Article 7

General Secretary-Treasurer - Duties and Powers

[ Article 1 ] [ Article 2 ] [ Article 3 ] [ Article 4 ] [ Article 5 ] [ Article 6 ] [ Article 7 ] [ Article 8 ] [ Article 9 ] [ Article 10 ] [ Article 11 ] [ Article 12 ] [ Article 13 ] [ Article 14 ] [ Article 15 ] [ Article 16 ] [ Article 17 ] [ Article 18 ] [ Article 19 ] [ Article 20 ] [ Article 21 ] [ Article 22 ] [ Article 23 ] [ Article 24 ] [ Article 25 ] [ Article 26 ]

General Duties
Section 1. The General Secretary-Treasurer shall be custodian of all of the properties, funds, securities and assets of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters wherever located. He shall conduct all financial correspondence involving or affecting the International Union and all financial correspondence between the International Union and any affiliate or subordinate body of the International Union, and his signature shall, as a ministerial act, be required on all instruments, documents, deeds or other papers of any nature whatsoever requiring or involving the investment of any of the funds of the International Union. The General Secretary-Treasurer shall keep a correct record of the proceedings of the Conventions of the International Union and of each meeting of the General Executive Board, preserve all important documents, papers, letters received and copies of all important letters involving the International Union and which pertain to the functions and responsibilities of the Office of the General Secretary-Treasurer. He shall supply each delegate to the Convention of the International Union with a copy of the correct record of the proceedings of any such Convention as soon as is practicable following the Convention and shall supply each member of the General Executive Board with a correct copy of the minutes of each meeting of the General Executive Board as soon as is practicable following the meeting.

Section 2 (a). The General Secretary-Treasurer shall have primary responsibility for the payment from the general fund of all financial obligations, commitments and expenditures of the International Union. Requests or requirements for payments from the general fund shall be submitted to the General Secretary-Treasurer and shall be supported by written authorization in the form of statement, bill, invoice, voucher, disbursement authorization or similar written instrument. All such requests or requirements for payment from the general fund as indicated above shall, prior to payment, be reviewed and approved as to the validity of such claim by the General President and as to the adequacy of supporting data by the General President and the General Secretary-Treasurer or by representatives duly appointed by each, provided such representatives are appropriately bonded. Following approval as set forth above, the General Secretary-Treasurer shall make payment by check under his individual signature for the following classes of financial obligations of the International Union:

1. Routine or recurring expenditures incurred in the operation of the General President's and the General Secretary-Treasurer's offices such as general office expenses, administrative and clerical salaries, building maintenance expenses, salaries or compensation of officers, organizers and other representatives or staff members of the International Union, including expenses of such individuals as authorized by the international Constitution, real and personal property taxes, and other types of taxes, interest payments, and all other similar regularly recurring expenses of the International Union, provided that the General Executive Board shall first have given general authorization for payment of such type of financial obligations.
2. Expenditures such as out-of-work benefits, or advances or payments to Conferences, Trade Divisions, Local Unions or Joint Councils and other similar specific expenditures all of which, however, have, prior to payment thereof, been specifically authorized by the General Executive Board or this Constitution.

(b). All expenditures from the general fund, other than those provided in 2 (a) above, relating to the operation of the International Union, including, but not limited to, expenditures to further the Objects of this International Union as set forth in Article I, Section 2 herein, shall be approved by the General President and the General Secretary-Treasurer. Checks in payment of such expenditures shall be signed by the General President and the General Secretary-Treasurer. In the event of disagreement between the General President and the General Secretary-Treasurer concerning the making of any payment, the matter shall be submitted to the General Executive Board for determination, which determination shall be final and binding.

(c). The General President and General Secretary-Treasurer and all other representatives or employees of the International Union who handle any funds of the International Union or subordinate body thereof or are involved in the making of any expenditures from the general funds shall be bonded in an amount sufficient to protect the International Union.

(d). In the event that the General Secretary-Treasurer is temporarily unavailable during any period or periods of time, the General President shall exercise all of the powers and duties of the office of the General Secretary-Treasurer during such period or periods of temporary unavailability, except for his powers to appoint and remove which, during such period or periods, shall not be exercised without the prior approval of the General Executive Board.

(e). In the event of the incapacity or unavailability of any person authorized by this Constitution to sign checks or documents, the General Executive Board shall designate another person to exercise such authority. This provision shall also apply to situations resulting from the operation of Article VI, Section 8 and Article VII, Section 2 (d).

Issuance of Charter
Section 3. All charter applications must be signed by no less than seven (7) prospective members employed within the jurisdiction of the International Union, and before final issuance, must be approved by the General President, the General Secretary-Treasurer and the General Executive Board.

All Local Union charter applications must initially be submitted to the Joint Council or to the Conference (if there is no Joint Council) having jurisdiction in the area, which shall then forward such application to the General Secretary-Treasurer with an indication of whether such application has the approval or disapproval of such body. All other charter applications shall be submitted directly to the General Secretary-Treasurer. The General Secretary-Treasurer shall submit all charter applications to the General Executive Board. In determining whether to issue a Local Union charter, the General President, the General Secretary-Treasurer and the General Executive Board shall take into consideration, but shall not be bound by, the position of the Joint Council or Conference in the matter. If the General President, the General Secretary-Treasurer and the General Executive Board approve the issuance of a charter, the General President and the General Secretary-Treasurer shall sign, and the General Secretary-Treasurer shall issue and deliver, the charter to the organization for which application for charter has been made. Such charter shall be revoked unless within thirty (30) days after the election of officers of the organization, the contract set forth below has been signed by the President and Secretary-Treasurer of such organization and returned to the General Secretary-Treasurer. Applications for revisions of existing charters shall be processed in accordance with the procedures outlined in this Section.

Charters may be issued to a Local Union, the territorial jurisdiction of which shall not be limited to any particular geographic area, upon such terms and under such conditions as the General Executive Board shall consider appropriate, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Constitution.

Affiliation with, and the issuance of a charter by, the International Union and compliance with all the provisions and requirements of this International Constitution are in no way conditioned upon the affiliation or non-affiliation of the International Union with any other organization either at the time of the issuance of a charter or subsequent thereto.

The General Executive Board shall have the authority to change the jurisdiction granted or set forth in the charter at any time in its sole discretion.

The following Charter Contract and the rights, duties and obligations set forth therein are a part of this Constitution as though set forth in a separate Article herein:

CHARTER CONTRACT
Know all men by these presents, that I, __________________, Secretary-Treasurer of Local Union (Joint Council or other subordinate body) _______, located at __________________, being authorized to act for said Local Union (Joint Council or other subordinate body), in consideration of the General Secretary-Treasurer's issuing a charter to said Local Union (Joint Council or other subordinate body) hereby agree: that said charter shall remain the property of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and in consideration of the premises herein stated, when the charter is framed, the frame shall immediately become the property of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; that said Local Union (Joint Council or other subordinate body) shall have custody of said charter until it is demanded by some person authorized to make such demand, in accordance with the International Constitution, and the charter and frame shall then be delivered to the person so authorized to demand and procure the same; and that any person so authorized may enter any premises occupied by the said Local Union (Joint Council or other subordinate body) or any of its members and take possession of and remove the said charter.

I do further recognize and acknowledge in behalf of Local Union _______. (Joint Council or other subordinate body) that the name and all rights and privileges hereunder are granted this Local Union (Joint Council or other subordinate body) by the International Union, and that all books, documents, contracts, name, moneys, funds and property of any nature and description which may be obtained, accumulated and maintained by this Local Union (Joint Council or other subordinate body) will result, be obtained, accumulated or maintained by the granting of this charter and the rights and privileges thereunder; and that therefore, in the event this charter is revoked, or this Local Union becomes defunct, all books, documents, contracts, name, moneys, funds and property shall belong to and shall be delivered over to the International Union by it to be retained, as provided for in Article X, Sections 13 and 14 of the Constitution, until the charter is reinstated or a successor Local Union (Joint Council or other subordinate body) or Local Unions (Joint Councils or other subordinate bodies) are chartered.

I do further agree in behalf of Local Union _______ (Joint Council or other subordinate body) that it will abide by the provisions of the International Constitution and amendments thereto, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

____________________________________.
By Its Secretary-Treasurer

Financial Report
Section 4 (a.) The General Secretary-Treasurer shall issue annually a financial report summarizing the assets and liabilities of the International Union and stating the net worth of that organization and the receipts and disbursements together with a Certified Public Accountant's statement as set forth in Section 1 of Article VIII. Such a report shall be published annually in the official Journal of the International Union. At any time a financial report is requested by the General Executive Board, the General Secretary-Treasurer shall furnish such a report consisting of a statement of assets, liabilities and net worth of the International Union.

(b). The General Secretary-Treasurer shall furnish the Secretary of each subordinate body with a roster, which shall be kept current at least semi-annually, showing the International officers, Local Unions, Joint Councils, Area Conferences and Trade Divisions of the International Union.

Method of Determining Representation
Section 5. The General Secretary-Treasurer shall determine the number of delegates which a Local Union may be entitled to send to the Convention by averaging the per capita tax paid on members by said Local Union for a two-year period ending eighteen (18) months prior to the first day of the month in which the Convention is convened; provided, however, in cases of the split-off of Local Unions occurring during the two-year period, the per capita averaging for each Local Union involved shall be based upon the period beginning with the date of the split-off and ending eighteen (18) months preceding the first day of the month in which the Convention is convened; provided further, however, that if such split-off occurs within eight (8) months of the opening day of the Convention, and if the General Executive Board, pursuant to Article III, Section 3(c), has determined that the newly chartered Local Union is entitled to full representation at the Convention, the per capita averaging for both Local Unions shall be based upon the period from the date of split-off through the month immediately preceding the Convention Call. Where it is not possible to hold the Convention at the time prescribed by Article III, Section 1, because of an emergency, the additional per capita tax payments involved shall be taken into consideration in computing the average monthly membership for the determination of the number of delegates to which the Local Union shall be entitled. (See also Article III, Section 2.)

Section 5. The General Secretary-Treasurer shall determine the number of delegates which a Local Union may be entitled to send to the Convention by averaging the per capita tax paid on members by said Local Union for a two-year period ending six (6) months prior to the first day of the month in which the Convention is convened; provided, however, in cases of the split-off of Local Unions occurring during the two-year period, the per capita averaging for each Local Union involved shall be based upon the period beginning with the date of the split-off and ending six (6) months preceding the first day of the month in which the Convention is convened; provided further, however, that if such split-off occurs within eight (8) months of the opening day of the Convention, and if the General Executive Board, pursuant to Article III, Section 3(c), has determined that the newly chartered Local Union is entitled to full representation at the Convention, the per capita averaging for both Local Unions shall be based upon the period from the date of split-off through the month immediately preceding the Convention Call. Where it is not possible to hold the Convention at the time prescribed by Article III, Section l, because of an emergency, the additional per capita tax payments involved shall be taken into consideration in computing the average monthly membership for the determination of the number of delegates to which the Local Union shall be entitled. (See also Article III, Section 2.)

Finances
Section 6 (a). The General Secretary-Treasurer shall receive moneys due from all sources and in the case of subordinate bodies shall give his receipt therefor. All moneys shall be placed in banks, depositories or vaults approved by the General Executive Board in the name of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

(b). At least twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds and assets of the International Union (exclusive of real estate, buildings and furnishings) shall be kept in interest- bearing bank accounts and short-term government obligations as directed by the General Executive Board.

International Auditors and Audits
Section 7 (a). The books of all Local Unions may be audited to the extent prescribed by the General Executive Board at least once between Conventions by an International Union Auditor, or by a Chartered or Certified Public Accountant, as directed by the General Executive Board, under the supervision of the General Secretary-Treasurer. For that purpose, the General Secretary-Treasurer shall appoint International Auditors, and their salaries, per diem and expenses shall be fixed in accordance with the provisions of Article V, Section 1 (d), (e) and (i), the number of such Auditors to be determined by the General Executive Board. The General Secretary-Treasurer, when he deems it for the best interest of the International Union, is hereby empowered to remove any International Auditor with the approval of a majority of the General Executive Board.

(b). All subordinate bodies and joint operations, whether they be within this International Union or with other international unions, which receive any donations, advances, matching funds or special payments of any nature from the International Union shall keep full financial records respecting same and the manner in which they are expended.

The books of every subordinate body shall be audited by a Chartered or Certified Public Accountant at least once a year. The books of joint organizing funds may be audited by a Chartered or Certified Public Accountant at the discretion of the General Secretary-Treasurer. Copies of all annual or terminal audit reports, whether prepared by an International Auditor or a Chartered or Certified Public Accountant, shall be forwarded to the General Secretary-Treasurer. Also, all subordinate bodies must send to the General Secretary-Treasurer copies of all financial reports setting forth a statement of assets and liabilities and a statement of receipts and disbursements which are required by law. (See also Article X, Section 10.)

Notification of Local Unions in Arrears
Section 8. It shall be the duty of the General Secretary-Treasurer to notify the Secretary-Treasurer, the President and the three (3) Trustees of the Local Union when said Local Union becomes in arrears for per capita tax.

Seals, Stamps and Supplies
Section 9 (a). The General Secretary-Treasurer shall procure all seals and supplies and furnish same to all Local Unions desiring them. It shall become compulsory upon all Local Unions to procure from the International Union, with the exception of letter paper and envelopes, all supplies carried by the International Union, as listed from time to time on International Union order blanks furnished for that purpose.

(b). Individual members of Local Unions shall not have the power to duplicate the buttons or paraphernalia issued by the International Union. Permission may be granted by the General Secretary-Treasurer to subordinate bodies to procure other minor International supplies in their several localities.

Other Duties
Section 10. The General Secretary-Treasurer shall perform such other duties as are required of him by this Constitution.

Send mail to webmaster@teamsterslocal854.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2000 International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 854
This website was designed and developed by USi Corporation.  www.usicorporation.com