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| NALC Government & Structure |
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| NALC is democracy at work |
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| Click here to view the NALC Constituion as amended through the 2006 Las Vegas Convention. |
Unions are essential to a democratic society. They give workers a real voice in their work life.
Democracy is the bedrock of the NALC. Letter carriers elect every union official from branch officers to the national union president. It's one member-one vote in every election. And every officer must be a letter carrier.
In addition, National Agreements—unless decided by arbitration—must be approved by NALC members in a mail-ballot referendum.
NALC democracy is firmly rooted in a written constitution that spells out election procedures, officers' duties, convention responsibilities, and other key matters. NALC's constitution has evolved over the years to meet the union's changing needs and to strengthen members' control over union affairs.
NALC's National Convention is the union's supreme governing body. The convention meets every two years, and elected delegates from every branch across the country are eligible to attend. At the convention, delegates consider constitutional amendments, discuss key issues in standing committees, and set national policy for NALC. In addition, every four years delegates nominate national officers for election.
At the local level, NALC branches have the power to make certain additions to the national constitution in the form of branch by-laws. Many branches enact by-laws consistent with the national constitution, covering such topics as time and place of branch meetings and officers' duties. But the lifeblood of a democratic union is the active participation of its members. Individual letter carrier members make union democracy work. |
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| Union structure and officers |
| For strength and efficiency, NALC has a well defined structure which is set down in the union constitution. Democratic procedures, lines of authority, and officers' duties are specified to help the union work for its members.
All NALC officers, from steward to national president, have one goal—to serve the members. Letter carriers help NALC officers realize that goal by attending and contributing to union meetings, and volunteering time for union activities. |
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| NALC is organized into four structural levels: |
| Branches: |
As an NALC member you are automatically a member of your local branch—one of 2,500 NALC branches of varying size throughout the country.
Your branch is run entirely by letter carriers like you. Although some of the larger NALC branches have one or more full-time elected officers, virtually all branches rely heavily on volunteer union activists who give their time to help their fellow carriers and to do good works in the community.
Members elect their own branch officers in free and fair elections, and any regular member in good standing may run for office. In addition each branch has shop stewards—letter carriers who deal with management on the carriers' behalf. Branch business is conducted at monthly membership meetings which any member may attend.
Although the branch's first job is to represent letter carriers at work and thus ensure that carriers receive all the rights and benefits of our labor contract, many branches also engage in additional activities, depending on member interests. Many NALC branches, for example, offer classes to help new carriers "work smarter" on the job, and conduct special classes for shop stewards and other union activists. Many NALC branches are deeply involved in the legislative and political action process, promoting the interests of letter carriers in the legislative arena.
NALC branches also promote fellowship and solidarity among branch members by offering a variety of social activities, from bowling nights to picnics to ball games to special dinners for retirees, stewards and other groups. Finally, branches engage in a number of community and charitable activities including NALC's annual nationwide food drive, the Postal Employees' Relief Fund, and the annual collection for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. For tens of thousands of letter carriers, participating in NALC is simply a great way to help strengthen the one organization dedicated to protecting carriers' interests in the workplace and in the halls of Congress--and to also serve our fellow Americans. Find out how you can get involved by checking out NALC's Legislation and Political Action page.
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| State associations: |
Members also belong to NALC state associations. Elected state association presidents, among other duties, supervise NALC's grass roots legislative program in their jurisdictions. State associations also hold conventions attended by branch delegates at least once every two years.
NALC has 49 state associations. |
| Regions: |
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NALC's national administration is grouped into 15 regions, each directed by an elected National Business Agent (NBA.) Every region also employs at least one regional administrative assistant, appointed by the NALC national president. Acting under the national president's ultimate direction, NBAs have extensive authority over union affairs in their regions, and serve on the NALC executive council. The NBA's primary responsibility is contract administration--handling grievances, presenting arbitrations, and dealing with regional postal management. They also provide skilled services to the field, responding to branch officers' requests for advice and assistance. |
| National Headquarters: |
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National union business is generally conducted at NALC's Washington, D.C. headquarters by nationally-elected resident National Officers. These officers, along with the NBAs and the nationally elected Board of Trustees, form the NALC Executive Council. The Executive Council, chaired by the president, governs the union between conventions.
NALC national officers, representing the entire membership on the national level, are ultimately responsible for all aspects of union administration and policy. Under the president's leadership, they negotiate and police the national agreement, conduct legislative campaigns, direct the union's staff departments, and represent NALC before the public. Final authority for the union's executive functions rests with the president, who presides at the national convention.
NALC National Headquarters is located at:
| 100 Indiana Ave., NW |
| Washington, D.C. 20001-2144 |
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| © National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO |
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