition to the Board of Directors signed by a minimum of 30 percent MAPE members who would be in the proposed new Local shall constitute the initiation for the formation of a new Local within a Region.
- The petition shall contain the following:
- i) Geographical boundaries, including all MAPE worksite locations, of the proposed new Local. All areas within this boundary must be contiguously connected;
- ii) Names and signatures of members stating their intent to serve as officers of the new Local;
- iii) Meeting location(s) for the new Local;
- iv) An estimated budget for the new Local based on the total number of MAPE members and nonmembers in the new Local;
- v) Names, permanent work locations and work phone numbers of the petitioners.
- The Board of Directors shall approve or deny the petition within 90 days of receipt of a valid petition. If the petition is denied, the Board of Directors shall give reasons for denial. The Board of Directors shall take into account the following factors when considering the petition:
- i) The functioning of existing local(s) is not crippled;
- ii) The proposed new Local would have no less than 50 MAPE members unless a variance is granted by the Board;
- iii) Whether a different boundary can be drawn in an effort to better serve all members affected in consultation with potential officer candidates as submitted in the petition as well as officers from the existing local(s);
- iv) Objections, if any, of the existing local(s);
- v) The Board of Directors may approve variances from these rules.
- vi) Organizers for a new Local, as well as officers of the existing local(s), shall be notified and given the opportunity to address the Board of Directors when the petition is being considered.
- After the Board of Directors accepts the petition and organizing papers, if any, a ballot along with the proposal to form a new Local and appropriate organizing papers shall be mailed to all MAPE members who would constitute the new Local. A majority vote of all eligible members voting is required to form a new Local.
The petition
Please use the standard petition provided. Contact the MAPE office if you have any problems downloading or printing.
If you need membership lists to assist you in contacting members for the purpose of completing the petition, contact Dave Grefe at the MAPE office. These membership lists will contain ONLY member names and work phone numbers for work locations in your proposed new Local. NO PRIVATE DATA WILL BE RELEASED.
Geographical boundaries of the proposed Local
You must be able to accurately describe the boundaries of the new Local.
For example:
All worksites currently in Region 12, Local 1 that are south and west of the Mississippi River, north of Hwy 110/I 494, and east of 35E.
This includes: Agriculture, Plato BWSR, Water Street DES, E Marie/Wentworth etc. ...
The new Local should include ALL existing worksites within that geographic boundary. In other words, you should not say all worksites EXCEPT ... To verify all worksites in the new Local, you may need to contact the MAPE office. This information must be included/attached to the New Local Information Sheet.
Officers of new locals/meeting locations
Please use the New Local Information Sheet provided to document new Local officers' intent to serve. Contact the MAPE office if you have any problems downloading or printing.
It is critical that there is a full slate of Local officers providing leadership when the Local is created. Officer training will be available, and offered as frequently as possible throughout the year, starting in the fall of 2000.
A full slate includes a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. The president and treasurer of a local must be bondable (contact the MAPE office -- Operations Manager Dave Grefe is responsible for obtaining facts on bondability). It is also necessary to have researched the availability of meeting locations for the new Local. This information must be included on the New Local Information Sheet as well as the contact person(s) for reserving the meeting location.
Estimating new Local budget/50-member guideline
An estimated budget for the proposed Local must be submitted. A Local's budget is based on the number of full members and fair share members in that Local. Currently, each payperiod, a Local treasury receives 75 cents for each full member, and 64 cents for each fair share. Please contact Dave Grefe at the MAPE office for the estimated number of members in your proposed Local and for help in preparing an estimated budget.
The reason for the 50-member minimum is budget related. It's critical for a Local to have enough income to effectively hold meetings. It's important that you carefully research and consider the costs of running your Local. For example, most members expect lunch provided at noon meetings. If your Local is geographically large, you may need to consider reimbursing members or officers for travel.
One last fly in the ointment ...
When a new Local spins off from an existing Local, there is the potential for "crippling" that existing Local. The Board of Directors will look very closely for this effect.
For instance, too many resources of the existing Local may go to the new Local. This includes members (and thus budget) as well as activists, stewards and Local officers. If most of the old Local's resources are lost, it becomes crippled and ineffective. There are ways to avoid this -- aggressive recruiting and training of new activists, for example, prior to the formation of the new Local.
Contact your existing regional director early in the process. It's the best way to avoid some of the pitfalls in forming a new Local. Keep your director informed and work closely with him/her. They are your link to the Board of Directors, and they are trained to assist you in your efforts to organize.
And please don't hesitate to contact the MAPE office for help or information.
