About Elections

Nominations

NWSEO 2024 Elections

Click here for a PDF version of the 2024 Elections Letter.

About NWSEO Elections

Credentials Committee

Throughout this section, you will see the Credentials Committee referenced — If an election is held, ballots must be sent to the Credentials Committee for certification of the results. All Credentials Committee members are listed here:

Positions

Available positions are NWSEO Branch Steward and Branch Vice Steward, Convention Delegate and Alternate Delegates, who are elected on an annual basis, and the Regional Chairpersons and Vice Chairpersons, who are elected every two years.

Branch Stewards

NWSEO consists of regions that are either a branch, or a group of branches, recognized within the union. A NWSEO branch refers to a recognized group of active members in good standing within a facility of the:

National Weather Service (NWS)
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)

NOAA Office of General Counsel
Aircraft Operations Center (AOC)
Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory

On an annual basis, each NWSEO branch is required to elect a steward, vice steward, convention delegate ,and convention alternate delegate.

Regional Officers

2024 is an election year for Regional Officers, which are two-year terms. This includes Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons for each NWS region, NESDIS and NAG.

2024 Elections Procedures — Nominations

If you are interested in nominating either yourself or another NWSEO member for an elected position, please read carefully about each role’s eligibility and nomination requirements:

Branch Stewards and Vice Steward Nominations

Nomination eligibility: Any member in good standing, including yourself

Nomination format: Written/mailed letter or email nominations are accepted

Nomination deadline: May 31, 2024

Branch Steward and Vice Steward nominations may be of yourself or another member, and must be dated/signed by the member making the nomination. Completed nominations must be sent to the local Branch Steward or designee, Regional Chairperson, and appropriate Credentials Committee member by the election’s deadline.

Convention Delegate/Alternate Delegate Nominations

Nomination eligibility: Any member in good standing, including yourself, within your NWS region or NWSEO bargaining unit. Note: Each NWS region consists of multiple NWSEO branches. Other NWSEO bargaining units (AOC, AOML, NESDIS and NOAA Attorneys Guild) have their own branches.

Nomination format: Written/mailed letter or email nominations are accepted

Nomination deadline: May 31, 2024

All nominations must be in writing, dated, and signed by the member making the nomination and sent to the local Branch Steward or designee, Regional Chairperson, or appropriate Credentials Committee member by the deadline. You may be nominated for Convention Delegate or Alternate Convention Delegate for more than one branch within your region.

Note: If you are a Convention Delegate or Alternate Convention Delegate by unopposed nomination or election, please plan to attend the convention.

Regional Chairperson/Vice Chairperson Nominations

Nomination eligibility: Any NWSEO member, including yourself, that has been a member since November 2023 and has been in good standing for one year.

Nomination format: All nominations must be made in writing and delivered in person or by registered/certified mail to:

Emily Roy

6585 HWY 431 S Suite E # 247

Hampton Cove, AL 35763

Email nominations are not acceptable. If you nominate someone for regional office, please contact your nominee prior to nominating them to ensure they accept the nomination. Once received, NWSEO will contact nominees to verify they accept their regional officer nomination.

Nomination deadline: Nominations must be received no later than May 31, 2024.

2024 Elections Procedures — Voting

Steward, Vice Steward, Convention Delegate and Alternate Convention Delegate

Where does voting take place?

An election only occurs if more than one person is nominated for an open position. If only one person is nominated for a position, that person automatically serves in that position. If more than one person is nominated for an open position for Branch Steward or Vice Branch Steward, Convention Delegate, and Convention Alternate Delegate ballots are sent via mail and submitted in person in an easily-accessible branch location and tallied at the branch location.

A branch delegate or alternate delegate nominated by a branch member votes in the place of members who do not attend the Convention. If a member attends the National Convention, they’re eligible to vote on matters raised at the Convention. If a member does not attend the Convention, then the member’s vote will be cast either by the Convention Delegate or Alternate Delegate for their branch. Each Convention Delegate votes on all matters that come before the convention, with one vote for each NWSEO member in the branch or branches that delegate represents. If an elected Convention Delegate is not present at the convention for a vote, then the Alternate Delegate may cast the delegated votes.

Reminder: You do not have to be a Convention Delegate or an Alternate Delegate to attend the convention. If you attend the convention and are not a delegate, you may cast your own vote, and the delegates nominated for your branch may not cast a vote on your behalf.

Only one nominee

If there is only one nominee for a position, there is no need to hold an election with secret ballots — That one nominee is automatically elected. In this case, your Branch Steward should provide an election update to your Regional Chairperson and your assigned Credentials Committee member immediately after nominations close on Friday, May 31, 2024.

More than one nominee

If more than one member is nominated for an open position, the current Branch Steward must conduct a secret ballot election for that position (i.e., Steward, Vice Steward, Delegate, or Alternate Delegate). This is done by preparing a paper ballot with the names of the nominees for each contested position listed individually and mailing the ballot to each branch member’s home address.

If there are exactly two nominees, the nominee who receives a majority of the votes cast shall be certified elected.
If there are more than two nominees, the election shall be conducted by preferential voting (the person with the most votes wins) to determine the winner.

The Branch Steward will provide a sealed ballot box in a central location by Friday, July 26, 2024. Members will return their ballot to this ballot box. Please do not sign or otherwise identify yourself on your ballot. Although it is not required, it is recommended that the Branch Steward convene a local NWSEO meeting for the purpose of opening the ballot box and counting the ballots.

Note: Balloted elections for offices with more than one nominee are not optional; the Branch Steward must hold an election. If this is not done, NWSEO may be found in violation of Federal Law and could be subject to enforcement action by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Right to Observation & Vote Counting

Per Article 8, Section 1 of the NWSEO Constitution, each nominee has the right to have an observer at the polls and at the tallying of the votes. The counting of the ballots should take place as soon after Friday, July 26, 2024 as possible. The current Branch Steward is responsible for counting the ballots, but may obtain the assistance from the Vice Steward if necessary. After counting, all ballots must immediately be sent to the Credentials Committee for results certification.

Reporting Elections Results

The newly elected Branch Steward takes the steward position at the end of election and announces the election results to their members, Regional Chairperson, and Credentials Committee member. They must complete the Designation of Delegate form available online at NWSEO.org/elections and either mail or email it to their respective Credentials Committee member, as well as provide a copy of the Designation of Delegate form to the delegate that they have elected.

Regional Chairperson and Vice Chairperson:

The election of regional officers, if needed, will be conducted by delegates at the National Convention. The newly elected Regional Officers will take office at the conclusion of the Convention.

Voting