The UE Eastern Region covers Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island and Washington DC. The Work of the Regions
UE Regions -- officially known as Regional Councils -- work with and provide help to locals in each region, especially in the areas of political action, education and
leadership training, organizing the unorganized, and collective bargaining. The Creation and Work of the Sub-Regions
A new component to the Union's Regional structure is the creation of geographic sub-regions within each Region to focus on the task of building stronger locals. This is done through developing a structure and forum to provide opportunities to encourage and develop the next generation of UE leaders and activists for our labor movement. Click HERE to read more about the purpose and goals of the sub-regions. Regional Council Meetings
The Council itself consists of elected delegates from every local in the Region, meeting twice a year. Each local is encouraged to send their full complement, because here is where members can broaden their role in, and understandings about, UE. It's at the Regional Council meeting that local members and officers get to know each other, share experiences, and learn new strategies and tactics. At Regional Council Meetings
Delegates hear news from all around the union. Locals report on their activities, while presentations by the UE Political Action and Education Departments inform members about important issues. A National Union officer (either the General President, Secretary-Treasurer or Director of Organization) attends the entire meeting to hear members' concerns and provide updates on the National Union's programs and activities. In short, Regional Council meetings are fun, educational gatherings. Election of Regional Officers
The Regional Officers, Executive Board and Trustees are elected at the Spring Regional Council meeting. Any UE member in the Region, in good standing, is eligible to run for office. The president and financial secretary along with four other executive board members (this number varies for the other two regions), elected at this meeting, serve on the National Union's General Executive Board. Each Regional President also serves as a General Vice President of the National Union. Funding the Regions
Each UE Local contributes a monthly per capita payment to the Region from its dues money. The per capita amount is set by a vote of the Regional Council delegates and then must be ratified by a majority of the locals to take effect. This structure means Regions are financed directly by their members, not the National Union. This is an important distinction, because Regional officers are made directly responsible to the members who elected them and who finance the Region. In many other unions, Regional officers are funded by their national union -- which can sharply limit accountability to the membership. UE's bottom-up structure is evident in how Regions are funded by their locals, not the National Union. This keeps UE Regional Officers responsible to their members.
