The following Ethical Practices shall apply to
the Operating Engineers International Union, all District Councils, every Local Union,
all subordinate bodies, and to every employee, member and officer
thereof, and to every union trustee and employee of any benefit fund
or political action committee.
Our Union's traditions, its Constitution, and
federal law all protect the democratic rights of our members
to participate fully, without fear, abuse, or intimidation in all
Union affairs. To that end, the following principles shall be
respected.
- Each member shall be entitled to a full share in Union
self-government. Each member shall have full freedom of speech
and the right to participate in the democratic decisions of the
Union. Subject to reasonable rules, regulations and
qualifications, each member shall have the right to run for
office, to nominate through duly established constitutional
procedures, and to vote in free, fair and honest elections. In a
democratic union, as in a democratic society, every member has
certain rights but she/he also must accept certain corresponding
obligations. Each member shall have the right freely to
criticize the policies and personalities of Union officials;
however, this does not include the right to undermine the Union
as an institution; to vilify other members of the Union and its
elected officers or to carry on activities with complete
disregard of the rights of other members and the interests of
the Union; to subvert the Union in collective bargaining or to
advocate or engage in dual unionism.
- Local Union membership meetings, District Council delegate
meetings, and International Conventions shall be held regularly,
with proper notice of time and place and shall be conducted in
an atmosphere of fairness.
- All Union rules and laws must be fairly and uniformly
applied and disciplinary procedures shall be fair and afford
full due process to each member.
- The Union shall ensure that its operations
shall be conducted in a democratic and fair manner. Corruption,
discrimination or anti-democratic procedures shall not be
permitted under any circumstances.
Union funds are held in trust for the benefit
of the membership. The membership is entitled to assurance that
Union funds are not dissipated and are spent for proper purposes.
The membership is also entitled to be reasonably informed as to how
Union funds are invested or used.
- The Union shall conduct its proprietary
functions, including all contracts for purchase or sale or for
rendering housekeeping services in accordance with the practice
of well-run institutions, including the securing of competitive
bids for major contracts where appropriate.
- The Union shall not permit any of its funds to be invested
in a manner which results in the personal profit
or advantage of any officer or representative of the Union.
- There shall be no contracts for purchase or
sale or for rendering services that result in the personal
profit or advantage of any officer or representative of the
Union. Nor shall any officer, representative or employee of the
International Union, District Council, or any Local Union accept
personal profit or special advantage from any action of any
officer or representative of the Union.
- Neither the International Union, District
Council or any Local Union shall make loans to its officers,
representatives, employees or members, or members of their
families, for the purpose of financing the private business of
such persons.
Health, Welfare and Retirement
Funds
- No official, representative or employee
of the International Union, District Council or a Local Union,
nor any union trustee of a benefit fund, shall receive fees or
salaries of any kind from a fund established for the provision
of health, welfare or retirement benefits, except for reasonable
reimbursement provided for in a collective bargaining agreement
or trust agreement and expressly approved by the General
President or the Board of Trustees, respectively.
- No official, employee or other person acting as an agent or
representative of the International Union, who exercises
responsibilities or influence in the administration of health,
welfare and retirement programs or the placement of insurance
contracts, shall have any compromising personal ties, direct or
indirect, with outside agencies such as insurance carriers,
brokers or consultants doing business with the health, welfare
and retirement plans.
- Complete records of the financial operations
of all health, welfare and retirement funds and programs shall
be maintained in accordance with the best accounting practice.
Each Union trustee shall require that each such fund be audited
regularly.
- All such audit reports shall be provided to
the International Union and shall be available to the members of
the Union covered by the fund.
- The Union trustees or administrators of such
funds shall make a full disclosure and report to the members
covered by the fund at least once each year.
Business and Financial
Activities of Union Officials
Any person who represents our union and its
members, whether elected or appointed, has a sacred trust to serve
the best interests of the members and their families. Therefore,
every officer and representative must avoid any outside transaction
which creates an actual or potential conflict of interest. The
special fiduciary nature of Union office requires the highest
loyalty to the duties of the office.
- The mailing lists of the Union are valuable
assets. In order to protect the interests of our membership,
Union officers and representatives shall not, under any
circumstances, without the express prior written consent of the
General President, turn over a Union mailing list to an outsider
for use in the promotion or sale of any goods or services that
benefit an individual or private concern. Mailing lists are to
be used only to promote the necessary legitimate functions of
the Union and for no other purpose. It is improper for any
official or representative of the Union, without the express
prior written consent of the General President, to permit the
use of any mailing list by any third party to promote the sale
of any goods or services, or to enable professionals to solicit
the membership.
- No officer or representative of the Union
shall have a personal financial interest which conflicts with
his/her Union duties.
- Except for stock purchase plans, profit
sharing or retirement plans, no officer or representative of the
Union shall have any substantial interest in a business with
which our union bargains collectively.
- No officer or representative shall accept
“kickbacks”, under-the-table payments, valuable gifts, lavish
entertainment or any personal payment of any kind, other than
regular pay and benefits for work performed as an employee, from
an employer with which the Union bargains collectively or from a
business or professional enterprise with which the Union does
business.
- The principles of this Code apply to
investments and activities of third parties where they amount to
a subterfuge to conceal the financial interests of such
officials or representatives.
No Union officer, representative or employee,
and no union trustee of any benefit fund, shall engage in “barred
conduct.”
“Barred conduct” is defined to include: a)
committing any act of racketeering, as defined in Title 18 of the
United States Code, section 1961(1) ; b) knowingly associating with
any member or associate of the organized crime syndicate known as La
Cosa Nostra (LCN); c) knowingly permitting any member or associate
of the LCN to exercise control or influence in the conduct of the
affairs of the Union; or d) obstructing or interfering with a lawful
investigation. The term “knowingly associate” shall mean that a) an
individual knew that the person with whom he or she was associating
was a member or associate of the LCN; b) the association related
directly or indirectly to the affairs of the Union; and c) the
association was more than fleeting or casual. The definition of
“knowingly associate” in this Code also provides for, and
incorporates by reference, certain additional exceptions as they
appear and are defined in the Consent Decree entered in the case of
United States v. District Council of New York and Vicinity of the
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 90 Civ.
5722
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