August 2002 — Can Members see the Minutes?
Q: Do union members have the right to see the minutes from executive board meetings? Can we get a copy, or just inspect them? What about minutes of membership meetings? If members can not get them, what about officers or stewards? A: This is a situation where you may want to give us a call. The answer depends on the specifics of the situation and we can only give a very general answer: There is no law that requires union officers to show union members the minutes of executive board meetings or give them a copy. The place to look is your union constitution or bylaws. (Remember to look at the local and international constitutions). For example, the constitution of the Coalition of University Employees requires the union Secretary to “maintain all minutes of meetings of the general membership and of the executive board…promptly transmit copies of the minutes to each local, and make them available to all members promptly upon request.” Your union may not have language like this. (The mem
