Article XIV - Contract Ratification Or Strike Vote

CONTRACT RATIFICATION OR STRIKE VOTE

Section 1.      Role of Board of Directors.

The Negotiations Committee shall propose to the Board of Directors that a tentative contract be sent to the membership for a ratification vote. The Board of Directors shall then determine whether to send the tentative contract to the membership for a ratification vote. Tentative contract is defined as:

• The changed contract provisions in legislative format, inclusive of the paragraph from which the language change came, and
• A list of articles and sections of the previous contract affected by the change.

The Board of Directors will determine how the tentative contract will be provided to the membership (such as, by U.S. mail, by email, or by emailing a link to the tentative contract).
 

Section 2.      Voting for Contract Ratification or Strike.

Contract balloting shall occur after at least one informational meeting to discuss the issue is held in the affected Local(s). After the last such meeting is held, there shall be at least a seven-day period to complete balloting. Balloting shall be in accordance with Board of Directors authorized procedures. Only members will be eligible to vote. The instructions for balloting shall include the time and the date established for the counting of ballots. Any valid ballot received prior to that time and date will be counted. Any ballot received after that time and date shall be considered invalid and shall not be counted.

The mailing to the membership shall include the Negotiations Committee's recommendation, which must be either to ratify or to reject the contract, as well as the Board of Directors' recommendation, which must be either to ratify or to reject the contract. The ballot shall contain a question on whether to ratify or to reject the contract. A proposed contract can be ratified by a majority of the valid ballots cast by the membership.

If the membership does not ratify the contract, a strike is automatically authorized.

The Board of Directors may approve a tentative agreement without a member ratification vote if the tentative agreement is substantively similar to a tentative agreement previously ratified by the membership. This paragraph shall only apply in 2016, and only if the Legislature fails to approve a tentative agreement ratified by the membership.
 

Section 3.      Implementing a Strike.

A strike authorized by the membership may only be implemented upon a majority vote of the Board of Directors. If a strike has been called, it may be canceled by a majority vote of the Executive Committee that a tentative agreement with the Employer has been reached. Thereafter, a strike may again be called only after another majority vote of the Board of Directors.