Petition Drive to amend the WTU Constitution and Bylaws to increase checks and balances

Check out our overview of what we are doing

It is time to amend the WTU Constitution and Bylaws to increase accountability, transparency and democracy, and ensure the voice and power of our members is respected.

Our goal is to collect 800+ member signatures to present a Bylaws change proposal at the June Membership Meeting for a vote. Therefore, these changes would not take place until after the WTU election for the newly elected WTU President to abide by.

If you are interested in helping collect signatures let us know in the form below. To learn more, read on.

We have created a petition to amend 3 areas of the WTU Bylaws. You can see the petition in full by clicking this link: Link

• Change 1: Decrease the power of the WTU President over finances and follow the suggested AFT Model.

  The current bylaws allow the WTU President to spend the vast majority of member money without any say by anyone else and little to no required transparency. This is out of step with the rest of the AFT. We are proposing to use the language provided by our parent union, the American Federation of Teachers, to give the WTU Executive Board greater authority over how money is spent. This will make all spending subject to votes, greater transparency and greater member control.

• Change 2: Strengthen and clarify the powers of the WTU Representative Assembly.

  The Rep Assembly is already supposed to be the governing body of the WTU, but it is not treated that way, with most decisions being made by the WTU President without input. The proposed language would align our bylaws with the Chicago Teachers Union to ensure that every school has a voice on all major decisions made by the WTU.

• Change 3: Ensure members can vote on all contract changes and labor actions.

  The WTU currently allows members to vote on the contract, but that is not a protected right in our Constitution and Bylaws. This has caused some Memorandum of Agreements (or MOAs) to be approved by the WTU President without a vote by membership. The proposed language would ensure that members get a vote on all contract changes and that any major labor action (like a strike) would have to be approved by a vote by all our members.

If you agree to help us you must follow the process below for each sheet that has signatures on it to be valid.

1. Have delivered and/or print out copies of the petition to gather signatures by hand on legal sized paper.

2. Fill out all of the petitioner information at the top of the sheet as legibly as possible. (Full name, School, home address and phone number) - This is required by the WTU. 

3. Sign your name under the certification statement as the petitioner above where you gather the signatures.

4. Sign the document yourself as #1.

5. Do your best to gather signatures from WTU Members only! 

   1. Make sure they write their full name as legibly as possible, because the information will later be checked to ensure they are members.

   2. If the person is unsure, let them sign, but have them check Peoplesoft (Under Payroll -> Labor Organization Enrollment). If they aren't a member yet, they can sign up on the spot!

6. We will then be in contact to get the petitions back when you are finished.