Article 22 - Internal Review

Section 22.1 - Grounds for Review

Any officer, steward, or individual member may be subject to internal review with specific cause which is recognized as misconduct, including but not limited to failure to perform duties as provided in the Constitution and Bylaws, violation of the Constitution and Bylaws, or participation in illegal or inappropriate acts while undertaking duties assigned by or performed for GEU.

Section 22.2 - Process of Review

Upon receipt of an allegation of misconduct by any member, the following steps shall be taken:

22.2(a) 22.2.1 Misconduct is to be reported to the President, unless the President is the subject of the review (hereafter the Subject), in which case the report shall be made to the Vice President of Organizing. In the event that the President is the Subject, the Executive Board will appoint a temporary stand-in who will assume the duties of the President until the review is resolved. The President or stand-in (hereafter the Review Chair) will notify the Executive Board of the alleged misconduct and relevant context, and the Executive Board may vote to ban the Subject from participating in all union activities until the review process is complete and any subsequent decision on the matter rendered. If the Subject is a member of the Executive Board, they must recuse themselves from this discussion and vote, and any subsequent discussion and vote involved with the review process.

22.2(b) 22.2.2 The Review Chair shall assemble and act as the chair of an ad-hoc Review Committee, made up of no less than five (5) members including the Review Chair, who are either stewards or officers in good standing with GEU. The Review Committee is to be assembled no later than one (1) week after the misconduct is reported. The Review Chair is responsible for identifying and avoiding conflicts of interest, as well as ensuring a variety of viewpoints relevant to the review, when assembling the Review Committee.

22.2(c) 22.2.3 At the time that the Review Committee is assembled, the Review Committee must notify the Subject in writing of the allegations of misconduct.

22.2(d) 22.2.4 The Review Committee shall conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations within four (4) weeks of assembly. This may be carried out through requests for and review of documentation relevant to the misconduct, as well as interviews of witnesses to the conduct and character of the Subject.

22.2(e) 22.2.5 Before the end of the four (4) week investigation period, the Review Committee shall submit a report to the Executive Board evaluating the validity of the allegations and recommending subsequent steps. The Executive Board will decide on a date for deliberation at their next meeting, and issue a written notification to the Subject, allowing at least ten (10) days for confirmation or reasonable accommodation. In the event that the Subject does not respond to the notification, or a reasonable accommodation can not be agreed upon within that time, the deliberation shall take place as decided upon at the Executive Board meeting.

22.2(f) 22.2.6 On the date decided, the Executive Board shall deliberate on the contents of the report and may either decide to uphold the recommendation, augment the suggestions, request additional investigation, or follow Article 6 to nullify the report. As with any meeting of the Executive Board, minutes will be taken during deliberations. The action decided upon must have the support of a committee majority (see Article 23) in a vote by the Executive Board. If an agreement cannot be reached the process shall default to the process outlined in Article 6. The Review Chair or designee Review Committee member will attend deliberations to answer questions and provide context for the report. The Subject will attend the Executive Board meeting for deliberation of the report, which will be shared with during deliberations but not released to the Subject. The Subject will be allowed to refute and defend the contents of the report in an orderly manner. Additionally, the Subject may elect to have a representative or advisor present at the meeting, and will be informed of this ability in the written notice of deliberation. The Subject may also invite potential witnesses relevant to the alleged misconduct to speak on the subject’s behalf, so long as all parties agree to follow all processes and procedures specified by the Executive Board.

Section 22.3 - Results of Review

At the time that the decision is made final one of the following courses of action must be taken:

22.3(a) 22.3.1 In the event that the Executive Board decides that the claims made against the subject of review are unfounded, or do not indicate misconduct, that person is to be returned to full, Regular membership status, and may resume any duties held prior to review process.

22.3(b) 22.3.2 In the event that the claims made against the subject of review are substantiated and indicative of misconduct, the Executive Board will decide on a penalty to apply to that person, the nature of which is to be suitable for the nature of the offense. Consequences for misconduct may include any combination of the following;

  1. Loss of good standing and all associated rights and privileges for any period of time.

  2. Removal from positions within GEU with an option to resign

  3. Revocation of membership

The decisions made and actions taken by GEU in response to review of misconduct do not constitute judicial proceedings in any sense. If it is found that the activities of the Subject were in violation of local, state, or federal law, they shall be reported to the proper authorities, along with any and all records of the activity and review proceedings.

The Subject may appeal the decision made, with written justification, to the Steward Council. The Subject’s appeal shall follow the process found in Article 6.2.

Section 22.4 - Privacy

All proceedings during the review will be kept strictly confidential, until the time at which the Review Committee has completed their report. Any inquiry about the review should be addressed with the response that “this matter is under confidential review.” Information pertaining to the investigation may only be shared with those directly involved with the investigation. Prior to the release of the report, speculation of the subject of review by GEU officers or stewards is strongly discouraged. Once the report is submitted to the Executive Board, it will be made available upon request to any member in good standing, along with records of the process of deliberations and appeals if undertaken. Those interviewed by the Review Committee, with the exception of the Subject, may request anonymity in the report made available to the general membership, though not in the official record. The official record retained by GEU may only be accessed by GEU officers unless special permission is otherwise granted by the Executive Board.