← Back to IAMAW Governance Hub

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

Elections, Terms & Member Control

Local-lodge election rules, terms, secret-ballot procedures, and the role of bylaws and internal disputes in member control.

Election System Overview

IAMAW member control begins with the Constitution’s local-lodge election rules. The Constitution spells out a recurring election cycle for local lodge officers and imposes core procedural requirements, including notice, secret-ballot voting, and absentee-ballot procedures.

In the National Airlines setting, the public record reviewed here most clearly supports the general IAM local-lodge election framework. It does not yet fully surface a separate, public, National Airlines-specific election rulebook beyond that broader IAM structure.

Local Lodge Elections

The IAM Constitution provides that every three years a local lodge nominates officers and then elects them by secret ballot vote of members in good standing.

The Constitution also requires notice of the time and place of both nominations and elections, together with an absentee-ballot application, to be mailed at least sixty days before the election to each qualified voter at the member’s last known home address.

Terms and Balloting

Under the Constitution, local lodge officers are elected at the first meeting in December every three years, or at the first meeting in October if that option is used by the local.

Absentee ballots are expressly recognized, write-in ballots are not tabulated unless nominated in conformity with the constitutional procedure, and local bylaws may provide different voting methods only subject to approval by the International President.

Bylaws and Eligibility Rules

IAMAW local-lodge bylaws function as the local rulebook underneath the Constitution. IAM’s official Bylaws & Internal Disputes page explains that Headquarters assists locals and districts in developing, amending, and interpreting bylaws and ensures that proposed bylaws do not conflict with the IAM Constitution.

The Constitution also allows locals, through bylaws approved by the International President, to require members to attend up to 50% of regular local meetings during the relevant 12-month period in order to qualify for office or delegate status.

This means that election details, office structures, and some eligibility mechanics may vary locally, but they must remain consistent with the larger constitutional framework.

Internal Remedies and Constitutional Oversight

IAM headquarters retains an important oversight role through its Bylaws & Internal Disputes function. The official bylaws page says that the department assists with the interpretation and application of the IAM Constitution and bylaws, handles disputes arising from differing bylaw interpretations, and maintains files on internal disputes cases under Article L.

That means member control in IAMAW is not only electoral; it also includes the right to invoke internal constitutional procedures when governance disputes arise.

What the Public Record Shows for National Airlines

The public National Airlines materials clearly show the district-centered representation structure and the General Chair role, but they do not yet independently surface a full National Airlines-specific election rulebook separate from the broader IAM constitutional framework.

For that reason, the safest public-facing analysis is to ground this page in the verified IAM constitutional election rules and then note that carrier-level implementation may also depend on district and local bylaws.

Structural Implications