GAO ANALYSTS MESSAGING CENTER

LA Interim Council Seat

 

Special Election Notice, Time Table, and Rules

 

 

The GAO Union Interim Council would like to inform the Los Angeles field office we are holding a special election to fill the upcoming vacancy of the Los Angeles Interim Council Representative seat.  The following information will explain the responsibilities of this position, as well as the timeline and processes of the election.

 

As the timetable below describes, we are accepting nominations from the Los Angeles bargaining unit (employees represented by our union) to fill this vacancy.  If we receive more than one nomination we will conduct a questioning and answering session in one of the Los Angeles’ conference rooms and by teleconference facilitated by a current Interim Council member.  The Los Angeles bargaining unit will then vote for their Los Angeles Interim Council Representative through an online voting process.  If we receive only one nomination we will forgo an election and the Interim Council will declare the individual as the new Los Angeles Council Representative on Wednesday, April 16, 2008.

 

If you have any questions or concerns after reading all of this announcement please contact Council Representative Chris Langford (langfordc@gao.gov or 202-512-6535), who has volunteered to help facilitate this special election.

 

 

 

Role of Interim Council Members

 

Interim Council Members are responsible for drafting a Constitution and Bylaws for ratification by GAO bargaining unit employees.  They also represent the interests of constituent bargaining unit employees with GAO management and Congress until permanent officers and representatives can be elected pursuant to that Constitution and Bylaws.  Council members meet a minimum of once a week in general session.  Many also participate on committees.  They request feedback from their designated constituencies when necessary and make themselves available to address individual constituent member concerns as they arise.  Although much of the work of the council is performed on a volunteer basis, there are some activities that qualify for official time, such as representing the union in meetings with management.

 

 

 

Timetable

 

Nominations: Thursday, April 10, 2008 to Tuesday, April 15, 2008

 

Self nominations will be accepted via email to gaonominations@ifpte.org during this time period.  Only Band I (non-PDP), Band IIA, & IIB employees are eligible to run for this position.  Anyone wishing to see a list of nominees during this time period can email gaonominee@ifpte.org for this information.

 

Candidates are not required, but are strongly encouraged to submit statements of interest no more than 200 words.  Candidates are urged to use these statements to describe their experience, knowledge of the issues, willingness to serve, and motivation for seeking an Interim Council position.  The Interim Council reserves the right to delete from the candidates' statements material that is inappropriate for distribution (e.g. material that the Interim Council has a good faith reason to believe is defamatory, obscene, or sexually explicit, or constitutes racial, ethnic, religious, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity, or disability harassment). At the end of the nomination timeline we will collect all the statements and present them in a voter guide that will be attached to your ballot.

  

Confirmation: Wednesday, April 16, 2008

 

If there is more than one nominee, the Interim Council will email all nominees on the morning of April 16th confirming their interest in this position.

  

Questioning & Answering: Thursday, April 17

 

If there is more than one nominee, a questioning and answering session will be held during lunch time from 12:00PM to 1:00PM (PDT) to allow the Los Angeles bargaining unit to question their nominees.  An announcement of conference room and teleconference number will be sent out before the April 17th.  One or more current Interim Council members will facilitate this discussion by phone if we are unable to find someone in the Los Angeles to facilitate this discussion.

  

Voting: Thursday, April 17, 2008 to Wednesday, April 23, 2008

 

If there is more than one nominee, voting will be done through a secure website which has been tested through an internal Interim Council election.  Tuesday morning, a link to the website, along with a voter guide, will be distributed via email to Los Angeles bargaining unit employees' GAO email addresses.  Only Band I (non-PDP), Band IIA, & IIB employees are eligible to vote for this position.  You are free to vote online on your personal computer or at work.  Voting will stop on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 6:00PM (PST).

 

Announcement: Thursday, April 24, 2008

 

An announcement of the winner will be sent to the Los Angeles bargaining unit via email.  The new Los Angeles Council Representative will officially take office that day, and is expected to teleconference into the next Interim Council Meeting on April 30, 2008.

 

 

 

Election Rules

 

  1. No union or employer resources (e.g. telephone, copy machine, fax, and email) or union or employer paid time may be used in connection with any candidate's campaign for election to the Interim Council.  This means that candidates and their supporters may not use their GAO work hours or GAO resources, such as GAO email accounts to campaign for election to the Interim Council.  This rule has its basis in the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), and will be a governing rule in permanent elections. 
     
  2. Candidates may distribute flyers or other materials produced at the candidate's expense, so long as no GAO duty time or union paid time and no GAO or union resources, e.g. email, fax, copy machine, are used.

 

  1. The reason PDP staff are excluded to run or vote for this position is because they currently have 5 Council Representatives on the Interim Council, which were selected in the Interim Council election in early November 2007.

 

  1. Challenges to the conduct of the election must be submitted by email to gaochallenges@ifpte.org no later than 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (PDT), five work days after the date the election results are announced.  Concerns about possible election violations of these election rules may be submitted to gaochallenges@ifpte.org at any time during the course of the election process.  The Interim Council will seek to remedy alleged violations that are brought to the Interim Council's attention during the course of the election.  Post election challenges will be promptly investigated.  If the Interim Council determines that there has been a violation of these election rules, the Interim Council will then determine whether this violation "affected the outcome of the challenged election", and if so that election will be rerun.