CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE SALISBURY AREA LOCAL 4321

Article 1 - Title

Section 1 - This body shall be known Salisbury Area Local 4321 of the American Postal Workers Union.

Article 2 - Objects

Section 1 - The objects of this organization shall be to unite the Postal Worker of the local into one brotherhood for their social and economic advancement and to aid in the improvement of the Postal Service. It has been demonstrated by past experience that the trade movement as exemplified by the A.F.L of the C.I.O is the best and most practical method of advancing the interest of all wage earners; therefore, we desire to remain in full affiliation with that body.

Section 2 - We favor an amalgamation of all Postal Workers organizations and affiliation of this body with the A.F.L of the C.I.O.

Article 3 - Members

Section 1 - All Post Office Clerks, Maintenance Craft, Motor Vehicle Craft, Special Delivery Craft, Mailhandlers and Letter Carriers shall be eligible for membership.

Article 4 - Time of Meetings

Section 1 - This body shall convene a minimum of once every quarter at a time and place by order of the President. It shall continue in session for one hour or until all business is completed.

Section 2 - Special meetings may be initiated by petition of five or more members. Establishment of such special meeting, when petitioned, shall be mandatory upon the President, or ranking officer at the time of the petition. Reasonable attempts must be made to notify all members of such special meeting and the circumstances requiring the special meeting to be held.

Section 3 - The President may call for a special meeting at any time and must make a reasonable attempt to notify all members.

Article 5 - Officers, Committees, and Election

Section 1 - The officers of this local shall consist of a President, Executive Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and four trustees. Every member in good standing shall be eligible to be a candidate and hold office. A notice of meeting for the nomination of officers shall be sent to all members at least 15 days in advance of the meeting. The election of officers, Editor, and delegates shall be done by balloting by mail. The union must mail the notice of elections at least 15 days before the date by which ballots must be mailed back in order to be counted. Names of all including unopposed shall be on the ballots. All ballots shall be kept on file for the terms of office. Terms of office shall be two years. In the event of a vacancy during the term of an office, the President shall fill the vacancy by appointment.

Section 2 - The board of trustees shall consist of the President, Executive Vice-President, and four members. These four members shall be elected under the same provisions as officers. The Board of Trustees, additionally, will function as a Grievance committee.

Section 3 - Special Committees shall be appointed by the President during the course of the scheduled meeting and with the approval of the majority present.

Section 4 - Editor - the position of Editor will be elected for 2 years and must become a member in good standing in the APWU National Postal Press Association.

Section 5 - All Stewards shall be appointed by the President.

Article 6- Duties of Officers, Editor and Committees.

Section 1 - President: It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meeting. He/She shall fill all vacancies for any cause until such vacancy is filled by election. He/She shall keep the general membership informed of the business of this organization by disseminating information thru the Shop Stewards, other officers, written notice, newsletters, and other means, as appropriate.

Section 2 - Executive Vice President: The Executive Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in his absence or inability to attend to the duties of said office.

Section 3 - Secretary: the Secretary shall keep a record of all proceeding of the Local. He/She shall initiate local correspondence, take action to provide the membership with notice of meetings. He/She shall maintain all necessary files and provide adequate filing, security and safeguard of all local correspondence.

Section 4 - Treasurer: The Treasurer shall receive and disburse all moneys. He/She shall maintain a complete record of all receipts and disbursements. He/She will submit a report to the local of all moneys received and disbursed (since his last report) at each meeting. He/She will furnish such report to any Officer upon request, at any time, provided he shall be given sufficient time to consult his records prior to making such request. He/She shall submit a record of the local membership to all agencies requiring same.

Section 5 - Trustees: There will be four members of the general membership elected to the board of trustees to the board of trustees. They shall be elected as defined in Article 5, Section 1 of this constitution. These four trustees, together with the President and Executive Vice-President shall form the Board of Trustees, and shall function as a source of legal aid and advise for the Shop stewards. Majority opinion of the group ( Shop Stewards and Trustees present - minimum of four must be present) shall prevail. It is the specific duty of this group to ensure that all worthwhile grievances are pursued to a settlement, and that we do not waste our time and resources on personal differences in the name of this organization.

Section 6 - Editor: the editor will be responsible for publishing the Eastern Shore Postal Worker (Local newspaper) at least 4 times a year. The Editor may also be an Officer of the Local.

Article 7 - Fiscal Year

Section 1- The Fiscal Year of this local shall begin January 1 and end December 31.

Article 8 - Arguments

Section 1 - No criticism, reflection, or arguments touching on any members personally shall be permitted at any meeting of Local 4321.

Article 9 - Amendments to the Constitution

Section 1 - This Constitution shall not be amended except by a two thirds roll call affirmative vote of all members present at two (2) consecutive regular meetings. All amendments must be made in writing and submitted to the Recording file secretary.

Article 10- Dues, Initiation Fees and Assessments

Section 1 - The rate of dues and initiation fees payable by members shall not be increased, and no general or special assessments shall be levied upon members except: (a) By majority vote of members in good standing in a membership referendum conducted by secret ballot.

Article 11 - Conduct of Officers

Section 1 - It being fact that the officers of this organization serve at the will of the general membership, it must be understood that the conduct of any officer in the performance of the duties of his office is subject to review by the general membership. In extreme cases of abuse of office, any officer is subject to removal from office by a two-thirds vote of the general membership at a special meeting. (Rules for Special Meetings, Article 4, Section 2 shall apply). This article is pertinent only to the performance of duties of his/her office by any officer. It is mandatory that this article be used with due caution, to preclude all attempts to use it in reference to an officers personal life.

Article 12 - Intent

Section 1- This Constitution is not intended to replace and/or circumvent those articles presented in the National Agreement of the local Agreements, now existing or future. Any area of this Constitution subsequently found to be in conflict with either of the aforementioned documents shall be null and void.

Article 13 - Wages and Salaries of Officers and Stewards

Section 1- The following salaries will be paid to the officers and stewards of the Salisbury Area Local 4321: President - Salary to allow President to receive two Quarterly credits for Social Security per year. Secretary- Salary to allow Secretary to receive one Quarterly credit for Social Security per year. Treasurer - Salary to allow Treasurer to receive one Quarterly credit for Social Security per year. Chief Shop Stewards- Salary to allow Chief Shop Stewards to receive one Quarterly credit for Social Security per year.

Officers may not receive both Chief Shop Steward pay and Officer pay.

Article 14 - Conventions

Section 1- National Convention: The President will be an automatic delegate to the National Convention, with all expenses and wages paid. In the event the President can not go, the following in the listed order will represent the Local: 1. Executive Vice-President 2. Secretary 3. Treasurer

Section 2 - State Conventions: The President will be an automatic delegate to the State Convention.

Section 3 - All expenses and wages for delegates will be paid to those attending the State Convention.

It is our belief that the attached Constitution of the Salisbury Area Local 4321 has met all requirements and we declare this to be the existing Constitution presently in force as of this date: January , 1997

Sal DeRosa - President Yvette Macdonald - Executive Vice-President Dawn Gebo - Secretary Janice Adams - Treasurer

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

Article 7 - Fiscal Year

Section 1- The Fiscal Year of this local shall begin January 1 and end December 31.

Article 9 - Amendments to the Constitution

Section 1 - This Constitution shall not be amended except by a two thirds roll call affirmative vote of all members present at two (2) consecutive regular meetings. All amendments must be made in writing and submitted to the Recording file secretary.

These amendments took effect at the 01-19-97 regular meeting.