May 19: Mass Union Board Election

OFFICER ELECTION
Nominees

At the Convention on May 19, there will be an Officer election to fill the five Officer positions: Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and Assistant Treasurer. The Officer election is open only to the current members of the board. Officer nominations are posted here and were sent to affiliates in the snail mail April, along with the Director nominations.

DIRECTOR ELECTION
Nominees

The Mass Union Board of Officers and Directors has decided to hold a special election to fill four open Director seats on the board. The election will be held at the Spring Convention on May 19, 2024. Please see information about eligibility on page 6 of our bylaws.

Mass Union List of Affiliates (Eligible to Vote)

Election Rules & Procedures

As adopted by the Election/Nominating Committee, May 10, 2024, 1pm

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Nicole Beckles, Chair and Board Member, Boston; Bret Perkins, Board Member, Quincy; Jessica Quinonez, Board Member, Springfield; Ellen Jacobson, Affiliate, Lenox; Susan Lanzikos, Affiliate, Bridgewater. Also present: Lilith Dyke and Sarah Byrnes, Mass Union staff.

ELECTION RULES

BYLAWS ARTICLE VI SECTION 4

“Elections: The affiliates to the Mass Union shall elect the members of the board. At the Spring Convention, held in odd numbered years, the affiliates shall elect at least nine members and a maximum of thirteen board members. At the Spring Convention, held in even numbered years, affiliates shall elect five officers from the current membership of the Board. Officers are elected by the affiliates from current board members. If the Board has the minimum number of nine Board members, there is no need to have a special election in the even numbered years to expand the Board.”

Please note that because this is an even-numbered year, we are holding an Officer election. Only current board members can run for the Officer seats, which are Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and Assistant Treasurer. The board also decided to hold a Special Election for Directors (non-officers) this year. We have six people running for four open seats.

BYLAWS ARTICLE V SECTION 6

Paragraph 1: “Each city or town from which there are affiliates present and entitled to vote at a Convention shall be entitled to cast six votes. If there are two or more affiliates from any city or town present and entitled to vote at a Convention, said city’s or town’s six votes shall be allocated equally between said affiliates. Votes may be cast as whole or as fractions thereof.”

When it is time for voting, Nicole will call through the eligible cities/towns, such as Belchertown, Boston, or Brockton. An eligible city/town is one where there is at least one paid affiliate. Each eligible city/town will allocate their six votes equally among paid affiliates. For example:

      • In a city/town with 6 paid affiliates, each gets 1 vote.
      • In a city/town with 3 paid affiliates, each gets 2 votes.
      • In a city/town with 2 paid affiliates, each gets 3 votes.
      • In a city/town with 1 paid affiliate, they get 6 votes.

Paragraph 5: “Nominations for members of the Board may be made by a Nominating Committee or from the floor of the Convention by a member of an affiliate. The Nominating Committee, if any, shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Mass Union, shall consist of three Board Members from different communities and two members of affiliates from other communities and shall report directly to the Convention. The list of recommended candidates proposed by the Nominating Committee shall be sent to affiliates twenty-one days in advance of the Convention. The committee shall make no changes in or additions to its recommendations after they are sent to the affiliates.”

Please note that because we are sent nominations to the affiliates in advance of the Convention, we will not be able to take nomiations from the floor of the Convention.

ADDITIONAL RULES

In addition to the rules listed above from our bylaws, the Committee has created the following two rules for this election.

 1. You must be present at the Convention to run.

If extenuating circumstances arise and a candidate can no longer attend, the candidate can alert a board or staff member at Mass Union. Their circumstances will be explained to the affiliates for a vote, and the affiliates will decide whether to allow the candidate to run.

2. Candidates may distribute materials at the Convention, with three caveats:

      1. No negative statements are allowed about the other candidates.
      2. No promotion of business interests.
      3. Endorsements from present or former Mass Union staff are not allowed.

ELECTION PROCEDURE

 I. Call to Order

Chair Dave Underhill will call the meeting to order and pass facilitation to Nicole Beckles, Chair of the Election Committee.

II. Review of Election Procedure

Nicole will name and thank the Election Committee members and explain that we will be holding three rounds of voting. She’ll explain each as we get to it.

III. Uncontested Officer Election: Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Treasurer Roles

 1. MOTION TO VOTE AS A SLATE

Nicole will make the following motion and affiliates can vote yes, no or abstain.

“I am making a motion to allow the four uncontested officers to run as a slate. That means that each community will be able to vote for all four officers at once. This is a way we can save time today. Uncontested means no one is running against them. Here are the four uncontested officer races:

      • Vice Chair: Maryanne Potrzuski
      • Treasurer: Sonia Andujar
      • Secretary: Carol Robers
      • Assistant Treasurer: Danielle Connolly

“We will go through each community and you will vote yes, no or abstain on whether to save time by voting for all four of these at once as a slate. Yes means one round of voting for all four, no means we will go through each office separately.”

Allow for someone to second the motion. Then take a vote (yay, nay, or abstain) from each community.

2. VOTING

Depending upon the outcome of the vote above, Nicole will go through the offices separately or all at once. Each city/town with at least one paid affiliate will allocate their six votes for the slate or the candidate, or they can abstain. (New nominees are not permitted.)

V. DIRECTOR ELECTION

Note that Lori Manzo has withdrawn from Mass Union and is no longer a candidate.

1. CANDIDATE SPEECHES

The six candidates will be invited to sit at the front of the room, and each will be invited to make a two-minute speech.

2. VOTING

    1. The staff will list the six names on a flipchart.
    2. Nicole will call through the eligible municipalities. A municipality is a city or town, such as Belchertown, Boston, or Brockton. An eligible municipality is one where there is at least one paid affiliate. Each eligible municipality will allocate their six votes.
    3. As people are voting, staff will tally the votes on the flipchart.
    4. The top vote winner gets SEAT 1. Staff will write their name on the WINNER flipchart.
    5. The staff will list the remaining five names on a new flipchart and repeat Steps A-D until all four seats are filled.

VI. CHAIR RACE

    1. CANDIDATE SPEECHES

The two candidates will be invited to sit at the front of the room, and each will be invited to make a two-minute speech.

2. VOTING

    1. The staff will list both names on a flipchart.
    2. Nicole will call through the eligible municipalities. A municipality is a city or town, such as Belchertown, Boston, or Brockton. An eligible municipality is one where there is at least one paid affiliate. Each eligible municipality will allocate their six votes.
    3. As people are voting, staff will tally the votes on the flipchart.
    4. The top vote winner wins the Chair office. Both candidates will remain on the board.