Public Employee Press

Local 2054 updates constitution
Members to oversee spending and elect officers by mail balloting

Rank-and-file members would get more control of local finances and more accountability from officers under major constitutional changes that members of College Assistants Local 2054 ratified Oct. 20.

The amendments cut stipends and rein in local spending to ensure fiscal solvency and call for mail ballot elections of officers every three years and regular elections of shop stewards.

"The delegates worked diligently to craft institutional changes that would make it less likely for Local 2054 to fall back into the situation that brought about the administratorship," said Administrator Jim Cullen.

Local members were notified in advance of the proposed changes, which were read at a meeting Sept. 29 and voted on Oct. 20 at union headquarters.

"We were spending more than we were taking in," said Tomas Ramos, a delegate and shop steward at City Tech. "We had to update the constitution and elevate it to AFSCME standards so our local can survive as fiscally healthy, and not go bankrupt." The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,

DC 37's parent union, placed the local under administratorship last year after uncovering financial irregularities.

The new constitutional amendments allow the local president to spend no more than $500; they require prior Executive Board approval for any expenditure between $500 and $2,500 and a membership vote for spending over $2,500.

"Now the members have the power to oversee how the local spends its money and the right to vote out officers who are not doing their jobs," said College Assistant Linda Goncalves of Brooklyn College.

To allow more members to participate in the democratic process, the constitution now calls for mail ballots instead of in-person voting at a meeting. Officer elections will take place in April, beginning in 2013.

The amendments strengthen the constitution's provision for regular elections of shop stewards, with the goal of each CUNY campus having at least one steward for every 200 members. This amendment ensures a union presence and regular shop steward elections at each campus, explained Deputy Administrator Chris Wilgenkamp.

The amendments cut stipends by 66 percent to ensure balanced budgets. To improve accountability, stewards will receive stipends quarterly instead of getting the whole yearly amount in July, Cullen said.

"We worked diligently on these changes to protect members' rights," said Delegate Dishunta Meredith. "We want to move our local forward and keep it on the right path."