SHERRY HALBROOK By SHERRY HALBROOK

September 10, 2021 — In upcoming PEF special elections this fall, nominees are sought for Region 8 Coordinator and 48 vacant Executive Board seats.

“If you wish to run for a vacant office or seat, please step forward and circulate your nominating petitions,” PEF President Wayne Spence said. “Until these vacancies are filled, thousands of PEF members will lack proper representation and the union will be weaker for it. Don’t worry if you feel you need help to serve effectively. Help and training are available. You can bring fresh ideas, insights, information and perspectives to make PEF better and stronger than ever.”

Nominees for the vacant seats will be sought in October in the first special election following the triennial.

Nominating petitions for these positions will be available starting October 13, and must be submitted by November 3.

You will not be able to pick up blank petitions at PEF headquarters or regional offices. You can download them from the PEF website, or call PEF Divisions to request them and they will be printed and mailed to you.

Completed petitions may not be returned to PEF headquarters or regional offices. Mail them to PEF headquarters or scan and email them to SpecialElections@pef.org. For more information, email questions to that address or call (800) 342-4306, extension 337.

If only one candidate for a seat is certified by the PEF Special Elections Committee, that person will automatically be seated.

If more than one candidate for a seat is certified, ballots will be mailed November 24 by the American Arbitration Association to the constituents of that seat. The ballots must be returned by December 16 for counting December 17 by the AAA.

Those who are elected will serve the remainder of three-year terms that began August 1, 2021, and expire July 31, 2024.

Board seats to be filled are: Seat 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 40, 45, 70, 75, 77, 80, 81, 85, 90, 95, 97, 102, 161, 165, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 180, 185, 195, 200, 202, 210, 217, 220, 225, 255, 315, 395, 425, 435, 440, 455, 460, 510, 530, 545, 550 and 560.

Constituency descriptions for Region 8 coordinator and for each of the vacant seats are available here.

“Remember,” Spence added, “extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary effort. We have faith in you and we know you can become a candidate and help ensure that every member’s voice is heard.”