CWA-AFA · Flight-attendant sector
Elections, Terms & Member Rights
How officers are chosen, how votes are counted, and the petition and recall rights in the operative rules.
Evidence reviewed through .
Analysis: different offices have different electorates
| Office | Selection | Regular term / governing rule |
|---|---|---|
| Local Council officers | Secret-ballot member election. The eligible candidate with the most votes wins; a majority is not required. | Three years, beginning January 1 or July 1 according to the council’s category; III.C.4 and VIII.C. |
| MEC officers | For multi-council airlines, election by the MEC under Article VIII.B; one vote per eligible representative. At a single-council airline the corresponding LEC officers also hold the MEC offices. | Three-year terms, with category placement and vacancy rules; VII.A/C.4 and VIII.B. |
| International Officers | Nomination and election at the Board of Directors; majority of votes cast, with the prescribed runoff/acclamation procedures. | Four years, beginning June 1 following election; IV.F and VIII.A. |
| CWA sector vice president | The duly elected sector president holds the parent vice-presidential office. | Parent CWA Constitution XII.10 and XV.2(d); read with sector election rules. |
Sources: Constitution and Bylaws, III.C.4; IV.F; VII.A/C.4; VIII.A–C, physical pp.19,26,38–41,46–49; CWA Constitution, XII.10 and XV.2(d), physical pp.22,27.
The current local nomination rule uses self-nomination with the support of at least one additional active member in good standing from the same Local Council. A prospective candidate submits the Commitment to Serve statement by the announced nomination deadline; the Ballot Certification Committee verifies the supporter and candidate eligibility. The operative text includes a 2026 enabling annotation for self-nomination.
Sources: Constitution and Bylaws, VIII.C.1, physical pp.47–48.
International Officer elections remain Board-based under the operative March 2026 compilation. A proposed agenda item does not establish an adopted change. This description uses the current constitutional rule and does not assign an unverified passed-or-failed outcome to a proposal.
Voting power, ex-officio status and substitutions
| Body | Voting method | Qualifications |
|---|---|---|
| Local Council meeting | One vote per active member in good standing attending; majority rule. | Written proxies have limited permitted uses; no proxy for a secret ballot. III.D.7–8. |
| Board of Directors | Voice voting ordinarily; a member may request standing or roll-call voting. A roll call counts active members in good standing represented by each delegate. | International Officers do not vote unless also elected Board members; the chair may break a tie. V.G. |
| Sector Executive Board | One vote per member; majority unless another rule applies. | International Officers do not vote merely through ex-officio status. VI.C.8. |
| MEC | One vote per member for officer, System Board and elected-committee elections. Other issues can use a requested roll call weighted by represented members in good standing. | A MEC President/designee who is not a Local Council President has only the specified tie-breaking role on nonelection issues. VII.D.5. |
Sources: Constitution and Bylaws, III.D.7–8; V.G; VI.C.8; VII.D.5, physical pp.22,30,36,42.
When a Local Council President cannot attend the Board of Directors, Article V.H first assigns the Vice President, then Secretary, then an authorized elected Board delegate. Article V.I separately governs proxies when a representative cannot remain. At MEC meetings, Article VII.D.6 also permits specified Council Representative or member substitutes, but regular MEC officer elections may be voted only by elected Local Council Officers. These separate provisions make a blanket statement about all votes being cast only by directly elected officers inaccurate.
Sources: Constitution and Bylaws, V.H–I and VII.D.6–7, physical pp.30–31,42–43.
Member petitions and the 2026 procedural updates
- Special Local Council meeting: a written petition from 30% of the council’s active members in good standing requires the International Secretary-Treasurer to call the meeting and publish the petitioned agenda. Article III.D.3.
- Calling the Board into session: a petition from 30% of the active membership requires the Secretary-Treasurer to ballot the active membership within seven days. If a majority of active members votes to convene the Board, the further notice and meeting deadlines in Article V.D.5(b) apply. A petition alone does not convene it.
- Balloting the Board: 15% of Board members may petition the Secretary-Treasurer to ballot that body on an issue under Article V.C.
- Petition process: Article III.D.10 requires recording a single intended purpose with the Secretary-Treasurer before circulation and submission within 60 days. It now recognizes electronic signatures through the Membership Hub or another officially authorized system. A petition seeking a local recall meeting is limited to one local officer.
Sources: Constitution and Bylaws, III.D.3/10 and V.C/D.5(b), physical pp.21–22,28–29.
The 60-day submission period and authorized electronic-signature provisions appear in the operative text with 2026 annotations. This is an adopted-text finding, not an inference from a pending agenda proposal.
Recall and internal remedies
| Route | Trigger and decision | Source |
|---|---|---|
| International Officer: Board action | Recall quorum requires directors representing 75% of members in good standing. Removal requires directors representing a majority of the members represented by the directors voting. | Constitution and Bylaws, IX.A.1, physical p.52 |
| International Officer: membership ballot | 25% of active members in good standing may petition. Ballots return within 28 days; removal requires two-thirds of active members in good standing voting. The President circulates the ballot if the Secretary-Treasurer is its subject. | Constitution and Bylaws, IX.A.2, physical p.52 |
| MEC officer: MEC action | A written resolution gives specific reasons; removal requires a majority in a roll-call vote. Single-council airlines instead use the local-officer procedure. Removing an MEC office does not automatically remove an independently held Local Council seat. | Constitution and Bylaws, IX.B.1/4, physical pp.52–53 |
| MEC officer: petition route | Article IX.B.3 also provides a 30% active-member petition route, a ballot returned within 21 days and a majority of valid ballots returned for recall; its petition requirements refer to III.D.10. | Constitution and Bylaws, IX.B.3, physical pp.52–53 |
| Local Council officer | A 30% petition and required notice precede a recall meeting. A majority present may request the separate membership ballot, which must be mailed within 15 days. The meeting vote initiates the ballot; it does not itself remove the officer. | Constitution and Bylaws, IX.C and III.D.5(b)/10, physical pp.21–22,53 |
| Parent CWA sector vice-presidential office | CWA’s sector delegates at its International Convention may recall by a majority voting on the question; the sector-member referendum route requires two-thirds of votes cast. | CWA Constitution, XXII.7(d), physical p.45 |
Recall, internal constitutional disputes and an airline grievance are different procedures. Article X provides hearing and appeal routes for specified membership cases and disputes over constitutional or policy interpretation; a claim about an airline contract follows the applicable representation process.
Sources: Constitution and Bylaws, X.A–G, physical pp.54–57; contract administration analysis.
Significance
Members have direct local ballots and petition rights, while sector officer selection and many policy decisions operate through representative bodies. Their practical effect depends on participation, access to information and how the procedures are used. Formal rights alone do not establish where member control is most effective.