**UPDATE February 10, 2024: Find more information, including FAQs on the Nominations & Elections 2024 page
Dear AFSCME Local 88 Members,
This is to inform you that the AFSCME International Judicial Panel (IJP) has directed the Local 88 Election Committee to rerun our recent nominations and elections for the newly appointed E-board members and the president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary positions. The IJP directed the Election Committee to rerun the nomination and election of officers and the e-board by March 23, 22024. Those who are currently holding these positions will remain in their positions until after the nominations and/or any contested elections are decided.
The IJP Decision
Two members filed appeal protests with the IJP against the November 2023 Local 88 election process and specific members of the election committee. The protests contained numerous complaints of unfair and biased election processes and behaviors. The links to the complaints, the Election Committee Review, and the IJP final decision will be linked in the February 21st General Membership meeting notes and they will be posted on our website soon.
The IJP denied the majority of these protest items. However, they upheld two items and they consider these are reason enough to justify a redo of the nomination and election processes:
- “The protesting parties assert that the Local did not mail the notice of nominations and elections, rather the notice appeared in Northwest Labor Press Newsletter.” Local 88 has been using the Northwest Labor Press as the mail notification to our members for decades. However, the IJP upheld the protest that this practice is not a sufficient election notification for our membership, and thus is not in alignment with the International Constitution or the AFSCME Local Union Election Manual.
- The IJP reviewed the notification we sent out in the Northwest Labor Press and found that the election committee did not provide to our members clear information about our alternative ballot method, including how to request an alternative ballot if a member wanted one.
Written notification about the nominations will be mailed to your home mailing address fifteen (15) days prior to the General Membership meeting where we will accept all nominations for the reopened positions. You will continue to receive follow-up notifications and alerts via email, including the electronic ballot.
Nominations and Voting
All nominations will happen at our GM meeting on Wednesday February 21, 2024, at 6:15pm. If there are any contested positions, we will open the electronic voting process at 8am on March 15th – and all paper and electronic votes must be submitted by 5pm on March 22nd.
If you would like to cast your vote via paper ballot, you must request one as soon as possible and no later than March 15th. All paper ballots must be mailed and received to AFSCME Local 88, P.O. Box 12021, Portland, Oregon 97212 no later than 5pm on March 22nd. Late ballots will not be counted.
Please contact the Election Committee at elections@afscmelocal88.org if you need a paper ballot or if you don’t receive your electronic ballot in your email inbox by 8am on March 15th (and after you’ve checked your spam). You may only use one of these methods to vote once. Duplicate votes will not be counted.
We will announce the winners of any contested elections on March 23rd via email.
In solidarity!
The Election Committee
Robin Easton-Davis, Chair
Read the Decision
IJP Decision Case No. 23-066 (pdf)
- Protest and report of the investigating officer – pages 1 – 20
- Decision – page 20
- Appeal to the Judicial Panel – pages 21 – 26
- Initial protest – pages 27 – 29
- Election Protest Notes and Election Committee Final Recommendations – pages 30 – 39
Register for the General Membership Meeting
General Membership Meeting
February 21, 2024 6:15 pm
Nominations accepted. Register to attend.
