To All Local 2001 Members:

At the August 10, 2023 Local 2001 Membership Meeting, Brian Breitkreutz announced his resignation as Local  President and Local Secretary/Treasurer Anita Atkinson announced her resignation effective August 12, 2023 at 11:59 pm.

Under the CWA Constitution and CWA Local 2001 By-Laws, a vacancy in the office of President shall be filled immediately by the Executive Vice president and assume all responsibilities of that office.  Under the Local's By-Laws, vacancies in the office of Executive Vice President or Secretary-Treasurer shall be filled in the same manner as that required for regular elections and within sixty (60) days to serve for the remainder of term.  There are specific requirements by the US Department of Labor, the CWA Constitution and Local 2001 By-Laws for a minimum timeline of the Local Election Committee to conduct a mail out election.  

When there is a vacancy in one officer position the remaining two principal officers are able to fulfill the requirements to run the Local.   However, when there is a vacancy in two of the principal officer positions, it presents challenges in being able to conduct the business of the Local.  For example, when preparing checks for payment of bills, to pay lost wages or in the event of a strike, the need to prepare checks for Members' Relief and Strike Duty pay, there is a requirement of two signatures on the checks.  This can not be done with only one principal officer.  In addition to the challenges with only having one principal officer, elections are costly, with the approximate total cost being $3,000 per election.  Nominations for the election of Officers and Executive Board members for the 2024-2026 term will be taken at the October Membership meeting.  From today going forward to the nominations it is approximately 57 days.  If the decision is made to take nominations and conduct an election to fill the Executive Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer vacancies, those elected would only serve for less than two months. 

The Executive Board met Sunday, August 13, 2023.  Following discussion on the need to fill the positions sooner than an election allows, as well as the cost of an election for positions for which the term expires 12/31/2023, the Executive Board voted to appoint Shannon Soblit as Acting Executive Vice President and Michele Cunningham as Acting Secretary-Treasurer. This will allow for the necessary transaction of business and they will perform only those functions that cannot wait until the elections can be conducted and certified.

JD Thompson, President
CWA Local 2001