Elections Committee Report 2024: Part 2
Contents
Report’s purpose
Election Committee’s scope and makeup
Guiding policies
Election context and results
Protest summary and investigation
Conclusion and way forward
Recommended changes for future elections
1. Report’s purpose
The purpose of this report is for the Elections Committee to provide the Local 328 membership, Executive Board, and Negotiating Team candidates an accurate summary of the 2024 Negotiating Team election and conclude this election.
This report is the second part of a two-part report. Please read part 1 on the Local 328 blog.
Part 1 covers the first 2024 Negotiating Team Election (which ran from 8 a.m. on July 8 through 5 p.m. on July 14), the subsequent protests, and the committee’s recommendations for next steps.
Local 328 took the following steps as recommended in the Elections Committee Report, Part I:
The Executive Board formally proposed the number and structure of the negotiating team to the membership.
i. The membership voted on the Board’s proposal.
A second Negotiating Team election was held.
i. Use of OHSU email and OHSU Teams was prohibited except for a neutral voting language template provided by the elections committee.
ii. The posting of campaign-related fliers was prohibited.
iii. Stewards and staff offered six in-person, drop-in voting sessions.
2. The Elections Committee’s scope and makeup
Claire Irvan (Chair as of July 16)
Michael Everhart (Chair through July 16, now committee member)
Sarah Cinnamon (Committee member)
Molly Clasen (Committee member)
Kate Baker (Staff Advisor)
The committee chair is appointed by the local president; either the chair or the local president may select other committee members. No candidates for office/position for the current election are allowed to serve on the Elections Committee.
The committee is charged with:
Making recommendations to the local executive board on how the election is conducted.
Ensuring that nominees are eligible to run and can decline the nomination.
Notify each candidate they have the right and are encouraged to submit a statement; ensure such statements do not violate local and international guidelines.
Hear and resolve any protests concerning the conduct of the election.
Make a report to the membership on the results of the election and the decision made on any protests.
3. Guiding policies
Local elections are governed by five documents, and those documents can contradict each other, leading to complications for members, candidates, and the Elections Committee.
| AFSCME International Constitution | Go to International Constitution |
| AFSCME International Election Manual | Go to International Manual |
| AFSCME Local 328 Constitution, Article VI and Article IX | Go to Local 328 Constitution |
| AFSCME Local 328 Elections Policy MM-BN-04 | Go to Local 328 Policies |
| AFSCME Local 328 2022 to 2025 Negotiating Agreement, Article 2.11 | Go to Negotiating Agreement |
4. Election context and results
This report pertains to two separate votes.
Vote 1: Negotiating Team Makeup (Sept. 4 to Sept. 7)
Members voted between holding a Sector Hybrid Election or At-large Election and selected a Sector Hybrid Election.
Vote 2: Negotiating Team Members (Sept. 11 to Sept. 19)
The 2024 Negotiating Team is:
Sector: Clerical/Administrative - Tabatha Millican
Sector: Professional - Kathy Le
Sector: Patient Care Support - Sarah Curtis
Sector: Skilled Trades - Juan Chavez, Jr
Sector: Support Services – Jaclyn Brunette Foruria
Sector: Technical - Jenn Roemer
At-Large: Becca Walcher
At-Large: David Casey
At-Large: David Lee
At-Large: Dinah Gilbert
At-Large: Eric Buzzard
At-Large: Jesse Miller
At-Large: Roxana Logsdon
The Elections Committee met almost every week leading up to, during, and after the voting periods.
Election results were shared with Local 328 members, leaders, and nominees on Sept. 19 - 20.
5. Protest summary and investigation
Protest assertions
The Elections Committee received one protest from a dues-paying member based on two assertions:
A member downloaded a list of other members’ email addresses from the Hub and used it for campaign-related purposes.
Violation of AFSCME Local 328 Policy MM-BN-04, “Candidates may not use any local union resources for their campaign…”).
Candidates posted election-related fliers in an OHSU work area.
Violation of an ask from the Elections Committee that no paper fliers be used for campaign purposes in the second negotiating team elections.
Investigation process and finding
The Local 328 Election Committee, with assistance of several advising AFSCME staff members, reviewed and investigated both assertions of this protest.
The committee finds that there is not enough evidence or supporting data to overturn the election results.
Read a summary of the investigations and findings below.
INVESTIGATION OF PROTEST, ASSERTION 1
The Election Committee emailed all union members who downloaded lists from the Hub during the election and asked:
Why did you pull this report?
Whom did you contact after pulling this report?
Did you use any information from the report for campaign / elections business?
All respondents provided valid reasons for pulling reports not related to the election.
There is no evidence or information to support that a violation occurred.
INVESTIGATION OF PROTEST, ASSERTION 2
The Election Committee took the following actions:
Reviewed photos of the fliers.
Compared results of the first and second election for all candidates listed on the flier.
Although a rule against posting fliers was broken, the committee cannot objectively determine whether any candidate sanctioned the flier, who read the flier, and whether the flier impacted the election.
There are too many variables between the two elections to determine cause and effect, including:
A change in the election format (from at-large to sector hybrid).
Candidates from the first election withdrawing from the second election.
Candidates being included in the second election who were mistakenly left off the first election’s ballot.
A different number of voters.
6. Conclusion and way forward
The Elections Committee finds that the 2024 Negotiating Team election results, as shared with the membership on Sept. 20, are valid.
We would like to thank everyone for their participation and efforts.
This has been a challenging election cycle for many of our member leaders, requiring time, patience, and flexibility unprecedented for any recent Local 328 election.
Now is the time for our Local’s members, leaders, the Executive Board, and the Elections Committee work in partnership to:
Conclude the 2024 Negotiating Team election cycle.
Begin training a successful Negotiating Team to secure a strong contract.
Shift the Election Committee’s focus to improving and streamlining Local 328’s complex election policies so this election’s mistakes are not repeated.
7. Recommended changes for future elections
The committee would like to recommend the following changes for future elections.
Policy Recommendations
The Elections Committee will work with the Local 328 Policy Committee to create an improved process that incorporates the five governing documents, recommendations from the 2023 Elections Report, and findings from the 2024 elections.
It is crucial we prioritize this work to prevent repetition of the same election issues. Several recommendations from the 2023 Elections Report may have prevented some of the problems with the current election, such as:
“Create a policy about not using OHSU emails for campaigning”
“Audit admin access to the hub before election starts.”
Explicitly address how Local leadership is following AFSCME Local 328 Constitution, Article IX, Section 6.
“The number and structure of the negotiating committee shall be proposed by the executive board but must be approved by the membership at a regular or special membership meeting.”
Better plan for time-sensitive elections, such as the IU election.
Local 328 Constitution: Article VI “At least fifteen days' advance notice shall be given to the membership prior to the holding of the election and at least 15 days must pass between the close of nominations and the election.”
Include nominees who are nominated, even if they do not respond to communication from the Elections Committee.
Going forward, ensure that we are adhering to the Local Election Manual. “If a nominee is eligible for the office and if the nominee does not take the positive action of declining, that nominee’s name must go on the ballot.” is taken into account.