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Organizational Structure
Local 17 members are a group of diverse professionals ranging from engineers to information technology professionals and many other professional jobs. Being a member of our union adds to the power base of being affiliated with the AFL-CIO and our International Union. This organizational structure and the union's governing structure are detailed below.
AFL-CIO
Located in Washington DC. with regional offices throughout the United States and Canada, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations is a voluntary federation of over 100 international unions. It serves as the central roof under which most of North American labor organizations gather.
IFPTE (International)
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE, the “International” Union) Local 17 is part of the IFPTE, which is made up of 85 local unions. Local 17 is one of the largest. Local 17 is chartered by the International union and must comply with its rules, which are contained in a constitution.
This constitution can be changed at a convention that occurs every three years, and the number of votes Local 17 has at the convention is in proportion to its membership numbers. Between conventions, the International Union is run by a President and Secretary-Treasurer who oversee a staff. These officers, in turn, report to the Executive Council, whose members are elected by locals in each region of the United States and Canada. Local 17’s Executive Director and President are among the 14 members of this council. With the AFL-CIO, the International performs important governmental liaison functions that promote and protect the interests of all workers.
Local 17
This local union is the second largest in the IFPTE and wields considerable influence. Local 17 is operated in accord with the rules defined in its constitution and policies. Constitutional changes are made by a membership wide vote. Policies are enacted by the appropriate governing or administrative entities of the local.
Union Governance
Executive Director
The Executive Director is responsible for the day-to-day administrative and financial operations of the union, and may develop policies necessary to facilitate these functions.
The Executive Director hires and supervises the union’s staff and serves, personally or through designated staff members, as the official representative of the Local in all labor relations and business matters. The Executive Director is hired by the REC.
Regional Executive Committee (REC) - The REC is the union’s primary policymaking body. It is composed of delegates who are selected by union members at the chapter level, in numbers proportional to the number of members within each chapter’s jurisdiction.
Executive Board
This body is the equivalent of the union’s board of directors. The Executive Board makes policy decision between REC meetings and exercises financial oversight of union operations.
This Board consists of a President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and three trustees.
Each is elected by a membership-wide vote and serves a three-year term of office. The Executive Board meets monthly.
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Union Administration
Staff
The union staff is structured by the Executive Director and reports to the Executive Director. It is organized as follows:
Union Representatives
These are the labor relations professionals who are responsible for assisting members with contract negotiations and administration, including grievance processing, and representation at meetings and hearings, including arbitration and agency proceedings.
Program Directors
Thse are staff specialists in defined areas of expertise responsible for specific strategic activities such as communications, legislative affairs, training and organizing.
Administrative/Financial Specialists, Assistants
These are staff employees responsible for performance of specialized internal tasks such as membership administration, accounting, financial reporting, accounts payable, document processing, information technology functions, etc.
Stewards
Member-leaders selected through election or appointment to assist in the day-to-day administration of bargaining collective agreements and to serve as critical links in the union’scommunications network.
Stewards are agents of the union and are vital links in keeping the union strong and moving it forward. The steward network is structured by bargaining unit and typically there is one steward for each department or work unit. Stewards may be removed
Chapters
Through chapters, which are ideally structured by so that members of each chapter have a common employer, members have a forum to discuss issues pertaining to their workplaces and their collective bargaining agreements.
Chapters provide member access to union governance through the election of delegates to the REC.
Chapters can be established or disestablished by the REC.
Advisory Bodies
Negotiating Committees
Negotiating committees are composed of members selectedby each bargaining unit to coordinate contract negotiation efforts with staff union representatives. Negotiating committees sometimes continue after new agreements are ratified to advise on matters between contract negotiations.
Policy Committees
Policy committees are comprised of members selected to discuss, advise, and coordinate with staff union representatives on an ongoing basis on issues of unit-wide significance. They seek to achieve consensus on a wide variety of issues that affect unit members and serve as an important adjunct to the union’s staff representation functions.
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