UE National Officer Elections 2025
The top three officer positions are up for election this year: General President, Director of Organization, and the Secretary Treasurer. Please read this webpage on UE’s structure and the UE Constitution on the roles of the national officers or look at the slides from our meeting for a summary.
This election is held every two years; this year, General President Carl Rosen, and Director of Organizing Mark Meinster will not be running for re-election of these roles. Current Secretary-Treasurer Andrew Dinkelaker is running for re-election in this role with the Build, Win, Lead slate. All three of the currently elected officers in these positions have played a vital role in our union’s history, and the next set of officers will continue that work.
Each local of UE gets a set number of votes in this election based on the number of union members at their local. United Graduate Workers gets three votes and three delegates who will cast votes on this officer election, as well as any presented resolution, on behalf of the will of our local. Our delegates are: Lexi Kenis, Max Pagano and Jay Jay Rawson. Our president, Ramona Malczynski, is serving as a delegate for the Western Region.
Candidate Forum on July 17th, 5-6pm. Please see the recording for the Forum below:
There are two slates of candidates currently running for these positions:
| Build, Win, Lead:https://www.buildwinlead.com/ Candidate for General President: Scott SlawsonCandidate for Director of Organizing: Kim Lawson Candidate for Secretary-Treasurer: (incumbent) Andrew Dinkelaker | Uniting All Workers: https://www.unitingallworkers.org/ Candidate for General President: Tara McCauleyCandidate for Director of Organizing: George WaksmunskiCandidate for Secretary-Treasurer: Chris Wilson |
We will be holding a Candidate Forum on July 17th from 5pm to 6pm in the Union Office and via Zoom using this link: https://unm.zoom.us/j/98957078607 Password: 020668. At this Candidate Forum, the candidates will be Zooming in to answer questions from UGW membership about their platforms. Ask a question here: https://forms.gle/XFZaCD4BqxpWkEA69
Bargaining Committee’s Recommendation
The Bargaining Committee voted to recommend that members vote for the Build Win Lead slate at our July General Membership Meeting. Those of us who have been organizing with UGW-UNM for years have worked closely with all three of the candidates on the Build Win Lead slate. Scott Slawson has played a critical role in training UGW leaders and other grad worker leaders across the country during visits to the locomotive manufacturers union (UE 506) where he has been president for eleven years. Kim Lawson was our lead negotiator during our first contract negotiations and continues to closely support us during negotiations this year; we have learned so much from her 30 years of experience at UE. Andrew Dinkelaker has helped us establish our financial practices at UGW and is one of the main people responsible for turning around our parent union’s financial situation in the last five years. Furthermore, we know how important it is to have experienced national officers right now because the federal administration is looking to gut unions and worker power. Read more about the Build.Win.Lead candidates here: https://www.buildwinlead.com/.
In addition, two candidates from the Uniting All Workers slate were found by UE General Counsel to have contributed to sexual harassment against one of the former candidates for the Build Win Lead slate, who has since stepped down due to this harassment. There is no room for sexism, bigotry or any form of harassment or discrimination in our union. For more information about this incident, please contact UGW-UNM President and member of UE’s General Executive Board Ramona Malczynski (rmalcz@unm.edu).
How to Vote
At the July GMM (Thursday July 31st; 5:30 to 6:30 pm) we will be conducting the vote that determines which candidates our delegates will vote for at the August National Convention.
In order to vote, you must be a card-signed member in good-standing. (If you held an assistantship at any time between Fall ‘24 and Spring ‘25 AND you will still be enrolled in a graduate-degree seeking program in Fall ‘25, you are considered in good standing).
Once the vote is held and the majority winner is identified, all three delegates will be bound to vote for the candidates selected by our general membership. Please prioritize attending the July GMM in-person or via Zoom to make your voice heard in this important election!
Wrapping Up:
If you have any questions about the National Convention or the Officer elections, please reach out to myself, any of the UGW Bargaining Committee Members, or your steward for more information.