SECTION 1. Any person seeking membership shall be required to file, with the Financial Secretary- Treasurer of the Local Union, an application for membership.

SECTION 2. An applicant shall not be accepted for membership until the initiation fee and other requirements specified in the Local’s by-laws shall have been complied with.

SECTION 3. Membership dues are due and payable on the first working day in each calendar month. Any member who fails to pay his/her dues for a particular month on or before the fifteenth day of each month shall be in bad standing. Any member to whom dues check-off is available and who signs and delivers to the Local Financial Secretary-Treasurer, or other authorized person, a check-off authorization shall be considered in good standing regardless of when in a particular month the employer deducts his/her dues for such month or when the employer pays his/her dues over to the Union. Where for any reason the dues of a member who pays his/her dues by checkoff authorization are not checked off by the employer for any month or months, said member shall remain in good standing until thirty days after the mailing to him/her by registered mail of a notice informing him/ her of his/her indebtedness. Failure to pay within said thirty day period shall cause said member to become in bad standing. Any member, or group of members, to which dues check-off is not available may, on the application of the Local Union to the International Administrative Committee, and for good cause shown, secure an extension of the grace period beyond the month covered by the dues payment for not more than one further month during which the member will not lose his/her good standing.

SECTION 4. Any member in bad standing shall be ineligible to attend Union meetings, to be a candidate for or hold any Union Office or position, or to vote in any Union election or referendum, or otherwise to participate in Union affairs. He/she shall not be restored to good standing until he/she has met all his/her financial obligations to the Union.

SECTION 5. It shall be the duty of each member to pay his/her assessments, fines, and other financially obligations when due, and, except for dues payments, failure to pay a financial obligation within one (1) month after the due date shall cause him/her to lose his/her good standing.

SECTION 6. For good cause shown, the International Executive Council may reasonably extend the time limitations established in this Article.

SECTION 7. A member shall be required to advise the Local Financial Secretary-Treasurer promptly of change of address.

SECTION 8. Good standing members shall be entitled to free transfer from one Local to another.

SECTION 9. (a) A member in good standing who leaves the industry or who is furloughed for more than 90 consecutive days shall receive upon application made through and certified by his/her Local Financial Secretary-Treasurer a withdrawal card from the International Union and he/she shall be reinstated to membership without the payment of a fee upon his/her becoming eligible again.

(b) A member in good standing who retires because of age or because of disability may elect to continue his/her good standing membership status by continuing to pay the required dues or to apply for honorary membership in the International Union for the rest of his/her lifetime. Where a member who receives an honorary membership card because of disability returns to regular full-time employment, he/ she shall be reinstated to membership without payment of fee, if such employment would otherwise make him/ her eligible for membership in this Union. If such employment would not make him/her eligible for membership in this Union, his/her honorary membership shall be subject to cancellation by action of his/her Local Union. A retired member who continues his/her good standing membership shall have neither voice nor vote on any collective bargaining issue.

SECTION 10. A member whose membership is terminated shall have no right or interest in any property of the Local Union or of the International Union, including any dues, assessments or other financial obligations paid by him/her in advance of the effective date of such termination.

SECTION 11. The International Union and the Local Union to which the member belongs shall be his/her exclusive representative for the purpose of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment and other conditions of employment, and for the negotiation and execution of contracts with employers covering all such matters including contracts requiring his/her membership or the continuance of his/her membership in the Union as a condition of his/her employment, and contracts requiring the employer to deduct, collect, or assist in collecting from his/her wages any dues, fees, assessments, fines or other contribution payable to the International Union or his/her Local Union.

SECTION 12. (a) A member in good standing who retires because of age or disability and who has not continued his/her good standing membership status shall be eligible to become an Associate Member in the International Union for the purpose of participating in Associated Member Organizations (see (d) below) and in the programs established for the members of such Associate Member Organizations. An Associate Member under this Section 12(a) who returns to regular employment shall be reinstated to membership without payment of fee, if such employment would otherwise make him/her eligible for membership in this Union.

(b) An individual who is not employed within a collective bargaining unit represented by the International or any of its locals and is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement to which the International or any of its locals is a party, but is within any category of employees defined by the International Administrative Committee and designated by the International Administrative Committee as appropriate for Associate membership, shall be eligible to become an Associate Member of the International Union for the purpose of participating in Associate Member Organizations and in the programs established for the members of Associate Member Organizations.

(c) An individual who is eligible to be an Associate Member shall become an Associate Member by joining one of the Associate Member Organizations created pursuant to (d) below. The International Administrative Committee shall assign any eligible individual who wishes to apply to become an Associate Member to the appropriate Associate Member Organization. Any eligible individual may join the appropriate Associate Member Organization by filling out an application provided by the International Secretary Treasurer or the Associate Member Organization. An eligible individual who has applied for Associate Membership may maintain that status by paying dues of $50 per year to be paid annually. The International Executive Council shall have the power to change the dues requirements for Associate Members, provided that any increase in dues for Associate Members approved by the International Executive Council shall be effective only until the next International Convention.

(d) The International Administrative Committee may issue charters for Associate Member Organizations based on a geographic, industry or any other basis, which charters shall contain such provisions as the International Administrative Committee may require. The International Administrative Committee may revoke a charter issued for an Associate Member Organization. Each Associate Member Organization shall be governed by its charter and the Organization’s By-Laws, as approved by the International Administrative Committee. The By-Laws shall provide for the election of the Associate Member Organization’s principal officers every three years by the Organization’s Associate Members. An Associate Member shall be allowed to: (a) vote in any election for any elective office in the Associate Member Organization to which he/she was assigned, (b) be nominated for and elected to any such elective office or to hold any office (if appointed) in such Associate Member Organization, and (c) participate in member meetings in such Associate Member Organization, subject to the provisions of the By-Laws and charter. Only Associate members who are members of an Associate Member Organization may hold office in or vote in that Organization. An Associate Member Organization shall not become or function as the collective bargaining representative of any group of Associate Members or employees, nor deal with or attempt to deal with any employer concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours or other terms of employment. (e) Except as provided in Section 12(d), an Associate Member (1) shall have no vote in any election for any office in the International Union or any Local union, (2) shall not be eligible for nomination or election to any office in the International Union or any Local Union, nor may he/she hold any such office, and (3) shall have neither voice nor vote on any collective bargaining or other issue or any referendum of the International Union or any Local Union. An Associate Member is entitled to attend membership meetings sponsored by the International Union or held by the Local Union of which he/she was a member when he/she retired, provided that the International Administrative Committee may vote to exclude Associate Members from a membership meeting sponsored by the International Union and the Local Union Executive Board may vote to exclude Associate Members from Local Union meetings. Each Associate Member Organization shall be entitled to send one non-voting observer to the convention of the International Union.