Greetings AMO Members and Applicants,
The National Executive Board of American Maritime Officers, in accordance with Article XXV, is proposing a series of amendments to the AMO National Constitution. This notice and the copy of the AMO National Constitution detailing the proposed amendments available online are provided here for informational purposes only.
These proposed amendments are subject to approval by the AMO membership in a union-wide referendum, which is being conducted online by TrueBallot. AMO members and applicants will be contacted directly by TrueBallot via email at their email addresses on file with the union. TrueBallot will provide access to information for reviewing the proposed amendments online and instructions for casting an online vote.
The online referendum commences August 31 and will conclude September 30. Only votes cast by AMO members in good standing will be counted at the conclusion of the referendum. AMO applicants who wish to have their votes counted must establish status as members in good standing with the union prior to September 30, 2024.
The amendments we are recommending will update the AMO National Constitution to ensure governance of American Maritime Officers by our National Executive Board and more clearly define the responsibilities of our National Executive Board and AMO National President.
We are recommending the amendments described above to preclude many possible unilateral actions by any person holding the office of National President that may be in contradiction to the best interests of the AMO membership and the union as a whole. Without these amendments, the office of the National President would retain the authority of unilateral action in several areas, and little or no practical recourse or remedy for such action would be available to the AMO membership or National Executive Board.
Many of the proposed amendments will modernize the AMO National Constitution by clarifying items about which there have been disputes over meaning and intent in the past. Several of the updates will allow for actions and notifications to be carried out and transmitted via electronic means rather than via USPS or courier services.
Several of the proposed amendments will allow for a transition to modern means of communication. In order to ensure the ability to maintain effective communications between the AMO membership and the National Executive Board, updates would be made to the responsibilities of members and applicants for keeping the union informed of their current mobile numbers, email addresses and physical addresses, as detailed in the proposed amendments.
Some of the proposed amendments were included at the recommendation of our General Counsel. Some of the proposed amendments are grammatical or typographical corrections.
As noted in the online document detailing the proposed amendments, the AMO National Constitution currently exists in obsolete software that does not function on newer computer operating systems. Membership approval of the proposed amendments would also be considered consent to transfer the AMO National Constitution to contemporary software, including Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign.
The last union-wide referendum on amendments to the AMO National Constitution was conducted in 2009.
On behalf of the AMO National Executive Board, I strongly encourage all AMO members to review the proposed amendments and participate in this online referendum. I also urge all AMO applicants who want to participate and have their votes counted to complete the process to become AMO members in good standing well in advance of September 30.
Willie Barrere
National President