Resolution: Allocating a Budget for Local UAWD Chapters

This resolution was passed at the October 2024 Annual Membership Meeting via Zoom on October 13, 2024.

Resolution: Allocating a Budget for Local UAWD Chapters

Submitted by Nolan Tabb (Local 281), Toly Rinberg (Local 22)

Whereas, at UAWD’s special membership meeting on strategy last May, our membership unanimously adopted a policy to encourage the creation of Local UAWD Chapters in manufacturing and fund any reasonable Local Chapter meeting expenses;

Whereas, since last May, only one Local Chapter has been formed using the process in our UAWD Bylaws, despite numerous manufacturing Locals having the required ten members;

Whereas, multiple Local groups of UAWD members regularly request funds from the Steering Committee in an ad hoc manner for printing leaflets that are core for their organizing campaigns — money which is well spent but could go further if it also served to ground the creation of new Local UAWD Chapters and empower rank-and-file members to set their own collective strategy;

Whereas, the UAWD Organizing Committee is actively working to develop rank-and-file organizers who will further UAWD’s membership-approved goal of developing 10 model UAWD Locals in the manufacturing sector, each of which is supposed to be anchored by a UAWD Local Chapter;

Whereas, if a budget allocation initiative is established and works for manufacturing-based Locals, which the UAWD membership has decided to prioritize, it can be expanded to non-manufacturing Locals in the future.

Be it resolved:

1. Each Local UAWD Chapter at a manufacturing-based Local shall be given an annual budget of $500 to fund printing costs, meeting costs, or any other costs that they deem necessary to carry out their efforts to organize rank-and-file members in their Local:
   1. Decisions on how this money is spent must be made democratically at Local Chapter meetings, to which all UAWD members in the Local must be invited
   2. Requests for all expenditures must be submitted to the UAWD Financial Secretary, who shall approve them and pay for or reimburse the expenditure, unless the Steering Committee votes to deny the request. No Steering Committee action is otherwise needed.
2. Once more than 10 Local UAWD Chapters have been created at manufacturing-based Locals, the total fund allocation to Local Chapter budgets shall be capped at $5,000 per year and be split evenly amongst the Chapters, unless that cap is raised by future membership action.
3. Local groups of UAWD members may continue to request funds from the Steering Committee in an ad hoc manner, but the total amount dispensed shall not exceed $250 per year. These expenses shall not count against the budget if that Local group later chooses to form a UAWD Chapter.