|
2006 - 2011
UA CONSTITUTION

Organized
October 11, 1889
United
Association
of Journeymen
and Apprentices
of the
Plumbing and
Pipe Fitting
Industry of the United States
and Canada
PROVISIONS RELATING TO MARINE
PIPEFITTER and METAL TRADES
LOCAL UNIONS OR BRANCHES
Local Unions which contain Marine
Pipefitters
shall be known as Marine Pipefitter-Metal
Trades
Local Unions, or as a Marine
Pipefitter-Metal Trades
branch of combination Local Unions. Each
such
Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades Local Union,
or
Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades branch of a
combination
Local Union, shall have two (2) divisions:
The
Marine Pipefitter division and the Metal
Trades division.
The two (2) divisions shall be governed by
the
following provisions which are an integral
part of the
United Association Constitution. These
provisions
recognize the skilled nature of Marine
Pipefitters and
the nature of Metal Trades employment and
shall govern
the qualifications and procedures for Marine
Pipefitter membership and Metal Trades
membership.
Local Unions which do not have Marine
Pipefitters
but just Metal Trades jurisdiction shall be
referred to
as Metal Trades Local Unions or Metal Trades
branch
of combination Local Unions, and shall be
governed
only by the “Metal Trades” provisions which
follow.
Any reference to Metal Trades Local Unions
or Metal
Trades branch of combination Local Unions or
Metal
Trades membership in Sections 1 through 220
of the
United Association Constitution shall mean
Marine
Pipefitter-Metal Trades Local Unions or
branches and
Metal Trades Local Unions or branches and
Marine
Pipefitter membership as well as Metal
Trades membership.
MARINE PIPEFITTER QUALIFICATIONS
AND MEMBERSHIP PROCEDURES
Journeyman
Membership
SEC. MP-1.
The membership designation of
Marine Pipefitter journeyman or apprentice
on membership
cards shall be “Marine Pipefitter” or
“Marine
Pipefitter Apprentice” or appropriate
abbreviation.
Journeyman membership in the Marine
Pipefitters
division of a Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades
Local
Union or Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades
branch of a
combination Local Union shall be open to all
skilled
Marine Pipefitters and an application for
such membership
must contain information as to the
prospective
member’s experience and/or training. He must
have the following qualifications:
|
1. At least a minimum of five
(5) years actual practical
working experience in the
installation of plumbing
and pipe fitting systems on
ships or in the construction
or fabrication of plumbing and
pipe fitting
systems in shipyards to be
installed in ships.
2. Have successfully completed
an apprenticeship
program in the marine
pipefitting field of at least
five
(5) years’ duration approved by
the Training
Department of the United
Association or have equivalent
experience as determined by the
Local Union.
3. Pass an examination in the
marine pipefitting
field administered by the Local
Union to which he
desires to become a member and
approved by the
Training Department of the
United Association, or a
test administered by his
employer and approved by
the Training Department.
4. He must be of good moral
character. |
Marine Pipefitter Membership Procedures
SEC. MP-2.
Every applicant for Marine Pipefitter
membership must completely fill out an
application
on forms furnished by the General Secretary-
Treasurer which shall be filed in the
General Office of
the United Association.
SEC. MP-3.
Each applicant for journeyman
Marine Pipefitter membership in a Marine
Pipefitter
division of a Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades
Local
Union or a Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades
branch of
a combination Local Union must submit (or
have submitted)
an affidavit or affidavits from a recognized
employer or employers vouching for the
applicant’s
ability to adequately perform the work of a
Marine
Pipefitter and also vouching for his
character. These
affidavits must cover a minimum of five (5)
years
actual practical working experience in the
installation
of plumbing and pipefitting systems on ships
or in the
construction of shipboard plumbing and
pipefitting
systems fabricated in shipyards. These
affidavits will
be furnished to the applicant by the Local
Union on
forms supplied by the General
Secretary-Treasurer.
Apprentice
Membership
SEC. MP-4.
Before an applicant can be admitted as
an apprentice Marine Pipefitter, he must
have a sound
moral character and must agree to the
following:
|
1. That he will work at the
Marine Pipefitting Trade
with the intention of learning
all phases of the work of
a journeyman Marine Pipefitter.
2. That he is willing to combine
classroom training
with on-the-job training.
3. That he will complete a five
(5) year Marine
Pipefitting apprenticeship
training program approved
by the Training Department of
the United
Association. |
Termination of Apprentice Membership
SEC. MP-5.
Termination and/or cancellation of
an apprentice Marine Pipefitter’s apprentice
agreement
for just cause by an apprentice committee or
the employer shall automatically terminate
his membership
in the United Association and the Local
Union. There shall be no appeal to the
United
Association by an apprentice on the
termination of
his membership.
Transfer of Marine Pipefitter Journeyman
from a
Marine Pipefitter Division of a Local
Union to a
Marine Pipefitter Division of another Local
Union
SEC. MP-6.
A journeyman member of a Marine
Pipefitter division of a Marine
Pipefitter-Metal Trades
Local Union or a Marine Pipefitter-Metal
Trades
branch of a combination Local Union shall be
eligible
to transfer his membership to another Marine
Pipefitter division of a Marine
Pipefitter-Metal Trades
Local Union or Marine Pipefitter-Metal
Trades
branch of a combination Local Union provided
the
applicant-member has the following
qualifications:
|
1. That he is employed in the
shipbuilding industry
under a collective bargaining
agreement with a United
Association Local Union to which
he desires to transfer
his membership.
2. That he has been a member of
a Marine Pipefitter
division of a Marine
Pipefitter-Metal Trades Local
Union or Marine Pipefitter-Metal
Trades branch of a
combination Local Union for at
least three (3) years.
3. He must be of good moral
character. |
Transfer of a Marine Pipefitter Journeyman
from a Marine Pipefitter Division to a
Building
and Construction Branch or Local Union
SEC. MP-7.
A journeyman member of a Marine
Pipefitter division of a Marine
Pipefitter-Metal Trades
Local Union or Marine Pipefitter-Metal
Trades
branch of a combination Local Union shall be
eligible
to transfer his membership to a Building and
Construction Trades Local Union or a
combination
Local Union (Building and Construction
Trades
branch) only in the same locality as the
applicant’s
Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades Local Union.
Such
applicant-member must also possess the
following
qualifications:
|
1. He must have had at least
five (5) years actual
practical working experience in
the plumbing and
pipefitting industry.
2. He must have been a
journeyman member of a
Marine Pipefitter division of a
Marine Pipefitter-
Metal Trades Local Union or a
Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades
branch of a combination Local
Union of
the United Association for at
least one (1) year.
3. He must be of good moral
character.
4. He must pass a satisfactory
examination as to his
skill and ability as a Building
and Construction
Trades journeyman, conducted by
the Examining
Committee of the Building and
Construction Trades
Local Union or the Building and
Construction Trades
branch of a combination Local
Union.
|
Such applicant-member shall pay the
difference, if
any, between the initiation fee he paid to
the Marine
Pipefitter division of the Marine
Pipefitter-Metal
Trades Local Union or branch and the
initiation fee of
the Building and Construction Trades Local
Union or
branch in effect at the time of the
transfer.
Scope of
Jurisdiction
SEC. MP-8.
Marine Pipefitter journeymen and
apprentices shall only perform plumbing and
pipefitting
work on ships and plumbing and pipefitting
systems
which are to be installed on ships and which
are
constructed and fabricated in shipyards.
Travel Cards
SEC. MP-9.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained in Section 218 of this
Constitution, a
Marine Pipefitter journeyman may be issued a
travel
card by his home Local Union if he is
legitimately
laid off from his employment as a Marine
Pipefitter
journeyman. Travel cards shall not be
available to
Marine Pipefitters who quit their employment
or are
suspended, terminated or otherwise separated
from
their employment. The travel card shall be
valid only
for the period of lay-off and is
automatically revoked
as of the date of recall to marine
pipefitter employment.
A Marine Pipefitter journeyman whose lay-off
is converted to termination through no fault
of the
member shall continue to be eligible for a
travel card
until his Local Union advises him of
available work
opportunities in his classification in the
geographical
area of his home Local Union. If the Marine
Pipefitter
journeyman refuses such employment his
travel card
shall be automatically revoked.
When a travel card is revoked for the above
reasons
the Business Manager or Business Agent of
the
Marine Pipefitter journeyman’s home Local
Union
shall notify the Local Union in which the
travel card
is deposited that the travel card is no
longer valid.
The travel card shall only be issued by the
Business
Manager or Business Agent of the Marine
Pipefitter’s
home Local Union if he has received notice
of available
work opportunities in another specific Local
Union. The Marine Pipefitter’s travel card
shall designate
the number and location of the Local Union
to
which the Marine Pipefitter is traveling and
shall only
be accepted by that Local Union.
The General Secretary-Treasurer, with the
approval
of the General Executive Board, shall design
a new
travel card to be utilized solely for Marine
Pipefitter
journeymen. Travel cards for Marine
Pipefitter journeymen
shall only be valid for a period of ninety
(90)
days from date of issuance. Prior to the
expiration of
his travel card a Marine Pipefitter shall
request a new
card from his home Local Union. If he is
eligible for
the new card his home Local Union shall
supply it to
him.
The Marine Pipefitter journeyman shall be
subject
to all the provisions of Section 218 of the
United
Association Constitution not inconsistent
with this
Section MP-9.
SEC. MP-10.
The provisions of Sections MT-14,
15, 16 and 17, as contained in the following
section,
shall be applicable to Marine Pipefitter
members as
well as Metal Trades members and must be
fully complied
with.
SEC. MP-11.
All other sections of the United
Association Constitution, except those
solely related
to Building and Construction journeymen and
apprentices,
shall be applicable to Marine Pipefitter
journeymen
and apprentices.
METAL TRADES QUALIFICATIONS AND
MEMBERSHIP PROCEDURES
Purpose of and Requirements for
Metal Trades Membership
SEC. MT-1.
Membership in Metal Trades divisions
of Marine Pipefitter-Metal Trades Local
Unions, or
Metal Trades Local Unions, or Metal Trades
branches
of combination Local Unions shall be open to
all
Metal Trades journeyman and Metal Trades
apprentices
performing work related to the plumbing and
pipefitting and/or mechanical equipment and
service
industries, such as gas workers, railroad
pipefitters
and in some areas refrigeration mechanics
and
employees engaged in the speculative housing
or residential
installation of plumbing and piping systems.
Membership in a Metal Trades division, or
Local
Unions, and Metal Trades branches of
combination
Local Unions shall also be open to
production, maintenance,
service and other categories of employees
performing work related to the plumbing and
pipefitting
industry, or unrelated to the plumbing and
pipefitting
industry if such employees are working in a
facility where work related to the plumbing
and pipe
fitting industry is being performed. Such
members
shall be called Production Workers.
Journeyman
Membership
SEC. MT-2.
Before an applicant can be admitted as
a journeyman Metal Trades member in a Metal
Trades
Local Union, or a combination Local Union
(Metal
Trades branch), or a refrigeration or
speculative housing
or residential division of a Building and
Construction
Trades Local Union or combination Local
Union, he
must have the following qualifications:
|
1. Be a skilled Metal Trades
craftsman with a minimum
of five (5) years actual
practical working experience
related to the plumbing and
pipefitting and/or
mechanical equipment and service
industries.
2. Have successfully completed
an apprenticeship
program in the industry in which
he is employed or
possess the actual practical
working experience
required to be a journeyman in
the industry in which
he is employed.
3. A good moral character.
|
Apprentice
Membership
SEC. MT-3.
Before an applicant can be admitted as
an apprentice Metal Trades member in a Metal
Trades
division, or Local Union, or a combination
Local
Union Metal Trades branch, or a
refrigeration or speculative
housing or residential division of a
Building
and Construction Trades Local Union or a
combination
Local Union, he must have a sound moral
character
and must agree to the following:
|
1. That he will work at the
trade with the intention
of learning all phases of the
work of a journeyman
Metal Tradesman.
2. That he is willing to combine
classroom training
with on-the-job training.
3. That he will complete the
Metal Trades apprenticeship
training program where such
program exists
or that he will work at the
trade for the required number
of years for becoming a
journeyman Metal
Tradesman in the industry in
which he is employed. |
Termination of Apprentice Membership
SEC. MT-4.
Termination and/or cancellation of an
apprentice Metal Tradesman apprentice
agreement for
just cause by an apprentice committee or the
employer
shall automatically terminate his membership
in
the United Association and the Local Union.
There
shall be no appeal to the United Association
by an
apprentice on the termination of his
membership.
Production Worker Membership
SEC. MT-5.
An applicant for membership in a
Metal Trades division, or Local Union, or a
combination
Local Union, or a refrigeration or
speculative
housing or residential division of a
Building and
Construction Trades Local Union, or
combination
Local Union who is not a skilled journeyman
Metal
Tradesman or an apprentice Metal Tradesman,
but
who is performing unskilled or semi-skilled
work or
work unrelated to the installation, repair
and maintenance
of plumbing and pipefitting systems and
mechanical equipment, may be admitted as a
production
work Metal Trades member provided he submits
proof that:
|
1. He is employed under a
collective bargaining
agreement with the United
Association Local Union
to whom he has made application
in a classification of
work that is not the work of a
journeyman Metal
Tradesman or apprentice Metal
Tradesman.
2. He must be of good moral
character. |
Termination of Production Worker Membership
SEC. MT-6.
When a production worker Metal
Tradesman’s employee status in a bargaining
unit represented
by his Local Union terminates for whatever
the reason, his membership in the United
Association
and the Local Union shall automatically
terminate. In
the event he is subsequently employed in a
bargaining
unit represented by his Local Union he shall
not be
required to pay a new initiation fee. If
such an
employee holds a Local Union office his
membership
shall not terminate automatically until the
expiration
of his term of office.
Transfers Between Metal Trades
Local Unions and Building and
Construction Trades Local Unions
SEC. MT-7.
A journeyman member of a Building
and Construction Trades Local Union may
obtain
work in the jurisdiction of a Marine
Pipefitter-Metal
Trades Local Union or branch, or a Metal
Trades
Local Union, and shall be eligible for
membership in
such Local Union or branch or division, but
a journeyman
Marine Pipefitter or Metal Tradesman shall
not be eligible for membership in a Building
and
Construction Trades Local Union, or in a
Building
and Construction Trades branch of a
combination
Local Union until he qualifies under the
conditions of
Sections MP-5, MT-9, and MT-10 of this
Constitution.
Transfer of Metal Trades Journeyman
from a Metal Trades Local Union to
another Metal Trades Local Union
SEC. MT-8.
A journeyman member of a Metal
Trades Local Union or division or branch
shall be eligible
to transfer his membership to another Metal
Trades Local Union, division or a
combination Local
Union (Metal Trades branch) provided the
applicant
member has the following qualifications:
|
1. That he is employed in the
Metal Trades industry
under a collective bargaining
agreement with the
United Association Local Union
to which he desires
to transfer his membership.
2. That he has been a member of
a Metal Trades
Local Union or division or a
Metal Trades branch of
a combination Local Union for at
least three (3) years.
3. He must be of good moral
character. |
Transfer of Metal Trades Journeyman from
a Metal Trades Local Union to a Building
and Construction Trades Local Union
SEC. MT-9.
A journeyman member of a Metal
Trades division, branch, or Local Union,
shall be eligible
to transfer his membership to a Building and
Construction Trades Local Union or a
combination
Local Union (Building and Construction
Trades
branch) only in the same locality as the
applicant’s
Metal Trades Local Union. Such applicant
member
must also possess the following
qualifications:
|
1. He must have had at least
five (5) years actual
practical working experience in
the plumbing and
pipefitting industry.
2. He must have been a member of
a Metal Trades
division or Local Union, or a
Metal Trades branch of
a combination Local Union of the
United Association,
for at least three (3) years.
3. He must be of good moral
character.
4. He must pass a satisfactory
examination as to his
skill and ability as a Building
and Construction
Trades journeyman conducted by
the Examining
Committee of the Building and
Construction Trades
Local Union or the Building and
Construction Trades
branch of a combination Local
Union. |
Such applicant member shall pay the
difference, if
any, between the initiation fee he paid to
the Metal
Trades division or Local Union or branch,
and the initiation fee of the Building and
Construction Trades
Local Union or branch in effect at the time
of the
transfer.
Transfer of a Metal Trades Journeyman from a
Metal Trades Division, Branch, or Local
Union
to a Marine Pipefitter Division of a Local
Union
SEC. MT-10.
A journeyman Metal Trades member
shall be eligible to transfer his membership
to a
Marine Pipefitter division of a Local Union
only in
the same locality as the applicant’s Metal
Trades division,
branch or Local Union. Each applicant member
must also have the following qualifications:
|
1. He must be employed in the
shipbuilding industry
under a collective bargaining
agreement with a
United Association Local Union.
2. He must have had at least
five (5) years actual
practical working experience in
the plumbing and
pipefitting trade in shipyards.
3. He must have been a
journeyman member of a
United Association Metal Trades
division, branch or
Local Union for at least one (1)
year.
4. He must be of good moral
character.
5. He must pass a satisfactory
examination as to his
skill and ability as a Marine
Pipefitter administered by
the Local Union of which the
Marine Pipefitter division
he desires to transfer into is a
part. |
Such applicant member shall pay the
difference, if
any, between the initiation fee he paid to
the Metal
Trades division, Local Union or branch and
the initiation
fee of the Marine Pipefitter division in
effect at
the time of the transfer.
Scope of Jurisdiction
SEC. MT-11.
Metal Trades journeymen, Metal
Trades apprentices and Production Workers
shall only
perform such work as is covered under the
jurisdiction
of their Metal Trades Local Union, Metal
Trades
branch of their combination Local Union, or
the separate
division of a Local Union of which they are
members.
Metal Trades Membership Procedures
SEC. MT-12.
Every applicant for a Metal Trades
membership must completely fill out an
application
on forms furnished by the General Secretary-
Treasurer which shall be filed in the
General Office of
the United Association.
SEC. MT-13.
Each applicant for journeyman Metal
Trades membership in a Metal Trades division
or
Local Union, or a combination Local Union or
a
refrigeration or speculative housing or
residential
division of a Building and Construction
Trades Local
Union or combination Local Union must submit
(or
have submitted) an affidavit or affidavits
from a recognized
employer or employers vouching for the
applicant’s ability to adequately perform
the work of
his trade and also vouching for his
character. These
affidavits must cover a minimum of five (5)
years
actual practical working experience related
to the
plumbing and pipe fitting and/or mechanical
equipment
and service industries. These affidavits
will be
furnished to the applicant by the Local
Union on
forms supplied by the General
Secretary-Treasurer.
SEC. MT-14.
Anyone who shall certify to any false
statement or fact, or falsely answer on any
of the official
forms of application for membership, or file
false
and fraudulent affidavits, or otherwise by
any false
pretense, misrepresentation or fraud,
attempt to
secure, or does secure, acceptance as a
member of the
United Association or any chartered or
affiliated
Local Union, shall immediately forfeit all
further
right to consideration as an applicant, and
shall immediately
forfeit membership by immediate cancellation
if membership has already been acquired or
established
in the manner specified herein, upon
evidence
of such false pretense, misrepresentation or
fraud
being presented to the General Officers.
SEC. MT-15.
(a) All applicants who have qualified
and whose applications have been accepted
shall be
notified by the Local Union. The applicant
shall be
given at least ten (10) days notice before
the date of
initiation and obligation and at the same
time he shall
be furnished with a copy of the Constitution
and By-Laws and Ritual of the United
Association, with
instructions to read them and familiarize
himself with
all provisions, requirements and obligations
contained
therein, before the pledge and oath of
obligation
is administered to him as a member.
(b) As an alternative to the taking of the
pledge and
oath of obligation at a Local Union meeting,
a qualified
applicant may sign a written pledge and oath
of
obligation at the time he submits his
application or at
any time before he is admitted as a member.
The
General Secretary-Treasurer is authorized to
prepare
such a written pledge and oath of obligation
which
may be a simplification of the pledge set
forth in
Section MT-16.
Pledge
SEC. MT-16.
Each applicant before becoming a
member shall take the following pledge and
oath of
obligation:
I, (state name)________________________,
in the presence of this Local Union, do
truly
promise and pledge my word of honor that
I
am familiar with the provisions and
requirements
of the Constitution and By-Laws of the
United Association and that I will not
perform
any act in anyway prejudicial to the best
interest
of the United Association, but will at
all
times endeavor to promote its prosperity
and
usefulness. I hereby agree to remain
loyal and
true to the principles and policies and
to be
governed by the Constitution and By-Laws
and Ritual of the United Association and
the
Local Union in any and all matters now or
that
may hereafter be included therein. I
further
pledge that I will faithfully attend all
meetings
of the Local Union unless prevented by
sickness
or other causes beyond my control. I will
at all times assist members of the United
Association to the extent of my ability,
defend them when unjustly treated or
slandered, and cultivate for each and
every member the warmest friendship
and brotherly love. I will
assist unfortunate or distressed members
to
procure employment.
I do further promise and swear that I am
not
a member of any organization advocating
the
overthrow by force and violence of the
Government of the United States or of
Canada. I take this obligation
voluntarily, without any mental
reservation, and bind myself until death
under the penalty of scorn due to moral
perjury and violated honor as one
unworthy of trust or
assistance.
SEC. MT-17.
(a) When all requirements of this
Constitution have been complied with,
including the
filing of application form, affidavits,
etc., and the
applicant has been initiated (taken the
pledge and oath
of obligation) in accordance with Sections
MT-15(a)
or MT-15(b), the Recording Secretary shall
duly enter
the name of the applicant as a member on the
records
of the Local Union. A membership card shall
be furnished
to said applicant.
Note:
The Constitutional meaning and intent
of the above Sections MT-15(b) and
MT-17(a) is
that an applicant signing a written
pledge and
obligation shall not be a member and his
pledge shall not be effective until
his application is accepted in
accordance with Local Union admission
to membership practices.
(b) An applicant’s admission into membership
in a
Local Union and in the United Association is
contingent
upon and subject to the requirements that
the
General Secretary-Treasurer process the
application,
find it in order, and issue a membership
card. The
General Secretary-Treasurer shall have the
discretionary
authority to refuse to process an
application
and issue a membership card where an
applicant is
unqualified or is not a resident of the
geographical
area of the Local Union.
SEC. MT-18.
The General President shall have the
discretionary authority to amend the charter
of a
Marine Pipefitter Metal Trades Local Union,
a Metal
Trades Local Union or the Metal Trades
branch of a
combination Local Union to authorize the
Local Union
or the branch to organize classifications of
workers in
industries that may not be included within
its charter
jurisdiction granted by the United
Association.
SEC. MT-19.
All other sections of the United
Association Constitution, except those
solely related
to Building and Construction journeymen and
apprentices,
shall be applicable to Metal Trades
journeymen,
apprentices and Production Workers.
SEC. MT-20.
The General President shall appoint
a committee which shall include members of
Local
Unions which represent Marine Pipefitters
and Metal
Trades members. Between conventions, the
General
President may refer to this committee issues
affecting
Marine Pipefitters and Metal Trades members
which
the General President determines may require
changes in the United Association
Constitution.
Subject to the approval of the General
Executive
Board, the General President and the
committee he
appoints shall have complete discretionary
authority
to revise and change existing provisions of
the
Constitution affecting Marine Pipefitters
and Metal
Trades members. Once adopted by the General
President and the committee and approved by
the
General Executive Board, any revision shall
have the
force and effect of law, and shall be
incorporated in
and become part of the Constitution.
|