ARTICLE XXVIII.

Unit Chairperson, Unit Secretary and Shop Steward 

Section 1.

Unit Chairperson

   Shop and/or Industry Unit Chairperson

(a)     Each Shop or Industry Unit that shall meet monthly as one Unit shall elect a Shop or Industry Unit Chairperson.

(b)     Shop or Industry Unit Chairperson shall not at any time be considered an officer of the Union and shall only be entitled to perform those duties and authorities spelled out herein.

(c)     He/she shall act as Chairperson of the Shop or Industry Unit meeting he/she was elected from.

(d)     He/she shall appoint any necessary assistants or sergeant-at-arms to assist him in maintaining order at the Shop or Industry meetings.

(e)     If elected to represent a shop (not an Industry Unit) he/she shall have the authority to appoint assistant Shop Stewards to aid the Shop Stewards of his/her particular shop, or he/she shall have the authority to appoint temporary Shop Stewards pending an election of a Shop Steward by the crew or department to be represented.

(f)     He/she shall be an ex-officio member of the Grievance and Negotiation Committee of his/her Shop, if elected from a shop unit, or of his/her industry if in the event the grievances and negotiations in his/her industry are handled on a collective basis as one Unit.

(g)     He/she shall be a delegate to the Stewards Council.

(h)     He/she shall be obligated to attend his/her Shop or Industry Stewards meetings.

(i)      He/she shall be elected for a period of one year as provided for herein.

Section 2.  

Unit Secretary

Shop and/or Industry Unit Secretary

(a)     Each Shop or Industry Unit that shall meet monthly as one unit shall elect a Shop or Industry Unit Secretary.

(b)     Shop or Industry Unit Secretaries shall not at any time be considered an officer of the Union and shall only be entitled to perform those duties and authorities spelled out herein.

(c)     It shall be the duty of the Shop or Industry Unit Secretary to keep an accurate record of the proceedings of the monthly Shop or Industry Unit meetings.  He/she shall make these minutes in duplicate and shall forward a copy of this record to the Recording Secretary of the Local Union who shall maintain such copies on file at the Local Union office.

(d)     He/she shall aid and assist the Shop or Industry Unit Chairperson with the handling of the monthly Shop or Industry Unit meetings.

(e)     He/she shall forward to the Secretary of the Local Union the names and addresses of the Shop or Industry Unit Chairperson, Secretary and Shop Stewards of the shop or industry unit he/she was elected from.

(f)     He/she shall be an ex-officio member of the Grievance and Negotiation Committee of his/her shop, if elected from a shop unit, or of his industry, if in the event the grievances and negotiations are handled on a collective basis as one unit.

(g)     He/she shall be a delegate to the Stewards Council.

(h)     He/she shall be obligated to attend his/her Shop or Industry Stewards meetings.

(i)      He/she shall be elected for a period of one year as provided for herein.

Section 3.

Shop Stewards

   Shop Stewards

(a)     Each shop shall elect one Shop Steward for each crew of 25 members or major fraction thereof.  Each shop unit shall be entitled to at least one Shop Steward.  Only the members served by any given Shop Steward shall vote on that Shop Steward's election.  A Shop Steward may be recalled by a majority vote of any meeting of his/her crew, subject to the approval of the shop membership and Stewards Council.  Any Shop Steward recalled by a vote of the majority of his/her crew, with approval of the shop, membership and Stewards Council, may appeal to the Executive Board with witnesses, etc., whose decision shall be final and binding.

Shop Stewards shall be the highest ranking union member in their crew.  All Union members must accept their word as union law during working hours.  Members shall hold the Stewards in the highest esteem.  They shall advocate and promote all Union projects among their crews.  They shall be responsible for acquiring the signature of members and new employees on all cards necessary for keeping the records of the Union as current as possible.

(b)     He/she shall process those grievances properly referred to him/her for handling by the membership of his/her crew.

(c)     All Shop Stewards shall be delegates to the Stewards Council.

(d)     Shop Stewards shall be obligated to attend their Shop or Industry Stewards meeting unless excused by the Shop or Industry Chairperson.

(e)     Shop Stewards shall be elected for a period of one year as provided for herein.