General Bylaws, As amended by referendum - February 1936
This charter describes the democratic structure of the historic Lumber Workers Industrial Union #120 of the Industrial Workers of the World.
GOC = the General Organizing Committee, an elected executive board similar to the General Executive Board of the IWW at large.
IU = Industrial Union, in this case, the Lumber Workers.
While many of these principles are based on social and economic conditions of the 1930s, many of them could be adapted to reflect the present.
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(1) The membership of Lumber Workers Industrial Union shall be composed of actual wage workers in the lumber industry.
(2) No worker shall be excluded from membership because of race, creed, color or sex.
(3) Any member who gets a position of camp foreman or higher, shall take out a withdrawal card.
(4) The initiation fee of LWIU 120 shall be $1.00; the monthly dues, 50 cents, and such assessments as are provided by the General Constitution. For unemployed the initiation fee shall be 25 cents, and monthly dues 10 cents. To be entitled to unemployed dues a member must have been unemployed for three months and be vouched for by three members.
(5) The officials of LWIU 120 shall be a General Organization Committee of five members and two alternates, Stationary Delegates, Traveling Delegates, and Branch Secretaries.
(6) To be eligible for any office, a member has to be in the I.W.W. for one year, 90 days in LWIU 120, and six months in continuous good standing prior to nomination.
(7) The G.O.C. members, the G.E.B. member, and the G.E.B. alternate shall be nominated at the LWIU convention. If no convention is held, any meeting of seven or more members of LWIU in good standing may make nominations.
(8) The G.O.C. shall be elected for one year beginning March 1st, and shall be eligible for reelection for one more term.
(9) Other officials, such as traveling delegates, stationary delegates, and branch secretaries, when elected, shall serve six months and be eligible for reelection.
(10) The G.O.C. shall establish a center of communication in the district where most of the members are functioning. There shall be one G.O.C. member in each important lumber district whenever possible.
(11) G.O.C. Chair:
(A) The Chairman of the G.O.C. shall issue a quarterly bulletin for members only, stating all questions submitted to the G.O.C. and showing how they voted. This Bulletin shall be open to the members of LWIU 120 for discussion of I.U. affairs. All G.O.C. members shall make either a personal or written report to all conferences and conventions. All G.O.C. members shall abide by majority decisions.
(B) The Chairman of the G.O.C. shall have supervision over all LWIU 120 finances. The books and monthly financial statements are to be subject to any duly elected auditing committee.
(C) No funds are to be spent without the sanction of the other members of the G.O.C. or by a regular business meeting of LWIU 120.
(12) The wages of no officials of LWIU 120 shall exceed $4.00 per day.
(13) No paid official shall have a vote at any LWIU 120 business meeting. By paid officials shall be understood any person receiving wages or commission other than job delegate's commission.
(14) No official or other employee of I.U. 120 while on specified LWIU 120 wages, shall take any commission.
(15) No official of LWIU 120 shall carry more than fifty dollars cash on hand at any time.
(16) The annual convention of LWIU 120 shall be a mass convention.
(17) All LWIU 120 referendums shall be out to the membership within 30 days of the LWIU 120 Convention, and not remain in the field more than 45 days before return for counting.
(18) Branches shall remit 50 per cent of the dues and initiations, and I.U. assessments in full, to the Main Office.
(19) A member to become a job delegate must have been in continuous good standing in the I.W.W. for six months.
(20) Officials issuing credentials to job delegates shall mark in the recipient's card the date and number of the credentials, and by whom issued.
(21) Job delegates shall remit to the nearest branch or to LWIU 120 officials functioning in the district.
(22) Job delegates shall not transfer cash or supplies between themselves.
(23) Job delegates shall not carry more than $40.00 worth of supplies unless they have carried the credentials for three months or more.
(24) Any delegate who knowingly lines up strike breakers, professional guards, booze or dope peddlers, shall have his credentials revoked until an LWIU 120 convention rules otherwise.
(25) LWIU 120 shall not be responsible for any member who goes delinquent on literature or any other publication.
(26) No member six months in arrears in dues shall take part in business meetings.
PAUL STOVER, G.O.C. Chairman