SECTION 1. Ten or more persons eligible for membership in the International Union shall constitute a Local Union upon receipt of a charter from the International Secretary-Treasurer under the terms herein provided.

SECTION 2. Upon approval of the charter application by the International Administrative Committee, the International Secretary-Treasurer shall issue to the applicants a Local Union charter which shall contain such provisions as the International Union may require; he/she shall also deliver to said applicants one Local seal and such other initial supplies as may be necessary to conduct the affairs of the Local Union. The grant of such charter shall be subject to the subsequent approval of the International Executive Council.

SECTION 3. No Local Union shall be dissolved, except with the approval of the International Executive Council. The funds or property of a Local Union cannot be divided gratuitously among the members, but shall remain intact for the use of the Local Union for its legitimate purposes. Whenever the Local Union disbands or discontinues its affiliation or its charter is revoked, the charter, books, and records, and all funds, properties and assets of the Local Union shall be delivered forthwith, through the office of the International Secretary-Treasurer, to the International Administrative Committee as trustees for such Local Union, and it shall be the duty and responsibility of the Local Union officers to transmit all monies and books and other properties of the Local Union to the International Secretary-Treasurer, as Secretary- Treasurer of the trustees, or to his/her accredited representative upon demand. The International Administrative Committee, as trustees, shall discharge the liabilities of the Local Union to the extent possible, out of the funds, properties and assets so received, and in the event of a surplus shall apply such surplus to advance the interests of the members of the Division of which the Local Union was a part. In no event shall any such surplus become part of the assets of the International Union, nor shall the International Union be responsible for the debts and liabilities of such Local Union.

SECTION 4. Each Local Union shall be charged with the duty of enforcing this Constitution as affecting its membership.

SECTION 5. Each Local Union shall adopt by-laws which shall prescribe its structure and procedures and embody the rules which shall govern the operation of the Local and the conduct of its members. The bylaws shall conform to the provisions and the principles of this Constitution and to the established policies of the International Union, and shall be effective only when approved by the International Administrative Committee. No amendment to the by-laws shall be effective until so approved.

SECTION 6. Where reasonably possible, each Local Union shall hold monthly regular membership meetings. In Local Unions where general membership meetings are impractical, the Local Union shall provide in its by-laws for the establishment of sections or divisions, each to consist of members included on the basis of similarity of work, classification, divisional, or other logical grouping. Each such section or division should meet monthly. Local Unions in which general membership meetings are practical may also establish sections or divisions. The by-laws of each such Local shall set up proper procedures for the election of section or division officers.

SECTION 7. The officers of the Local Union shall be President, one or more Vice-Presidents as the Local by-laws may provide, a Recording Secretary and a Financial Secretary-Treasurer. With the prior approval of the International Administrative Committee, the office and duties of Recording Secretary may be merged into the single office of Financial Secretary-Treasurer.

SECTION 8. The Local Executive Board shall consist of the Local officers and such members at large as are provided for in the Local’s by-laws, within the limits fixed in this Section. Local Unions with less than three hundred (300) members shall have one (1) Executive Board Member at large; Local Unions with three hundred (300) or more members, but less than five hundred (500) members, shall have two (2) Executive Board Members at large. Local Unions with five hundred (500) or more but less than fifteen hundred (1,500) members shall have three (3) Executive Board Members at large; and Local Unions with fifteen hundred (1,500) members or more shall have one (1) additional Executive Board Member at large for every one thousand (1,000) members, or major fraction thereof, in excess of the first one thousand (1,000). With the approval of the International Administrative Committee, a Local Union with less than five hundred (500) members may have up to three (3) Executive Board Members at large. Local Executive Board members shall be elected at the same election as are the Local officers and pursuant to the same procedures. Where the Local by-laws provide for the election of Local Executive Board members other than at large, the by-law allocation shall be such as to ensure reasonably proportionate representation. The Local Executive Board shall meet at least once a month. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

SECTION 9. In Local Unions whose members are employed by different employers, the Local Union may in its by-laws establish branches, each to consist of members employed by the same employer. Where the number of members employed by one or more employer is small, such members should be combined in a single branch. In Local Unions where branches are established, the Local by-laws may provide for the allocation and election of Executive Board members by branches, except that in no case shall the number of Local Executive Board members, as calculated pursuant to SECTION 8 above, be exceeded.

SECTION 10. In Local Unions, where there are two (2) or more branches or three (3) or more sections, there may be established a Joint Executive Committee to consist of the officers of the Local Union, the members of the Local Executive Board, the officers of the Sections and of such additional delegates as the Local by-laws may provide.

SECTION 11. No Local Union shall ever be incorporated.

SECTION 12. The Executive Board of a Local Union shall have the power to rent, hire and/or lease such property as it may from time to time consider convenient or necessary for the proper functioning of the Local Union. The Local Executive Board shall have the power, subject to the prior approval of the International Administrative Committee, to purchase, either in the name of the Local Union, or in the name of a corporation formed for that purpose whose stock is held in the name of the officers of the Local as trustees for the Local Union, such real property as may be convenient or necessary for the proper functioning of the Local Union. The Local Executive Board shall have the power to rent out any portion of such property not needed for the use of the Local Union.

SECTION 13. The International Executive Council shall determine the policy on affiliations of Local Unions, and shall have the power to require any Local Union to comply with such policy. No Local Union shall enter into any affiliation outside such policy, except with the prior approval of the International Executive Council.

SECTION 14. No Local Union shall create a fund or trust, separate and distinct from the funds of the Local Union, without the prior written approval of the International Administrative Committee.

SECTION 15. No Local Union shall disaff iliate from the International Union. No Local Union, or its officers or Executive Board, shall take any steps to cause or attempt to bring about the disaffiliation or withdrawal of the Local Union or of any members or group of members from the International Union (including through a decertification effort), including by holding or planning to hold a vote connected to a disaffiliation or withdrawal effort, by spending or planning to spend monies of the Local Union on a disaffiliation or withdrawal effort, or by transferring or planning to transfer property or assets of the Local Union to a union not affiliated with the International Union or to any other third-party in connection with a disaffiliation or withdrawal effort. Notwith– standing the foregoing in this SECTION 15, the International Executive Council may, through written resolution, permit a Local Union to disaffiliate from the International Union and/or permit a Local Union, or its officers or Executive Board to take steps to cause or attempt to bring about the disaffiliation or withdrawal of the Local Union or of any members or group of members from the International Union.