Democracy, transparency, and member-led unionism are among the founding principles of NPEU Members for a Democratic Union. Here we offer some specifics on realizing those principles within the context of NPEU. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but hopefully demonstrates what we mean when we talk about these concepts.

 

Democracy: We envision a union where every member’s voice counts and members set our union's strategic direction.

 

Specifically:
 

• Larger units deserve more proportional representation on NPEU’s Board. We wish to accomplish this while ensuring that members of smaller units still have a voice in their local. To this end, we support adding representatives to expand the Board, while directly engaging the rank-and-file to work out the specifics. This change would ultimately require amendments to NPEU’s constitution.
   

• We also seek to amend to NPEU’s constitution to allow bargaining units that do not yet have a collective bargaining agreement to appoint an ex officio member of the Board to speak on their behalf.
   

• While we recognize the importance of formalizing units' internal governance structures, dues-paying members in units without these structures should still be able to elect interim unit representatives to NPEU's Executive Board. Officers and staff should not prevent or try to dissuade them from doing so.
   

  • To expedite the development and ratification of bylaws for units that do not yet have them, each unit’s ratified bylaws should be made available on NPEU’s website. This will allow units without bylaws to draw from and build on existing bylaws when creating their own.  
     

• Open bargaining must be in our union toolbox. As it invites all the members of a unit, not just a select bargaining team, in negotiations with the employer, it supports direct democracy at the bargaining table and fosters individual members’ buy-in to the bargaining process. Open bargaining demonstrates our solidarity and power across the bargaining table in an unmistakable way. It is also a great way to take advantage of members’ skills and knowledge and allows units to refute management’s false claims in real time. 
   

• We believe that NPEU’s members should directly elect their representative to our parent International union, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. 

 

Transparency: Democracy requires open and timely communication. This is essential for meaningful representation and accountability.

 

Specifically:
 

• The NPEU listserv — currently the sole official channel for cross-unit communication within the local — should be a forum for free communication among members. It is not the role of officers to approve or deny messages posted to the list. 
   

  • While we support the establishment of a code of conduct for the listserv, this should be thoughtfully developed with member input and should not involve content moderation on the front end. 
     

  • Members should feel empowered to discuss representational issues and to connect regarding social and political issues that matter to them. We realize we may not always agree on every topic, but we should be able to respectfully discuss them without officer censorship.
     

• Members should have more opportunities to hear from and speak with their elected leaders directly. We would increase the frequency of NPEU membership meetings and ensure that they are town hall-style, with ample time allotted for member questions and comments. 
   

• Members should be able to easily access a complete accounting of Board meetings. Accurate minutes, including a full tally of each representative’s vote when votes are held, should be distributed to the listserv and made available in the Members’ section of the NPEU website in a timely manner following each meeting. 
   

• Members should be afforded the opportunity to address the Board directly on subjects that concern them.

 

Member-Led Unionism:  We believe that members should determine the strategic direction of their union.

 

Specifically:
 

• Member engagement should be treated as a positive good, and never as a burden. This may mean things take a little longer, and everyone may not always agree. But ensuring everyone has the opportunity to participate and be heard is necessary to build a meaningful, resilient labor movement. Going behind members’ backs to make critical decisions about the direction of the union is ultimately counter-productive.
   

• We believe in democratizing knowledge and skills-building, demystifying labor law, and otherwise equipping members to steer their union. This means:
   

  • Creating training and member education opportunities that allow every member to learn the skills necessary to lead the union, and ensuring that these trainings are accessible to all interested members (see our Disability Justice and Workplace Safety platform)

  • Democratizing knowledge and increasing access by deputizing members who have completed trainings to assist in training other members

  • Encouraging all members to take advantage of labor education opportunities provided by IFPTE, the AFL-CIO, and labor organizations such as Labor Notes 
     

• We must clearly define the role of union staff in NPEU operations, so that members do not expect staff to do work that members must do for themselves. Members should determine the strategic direction of our union, and staff should support members in carrying it out. See more on our caucus’ position on the role of staff.
   

• A member-led organizing model will grow our capacity and help avoid staff burnout, but this requires an investment of time from member-organizers. NPEU should consider working with some of the more established units to bargain for member release time to work for our local. Having members organize full-time, even if just for a limited period, will help build members’ stake in the day-to-day workings of our local.
   

• NPEU members all have abilities, skills, and valuable experience to contribute. NPEU officers and staff should listen to and collaborate with rank-and-file members as equals. Committees should not be composed solely of Board members, but should instead be open to any rank-and-file members with interest and capacity. Final decisions should be approved by the Board, but rank-and-file engagement should be encouraged whenever possible.
   

Sustaining democratic practices cannot be done solely through constitutions and documents. It requires responsive, committed leaders who never use expediency as an excuse to avoid member engagement and who actively seek to involve the rank-and-file in decision-making and skills-building. If this is the kind of leadership you want to see, we encourage you to check out NPEU Members for a Democratic Union’s slate and endorsees for NPEU’s upcoming officer elections.