Proposal to Increase CWA Executive Board Diversity

Recommended by the CWA Committee on Executive Board Diversity and adopted by the CWA Executive Board March 23, 2007.

1. Add four at-large diversity Board members to the CWA Executive Board. At least three should be persons of color and at least two should be women. The four at-large diversity Board seats shall represent four geographic regions within CWA.

At-large Northeast Region (154,000 members*)
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, London and Frankfurt.

At-large Southeast Region (120,000 members*)
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Puerto Rico

At-large Central Region (147, 000 members*)
Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas

At-large Western Region (115,000 members*)
Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, California , Nevada, Hawaii, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Hong Kong and Narita Tokyo.

*Membership numbers as of October 2006

2. At-large diversity Board members will have the same policy making responsibilities and voting authority as other Board members.

3. At-large diversity Board members will not be full time. Expenses and lost wages will be paid for attending Board meetings and performing other Executive Board responsibilities as assigned by the President.

4. At-large diversity Board members will not be delegates to the Convention. They will have the same rights as other Board members at Convention.

5. The Executive Board will appoint one at-large diversity Board member from each region following the 2007 Convention from nominations submitted by the National Committee on Equity, the National Women's Committee, and the Minority Caucus. Each of these groups will provide to the Executive Board a minimum of six and a maximum of ten nominations for each geographic region by September 1, 2007. Nominations must be representative of the ethnic diversity of the union and include Sector nominees. Each nomination will contain a short bio. The Executive Board will act on the nominations at its first scheduled Board meeting following the Convention and it will be guided by the goal of having at least three people of color and at least two women in the at-large diversity seats.

6. Members interested in being nominated should contact the National Women's Committee and/or the National Committee on Equity.

7. Elections for at-large diversity Board members will be held at the 2008 Convention. Nominations will be taken from the floor using the same procedure as that used for National officers. Members shall be eligible to be nominated and run for the at-large diversity seat in the region in which they hold their membership. A member can only be nominated and run for one at-large diversity Board seat. All nominated candidates shall be placed on the ballot. Each delegate shall vote for one candidate from each geographic region. The candidate from each geographic region who receives a majority of the votes will be elected to the Board.

8. Establish an Executive Board Diversity Committee composed of the four at-large diversity Board members plus other Board members as appointed by the President. The Committee will track diversity of membership and interact with the National Committee on Equity, the National Women's Committee, and the Minority Caucus.

Annually, the Executive Board Diversity Committee shall review the membership represented by each geographic region and determine if the membership numbers remain roughly equal. If the regional membership numbers are no longer roughly equal, the Executive Board Diversity Committee shall make a recommendation to the Executive Board on the make up of the regions. Any changes in the composition of the regions will require a constitutional amendment.

9. If a vacancy occurs in an at-large diversity Board seat, the President will request nominations from the National Committee on Equity and the National Women's Committee. The Board will appoint someone from these nominations to fill the vacant seat until the next Convention guided by the goal of having at least three persons of color and at least two women in the at-large diversity Board seats.