International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers : Local Lodge 2003: Your Contract, Your Vote Your Contract, Your Vote ================================================================================ Web Steward on April 30, 2008 05:40pm The AFS Contract vote will be very important to you and your family’s future! It’s important to vote, and every vote counts and your voice needs to be heard. The vote will be Sunday, May 4th at the Ozark Civic Center at 3 PM (Doors open at 1 PM). There will be no absentee ballots; you must be present to vote. Here are the rules governing the contract vote, per the IAM Constitution *In order to have a ratification vote, 30% of the bargaining unit membership MUST be present. *If the proposal is accepted by a vote of 50% plus one, the meeting is over, and the contract is accepted. *If the contract is rejected, a second vote is required, the strike vote. As per the IAM Constitution, a two-thirds majority vote of those present is required to declare a strike. *If the two-thirds majority is not reached the contract is accepted. This is an important part of our Constitution that protects the membership, as a strike that isn’t strongly supported by a majority of the membership is doomed to failure. For those who haven’t attended a contract ratification vote, here’s how it works: *You’ll receive two ballots when you sign in, one for the contract vote, and one for the strike vote. *We’ll present the contract, and then take questions on the Company’s last, best and final offer. After our members have had an opportunity to ask clarifying questions a ratification vote will be taken. This process is for questions to be asked not to debate the merit of accepting or rejecting the proposal. *Your ballot will have two choices: Yes, to accept the contract proposal, and No, to reject the contract proposal. *Our tellers will then count the ballots. If the proposal is rejected, we will then take a strike vote. We Will be voting on the Company’s Last, Best and Final proposal. The proposal we receive will be everything the company is offering short of a possible long and costly strike. Make no mistake; a strike in today’s world is not to be taken lightly. For every short strike, there may be many long strikes. In accordance with our IAM Constitution your strike benefit of $150.00 per week will begin the third week (to be paid at the end of the week) provided you have performed your assigned duties. SO BE SURE TO BE THERE SUNDAY! MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT! DON’T LET OTHERS MAKE YOUR DECISION FOR YOU!