Your union’s Regional Executive Committee (REC) – the policy-making body of PROTEC17 – has started to work on revising the governing document of our organization: the constitution.
The PROTEC17 constitution contains articles guiding the objectives, governance, membership, election procedures, policies, and more for our union. It is an instrumental document that sets the structure of our organization.
At the last REC meeting in October, a motion was passed to propose the first revision to the document. This revision now goes to the entire membership for a vote, per the procedure spelled out in the constitution.
The first revision, if approved by the membership, will allow voting on constituional changes via an electronic ballot. Currently, as written, voting on these changes must be by paper ballot which is costly, time-consuming, and does not get the turnout that electronic balloting does. Members have until March 10 to submit their vote on this first constitutional change.
Five PROTEC17 REC delegates have stepped up to lead this committee: Marc Anderson (King County), Rachael Brooks (City of Seattle), Jake Jacobovitch (King County), Dan Santon (King County) and Sean Simmons (WSDOT).
Since its formation, the committee meets monthly to discuss other potential language changes to modernize this living document.
“The guiding document of any organization is critically important,” said Anderson. “It’s important to revisit our constitution from time to time to make sure it stays up-to-date with the changing times.”
The PROTEC17 constitution has not been revised since 2011 when our members voted to disaffiliate from IFPTE, our international union. At that time, the constitutional language was merely cleaned up to reflect changes to our name and new independent status.
The members on the committee are taking their roles very seriously, thoughtfully considering what language changes would benefit the organization today – from clarifying and improving processes to integrating technological advances.
“I wanted to be involved in this process because I am a proud PROTEC17 member and I care about this union,” said Anderson.
Members should expect to receive more information about constitutional changes in the months to come. The committee will be working on this project throughout 2020.