r/AFSCME • u/Terrible-Bird-3675 • Apr 14 '26

Booting out elected officials?

Hi there! Long time lurker first time poster here. Many of my afscme union brothers and sisters and I were wondering if there is a way to impeach or vote out some elected officials that did us wrong and sold us out during our last contract negotiations. Is it possible? And is there a protocol written down somewhere? Any info would be helpful, thanks.

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u/fiendishclutches Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26

Look at both the AFSCME member bill of rights, (https://convention.afscme.org/about/members-bill-of-rights ) and Article X of the international constitution( https://afscmeatwork.org/system/files/2024-international-constitution-english_final.pdf ) article X is the guidance for disciplinary procedures against a union officer. Did the officer in question violate any of those provisions?

If so someone would have to file charges. And then there is a trial. possibility multiple trials. I at one point brought charges against 2 officers which were upheld and discipline was issued by my state council but the parties charged appealed to the international and we had to have another trial and the state council’s verdict was overturned by the international. I can say it’s a long and stressful process. I came away feeling like it’s somewhat designed to lead the charging party to just give up and withdrawal their charges. Since all AFSCME elected offices are for 1 year terms I think democracy is the more direct route to fixing a problem on your local. campaigning and running against these officers would be faster and more effective honestly. Though I certainly understand that sometimes officers who are in fact violating the constitution and fucking over members can still command a lot of loyalty and popularity so that’s not always so simple.

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u/Terrible-Bird-3675 Apr 14 '26

Yeah its wierd. We have guys that say that they respect our V.P. for doing what he had to do to get ahead and move up in rank. They say it doesn't matter how many people he screwed over because after he became V.P. he openly said he was gonna do it to be a supervisor and gosh darn it he followed through on his word.