By action of the Council 65 Executive Board, the regular Annual Meeting of Minnesota and the Dakotas Council 65, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, will be held October 10-12th, 2024 at Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria, Minnesota. Convention will call to order at 12:30 pm on Friday, October 11th and will reconvene again at 9:00 am on Saturday, October 12th and will continue until the business of the meeting is completed. Registration of delegates will be held on Thursday, October 10th from 12:00 – 4:00 pm, Friday, October 11th from 7:00 am - 1:00 pm and on Saturday, October 12th from 7:00 - 8:00 am. A banquet for delegates, alternates and guests will be held Friday, October 11th starting with social hour at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6:30 pm, and evening entertainment to follow.
DELEGATES:
The Constitution provides that each Local Union shall be entitled to one delegate for each twenty-five members or major fraction thereof. It is recommended that Locals with Chapters apportion their delegates from among their respective Chapters. It is very important that delegates elected to attend the Annual Meeting of Council 65 are elected according to Section 3A and 3C of Appendix D, elections code, of the International Constitution. Specifically, each Local must mail to each member, of all chapters, at least 15 days before the local election of convention delegates, a notice of the local meeting for nominations and elections with the date(s) they will be held. Upon request, mailing labels can be provided by Council 65. The election of the delegate(s) to this annual meeting must be by secret ballot. If your Local wishes to be represented by someone who is not a member of your Local, you must do the following, which should be reflected in your Local meeting minutes:
You shall first vote on the following question: Shall this Local elect a person who is not a member of this Local as our delegate to the annual Council 65 convention? If the majority of those voting on the question vote in the affirmative, the Local may then proceed to elect the delegate from a different AFSCME Council 65 Local who will represent them at this annual meeting.
CREDENTIAL FORMS:
Once a delegate is elected, the credential form must be filled out, signed, dated, and mailed to the Council 65 office at 3335 West St. Germain, Suite 107, St. Cloud MN 56301 in the self-addressed envelope enclosed. Please make sure all information is filled out before mailing. Credential forms MUST be completed and received no later than September 20th. Note: The hotel booking deadline is September 10th.
REGISTRATION FEE:
A registration fee of $75.00 per delegate/alternate who is attending must be submitted with the credential form. Checks should be made out to AFSCME Council 65. The registration fee for credentials received after September 20th increases to $85.00. In addition, delegates whose credentials are received late will not be seated on the convention floor until those seated delegates approve the late credentials.
GUESTS:
Please list any guests attending with your delegation by filling out the bottom section on the back of the credential form. Please see MEALS section below if your guest(s) want to be included in the meals provided during convention.
MEALS:
Meals will be provided for delegates/alternates during the convention. This includes Thursday breakfast, lunch, snacks (if attending workshops that day), Friday breakfast, lunch, snacks, banquet dinner, and Saturday breakfast. If you have a guest coming, they can either purchase a guest meal package for $110.00, visit the onsite restaurant that is open for breakfast and dinner (not lunch), or the restaurants in Alexandria (a 10-minute drive). For guests just attending Friday night’s banquet dinner, the cost is $40.00. Guest meal fees must be submitted with the credential form.
HOTEL ARRANGEMENTS:
We have secured special group rate pricing for Thursday and Friday evenings. Room rates are $149.00 per room, per night plus tax for single, double, triple, or quad occupancy. Making of, and payment for, Arrowwood Resort lodging reservations are the responsibility of convention attendees. To book your room, please call Arrowwood Resort directly at 866-386-5263 or 320-762-1124 and reference AFSCME Council 65 to receive the special room rate. Reservations should be made as soon as possible. The lodging registration deadline is September 10th. Reservations made after this cut-off date will be subject to availability of guestrooms and rates.
RESORT RECREATION:
Convention attendees can utilize the onsite Big Splash Indoor Waterpark and Darling Reflections Spa. Inquire about these amenities and special pricing/coupons available when you call Arrowwood Resort to book your room. Attendees can also visit the onsite restaurant, 2100 Chophouse, open for breakfast from 6:30 – 10:30 am and dinner 5:00 – 9:00 pm.
WORKSHOPS:
We have several exciting workshops planned this year, starting with the return of Treasurer Training on Thursday. Please click the link below for a full schedule and to register for the workshops you plan to attend. This helps us plan for attendance of each session.
**Workshop Schedule, Topics, and Registration**
ELECTIONS NOTICE:
Included in the business to come before the Convention will be the election of President, Recording Secretary, and seven Executive Board Member positions (one from each of the five districts, and two at-large board members). Each of these positions are for a two-year term. One board member per Council Constitution must represent Local 105. Additionally, an election of one Trustee position for a three-year term will be held. Nominations shall take place on Friday, October 11th with voting, if needed, to be conducted from 8:00 - 9:00 am on Saturday, October 12th.
RESOLUTIONS:
Do you or your local have a specific issue you would like AFSCME Council 65 to take a position on? This is how your union knows what matters to our members. If any member or your local would like to submit a resolution it must be submitted at least 20 days (September 21st) prior to the convention. Please mail all resolutions to AFSCME Council 65, 3335 West St. Germain St, Suite 107, St. Cloud, MN 56301.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS:
Any proposed amendment to the Council 65 Constitution must be submitted 45 days (August 27th) prior to the convention. Please mail all constitutional amendments to AFSCME Council 65, 3335 West St. Germain St, Suite 107, St. Cloud, MN 56301. The Council Constitution is also available digitally here or you may request a copy by contacting our office at 888-474-3242 or [email protected].
MEMBERSHIP AWARDS:
Each year we recognize those in our membership who have gone above and beyond to assist their local and/or the labor movement in general. We have four different awards highlighting different types of leaders. Please see the enclosed awards flyer for more information as well as a nomination form to use. You can also fill out a nomination form electronically by clicking here. Nominations are due by September 6th.
DOOR PRIZE DONATIONS:
Please consider donating an item or money to be given away as a door prize for attendees during convention. Donations should be submitted to our office by September 27th. Please notify Sue Kunkel ([email protected]) if you plan to provide a door prize. You can also bring a door prize to convention to be added to the giveaways, but we ask that you notify us ahead of time so we can plan for it.
AL CHURCH SCHOLARSHIP:
We will be fundraising at convention for our scholarship fund. The only way we can continue to provide scholarships to the families of our members is through generous donations to this fund. This past year we were able to give out $5,500.00 in scholarships thanks to donors like you and your locals. Please plan on contributing while attending! You can also donate by mail to our St. Cloud office. Please identify your donation is for the Al Church Scholarship Fund. Remember, those who donate are entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of three $250.00 prizes. Each $25.00 donation equals one drawing entry. Donations of $100.00 or more equal five drawing entries!
AFSCME PEOPLE:
Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality (PEOPLE) is our voluntary Political Action Committee (PAC) fund. This PAC fund is how we are able to actively engage on issues that matter to our members or support labor friendly candidates. You can contribute to this voluntary PAC while at the convention. If you are already a PEOPLE member, you can make an additional contribution or change your contribution.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT:
To help the local community we are visiting, we will be collecting unused toiletries to donate to Someplace Safe. Please bring sample or full-size items with you when you register, and we will deliver them to the organization. Last year we had an awesome turnout of donations, and we hope to do even better this year!
