Elections

Spring 2025 Special Election Guidelines

Issued by 7902 Election Committee for the Spring 2025 Special Election
Cate Fallon (co-chair), Anika Sharma (co-chair), Robert Ausch, Riley Dunbar
Alexander King (ex officio)

The nomination and election of 7902 officers and other elected officials will be conducted in accordance with the UAW constitution, 7902 bylaws and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as amended.
 
Per Article 38, Section 10(c)  of the UAW constitution, “All elections shall be held under the supervision of a democratically elected Election Committee.” Subsequent committees are not bound by the supervisory decisions of the current committee. 

Fair elections require that the same rules apply to all candidates. The committee cannot ensure that the effects of these will be the same for all candidates. 

Elected officers will serve from when they are sworn in at the first Joint Council meeting following the election until the next triennial election in 2026.

Candidate Eligibility

1. As provided by Article 38, Section 3 of the UAW Constitution, in order to be eligible for an Executive Board position potential candidates must be members with at least one year of continuous good standing in the Local prior to the nomination.
2. In this case, being a member in continuous good standing for at least a year means a candidate must have:

• Signed a Local 7902 membership card prior to February 7th 2024
• Been employed in a position over which the local has jurisdiction and paid membership dues, at a time on or after February 7th 2024.

Nomination Process

1. A nomination notice will be distributed to the membership via email during the week of February 7, 2025.
2. All members in good standing are nominated for all open positions they qualify for. In order to serve, these nominations must be accepted via email to the election committee.
3. On February 12, the Election Committee will hold an informational session for members who are interested in finding out more about the open seats and the election process.
4. Once the nomination acceptance deadline has passed, the election committee will verify the eligibility of candidates.

Meeting with the Candidates

1. A meeting will be held on February 24th with all candidates where a drawing will determine the order of candidate names on the ballot and website where statements will be posted. An additional drawing will determine the order of candidate literature distribution.
2. All candidates are entitled to inspect the membership list once in the 30 days prior to the election. No candidate is entitled to copy or document the membership list.

Campaigning

1. The election committee will hold a forum on March 17 which will allow voters to familiarize themselves with candidate positions and ask questions of candidates.
2. Federal law prohibits the use of any union or employer funds to promote the candidacy of any person in a union election. This includes time paid for by the Local, Regional, International Union or the employer. While all members have the right to campaign, given the challenge of separating paid time from unpaid time in the case of full-time employees of the Local, Regional or International, we ask members who are also staff in these bodies that they exercise special care to avoid giving the impression that the UAW endorses specific candidates.
3. Candidate Statements and Campaign literature will be distributed by the Election Committee during the election. The committee has identified the following guidelines for candidate statements/campaign literature that it distributes.
4. Candidate Statements are an opportunity for candidates to share a bit about themselves with voters They must be submitted by February 28th at 11:59pm.  They can be composed of:
   • 400 words or less
   • A digital portrait formatted to 1000 x 1000 pixels.
     
   • The election committee has unanimously decided that the previous decision to allow links in candidate statements created confusion among candidates. In this vote, candidates may not include any external links in their statements or campaign literature.
     
5. Campaign Literature: If candidates wish the committee to distribute campaign literature, they must submit finished materials by March 14 at 11:59pm. Campaign Materials may not include external links. The committee will distribute the material to the membership in a way that makes them easily and broadly available. The Election Committee will follow LMRDA guidelines but also reserves the right to review the literature to ensure it is in compliance with all union election rules. The Election Committee will do its best to ensure that no candidate receives any advantage as a result of this distribution. Voter Eligibility
   

All members in good standing are eligible to vote and shall receive a ballot. Membership in good standing in Local 7902 uses a two year lookback. So in this election, to be a member in good standing means:

1. Having signed a Local 7902 membership card
2. Been employed in a position over which the local has jurisdiction and paid membership dues, at any point in the period from February 7th 2023 through April 2025.

Election Notice

1. In the case of contested seats, a notice of election will be emailed to all eligible voters during the week of March 14, 2025. The Election Committee will try to use the preferred email of members on record to the extent possible.

Election

1. The election will be held online using the Election Runner software. Each eligible voter will receive a ballot via email. Ballots for local-wide positions and ballots for unit-specific positions will be distributed separately.
2. The election will open on April 8, 2025 at 9am and close on April 10, 2025 at 5pm. Ballots will only be accepted if they are submitted during this time period. Election Results will be announced within 48 hours of the close of the election. 
3. Any violation of these guidelines should be promptly referred to the election committee in writing via email so that action, if necessary, can be taken. We ask that complainants refrain from personal attacks against individual candidates in their communications with the Elections Committee. All complaints will be reviewed on the record following the completion of the election.

Challenging the Election
Any member may challenge the results of the election by filing a protest in writing to the recording secretary, provided that it is raised within 7 days of the election or at the first membership meeting following the election, whichever is later. Protests filed at a membership meetings need not be made in writing (see UAW Constitution Article 38).

The election committee will make every effort to produce a written report reviewing the election by the first Joint Council meeting following the election. The report will be made available to all rank and file members upon request. 

In the spirit of solidarity and unionism, the committee encourages candidates and their supporters to focus on the positions they take and the issues at play rather than focusing on personal attacks or procedural minutiae. 

The aforementioned rules are not inclusive and the committee reserves the right to add additional rules or clarify them as needed during the nomination and election period.


Important Dates

February 12
Informational Session on Open Positions
February 28
Meeting with the Candidates (only if there is a contested election)
February 24
Period begins for candidates to inspect the membership list
February 28
Deadline to submit Candidate Statements and Portraits (11:59pm)
March 14
Deadline to submit Candidate Literature (11:59pm)
March 17
Candidate Forum
April 8-10
Election
April 11
Election Results Announced

---

---

---