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UDW Passes New Constitution
Read the complete constitution of the United
Domestic Workers of America
as approved by the delegates
to the Special Constitutional Convention
held in San Diego
March 22 - 25
English: PDF
file, (113 KB)
Spanish: PDF file (154 KB)
Vietnamese: PDF file (304 KB)
Special Constitutional
Convention
San Diego, March
22-25, 2007
Nearly 100 elected delegates representing
every county and bargaining unit served by UDW, voted by
majority on March 23, 2007 to pass the new UDW Constitution.
Vote Count: 16,516 per capita votes yea
to 4,144 per capita votes nay
The new constitution, written by home care providers
with input from many members, will restructure the union, promote
democracy among the membership and bring about greater accountability.
The changes would represent a clean break from the way the union
conducted business prior to the Administratorship, which was
caused through financial mismanagement by former leaders.
Among the key constitution changes:
- Part-time officers. The new constitution provides
for part-time officers who will share their power with an
executive board. An executive director, answerable to the
full board, will run the day-to-day operations of the union.
Prior to 2005, the UDW president and secretary-treasurer
were full-time, highly paid and held very powerful, autonomous
positions; all union staff -- many of whom were family and
friends -- served at the top leaders’ pleasure alone.
- Executive Board comprised exclusively of home care providers. The
new constitution ensures that only home care providers can
be elected to the executive board, making UDW a union of,
by and for home care providers. Previously, anyone could
sit on the board, which was beholden only to the president
and secretary-treasurer of the union.
- Inclusive county/bargaining unit representation. The
new constitution calls for every UDW county to have at least
one seat on the executive board, ensuring that providers
all around the state are represented. Previously, the elected
officers stacked the board with individuals of their choosing.
- Ability to build local power. The new constitution
enables bargaining units to elect their own officers and
conduct county-specific business. Previously, all decisions,
even local ones, were handled by the president in the San
Diego headquarters alone.
- UDW members must be current providers. The new constitution
will allow that only current providers have a say in the
union. Previously, providers could take a leave from their
home care jobs but still belong to the union and vote for
officers.
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This March, the United Domestic Workers of America (UDW)
will vote on changes to our constitution that will mean
a brighter future for our union.
Thanks to the hard work
of the UDW members who wrote these reforms, all members
will have more say in union business—and a real voice
as we work for higher wages, quality health care and
winning the respect we deserve!
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  "Our
focus was all about democracy, democracy
and democracy.
We wrote a constitution that gives providers the chance
to decide our union’s direction."
--
Chris Long, Riverside
 "This
constitution is a great win for our members. I believe
that the soon-to-be elected delegates to the convention
need to support this constitution, which spreads the
power among the counties."
-- Christine Nguyen, Orange County
 “UDW is moving forward. Now, we will have a constitution that makes sure all members have a say in our future.”
--
Laura Reyes, San Diego
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UDW Constitution Committee Members
Carrie Young
Merced County
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Debbie Class
San Luis Obispo County
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Anthony Lenore
Riverside
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Chris Long
Riverside
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Christine Nguyen
Orange County
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Gale Banuelos
San Diego
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Clara McDonald
Santa Barbara
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Laura Reyes
San Diego
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