Definitions

1.              The term "accredited candidate" means any candidate for International office who has obtained the written signatures on petitions of at least two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the relevant membership pool, pursuant to Article X of these Rules.

2.              The term "alternate delegate" means a member elected by secret ballot vote or by uncontested election to represent his/her Local Union at the International Convention in the event that one or more of the Local Union's duly elected delegates is unable or not permitted to attend any session of the Convention.

3.              The term "at-large Vice President" means any one of the seven (7) International Vice Presidents elected by the membership on a union-wide basis.

4.              The term "ballot-qualified member" means a person entitled to receive a ballot and shall include the following: active members (including those classified in the TITAN system under status codes 00, 01,02, 04, 09, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18 and 19, or their equivalents in Local Unions which do not participate `in the TITAN system) and members who, by virtue of employment in the seasonal food industry and membership in a seasonal Local Union (as defined below), may be eligible to vote.

5.              The term "campaign contribution" means any direct or indirect contribution of money or other thing of value where the purpose, object, or foreseeable effect of that contribution is to influence, positively or negatively, the election of a candidate for Convention delegate or alternate delegate or International Officer position.  Campaign contributions include but are not limited to:

a.             A contribution of money, securities, or any material thing of value;

b.            A payment to or a subscription for a fund-raising event of any kind (e.g., raffle, dinner, beer or cocktail party, etc.);

c.             A discount in the price or cost of goods or services, except to the extent that commercially established discounts are available to the customers of the supplier;

d.            An extension of credit, except where obtained in the regular course of business of a commercial lending institution and on such terms and conditions as are regularly required by such institutions;

e.             The payment for the personal services of another person, or for the use of building or office space, equipment or supplies, or advertisements through the media;

f.             An endorsement or counter-endorsement by an individual, group of individuals, or entity;

g.            A solicitation on behalf of a candidate or group of candidates; or

h.            The performance of personal services or the making available for use of space, equipment, supplies or advertisements, except that the term "campaign contribution" does not include the performance of services by a volunteer who is not an employer rendered on the volunteer's personal free time without compensation in any form by an employer and without accompanying contributions of supplies or services by an employer;

i.              The payment for digital advertising, information or any expenditure for social media intended to support or oppose a candidate, slate or group of candidates.

The term "campaign contribution" does not include payments or services received by the legal and accounting fund established by a candidate, slate or independent committee to provide legal or accounting services performed in assuring compliance with applicable election laws, these Rules or other requirements, or in securing, defending, or clarifying legal rights of candidates.

6.              The term "candidate" means any member who is actively seeking nomination or election for any Convention delegate or alternate delegate position or international Officer position.  The term includes any member who has accepted any campaign contribution as defined by the Rules or made any expenditure, where the purpose, object, or foreseeable effect of the contribution or expenditure is to influence the election of that member to any such position.

7.              The term "certified or registered mail" means mail for which the sender receives evidence of delivery, and includes overnight mail services.

8.              The term "Consent Order” means the March 14, 1989 agreement approved by the Court entered into between and among the United States Government, the International Union, and others in the case of United States of America v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, et al., 88 Civ. 4486 (DNE) (S.D.N.Y.), as amended, and all subsequent opinions, rulings and orders interpreting it.

9.              The term "Convention" or "International Convention" means the 31st International Convention of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ("IBT), scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 14 through June 18, 2026.

10.           The term "Court” means the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, or the United States Supreme Court in the Administration of the Final Order.

11.           The term "day(s)" means calendar day(s), unless otherwise specified.

12.           The term "delegate" means a member elected by secret ballot vote or by uncontested election to represent his/her Local Union at the International Convention.

13.           The term "2026 Election Agreement" means the Agreement signed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Office of the Election Supervisor on December 6, 2024.

14.           The term "election" means the process by which a member is chosen by the membership to hold a Union office or position, whether or not contested.

15.           The term "Election Supervisor" means the Election Supervisor appointed by the IBT General Executive Board pursuant to Article III, Section 5(a)(2) of the IBT Constitution and the 2026 Election Agreement, or the Election Supervisor's designee.

16.           The term "Election Supervisor's representative" means any individual working at the direction of the Election Supervisor.

17.           The term "Election Appeals Master" means the Election Appeals Master appointed by the IBT General Executive Board pursuant to the 2026 Election Agreement, or the Election Appeals Master's designee.

18.           The term "employer" means any individual, corporation, trust, organization or other entity that employs another, paying monetary or other compensation in exchange for that individual's services, but does not include a candidate's campaign or campaign organization or a caucus or group of Union members, provided that such caucus or group is itself financed exclusively from contributions permitted under the Rules.  The term "employer" includes not-for-profit employers, governmental and agricultural employers and all persons acting as agents of an employer in relation to an employee.  Except where otherwise expressly limited, "employer" is not limited to an employer which has a collective bargaining agreement with the Union or which is the subject of an organizing campaign by the Union.

19.           The term "employer bulletin board" means any bulletin board or similar space on the premises of an employer which is used for, among other purposes, the posting of general information and/or the posting of notices by employees.

20.           The term "Final Order" means the order entered by the Court in United States v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, No. 88 Civ. 4486) (S.D.N.Y.) (LAP), on February 17, 2015. 

21.           The term "floor nomination" means the placing into nomination, and the seconding, of a candidate for International office at the Convention.

22.           The term "General President" means the IBT International Union president, elected by the membership on a union-wide basis.

23.           The term "General Secretary-Treasurer" means the IBT International Union secretary-treasurer, elected by the membership on a union-wide basis.

24.           The term "independent committee" means any person or entity not controlled by a candidate or slate who/which has accepted any campaign contribution, as defined by these Rules, or who/which has made any expenditure, where the purpose, object or foreseeable effect of the contribution or expenditure is to influence the election of International Officer candidate(s).

25.           The term "interested employer" means any employer which is a party, or member of an association which is a party, to a collective bargaining agreement with the Union and any employer which is, or since January 1, 2022 has been, the subject of an organizing campaign by the Union.

26.           The term "IBT Magazines" means The Teamster and Teamsters Canada, or any substitute for either, by whomever issued, as well as any other publications described in paragraph 4 of the 2026 Election Agreement, as designated by the Election Supervisor.

27.           The term "International Officer" means either the General President of the International Union; the General Secretary-Treasurer of the International Union; any one of the Vice Presidents of the International Union, whether at-large or regional; or any one of the three (3) Trustees of the International Union.

28.           The term "International Officer election" means the secret ballot vote of the membership to be held for the purpose of electing the General President, the General Secretary-Treasurer, the Vice Presidents and the Trustees of the International Union.

29.           The term "International Officer nomination" means the secret ballot vote of the convention delegates for the purpose of nominating those candidates eligible to run in the International Officer election.

30.           The term "labor organization" means any organization recognized or certified as a collective bargaining representative of employees with respect to wages, hours and/or working conditions or any organization seeking to be so recognized or certified.  The term includes, but is not limited to, the Union, its subordinate bodies, organizations representing governmental and agricultural employees, all parent and subordinate bodies of a labor organization, all national, state or central bodies with which any labor organization is affiliated, and all city, state, provincial, regional and central bodies of Change to Win, the AFL-CIO and of the CLC.

31.           The term "Local Union Plan" means a written document prepared by the Local Union and approved by the Election Supervisor, as described in Article II, Section 4 of the Rules.

32.           The term "mail ballot" means a ballot mailed to each ballot-qualified member (as defined on page 6).

33.           The term "member" means any person who has fulfilled the requirements of membership in any Local Union and who has neither voluntarily withdrawn from membership nor been expelled or suspended from membership after appropriate proceedings consistent with lawful provisions of the IBT Constitution and the by-laws of the Local Union.

34.           The term "member in good standing" means a member who has paid his/her dues through the month prior to the month in question.

35.           The term "nominated candidate" means (1) a member who has been nominated to run for a Convention delegate or alternate delegate position; (2) a member who has been nominated by secret ballot vote at the Convention to run for any International Officer position.

36.           The term "preexisting rights" means all rights as may exist (a) under national, state, provincial or local laws (including, but not limited to, outstanding orders of any court, or administrative agency), (b) under a collective bargaining agreement, and/or (c) under policies or practices of an employer during the 1990-1991 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election or thereafter.

37.           The term "regional area" means each of the geographic areas of each of the four United States Area Conferences, as they existed at the time of the adoption of the 1991 Constitution, and of Teamsters Canada, with the following modifications:

                 (1)           Delegates and alternate delegates elected from General Committees of Adjustment and from geographic areas as designated in paragraph 6.16 of the Merger Agreement between the International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the IBT shall vote in geographic region in which the entity from which they are elected is headquartered.  Members of each General Committee of Adjustment shall vote in the geographic region in which the General Committee is headquartered; however, with respect to any General Committee of Adjustment which is headquartered in a geographic region within which less than 1 % of the members assigned to that General Committee of Adjustment are employed, the delegates and alternate delegates shall vote in the geographic region in which the largest number of members of the General Committee of Adjustment are employed.

                 (2)           Delegates and alternate delegates elected from System Federations and Divisions and from geographic areas as designated in paragraph 4.18 of the Merger Agreement between the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees and the IBT shall vote in the geographic region in which the entity from which they are elected is headquartered.  Members of each System Federation and Division shall vote in the geographic region in which the System Federation or Division is headquartered.

38.           The term "regional Vice President" means an International Vice President elected by the membership from a regional area.

39.           The term "relevant delegate pool" means those delegates deemed eligible to participate in the Convention as segregated, when necessary, by regional area (e.g., the relevant delegate pool for voting on the nomination of candidates for the International Vice President from Canada would be those, and only those, delegates deemed eligible to represent Local Unions within the jurisdiction of Teamsters Canada).

40.           The term "relevant membership pool" means those members as segregated, when necessary, by regional area (e.g., the relevant membership pool for voting for International Vice President from Canada would be those, and only those, members from Local Unions within the jurisdiction of Teamsters Canada).

41.           The term "seasonal Local Union" means a Local Union in which ten percent (10%) or more of the membership of the Local Union is employed by a seasonal food industry employer.

42.           The term "slate" means any grouping by mutual consent of two or more candidates.

43.           The term "Social Security Number" means the U.S. Social Security Number or the Canada Social Insurance Number used by the Union in a member’s membership record. 

44.           The term "subordinate body" means any organization affiliated with the International Union, and includes State Conferences, Joint Councils, Trade Divisions or Conferences, and Local Unions.

45.           The term "Union" means the International Union, all Local Unions and all other subordinate bodies of the International Union, unless explicit distinction is made.

46.           The term "Union bulletin board" means any bulletin board to which the International Union or Local Union has access for the purpose of posting information concerning the business and/or activities of the union and includes bulletin boards at the office of the Union as well as bulletin boards located on employer premises.