University of Maine Graduate Workers Union 

10/27/2026 – ELECTIONS COMMITTEE NOTICE: Nominations Open for Departmental Stewards and Executive Board Positions

Nominations for the Departmental Stewards and UMGWU-UAW Executive Board vacancies are now open! Our union UMGWU-UAW Local 7650 will elect stewards and fill E-board vacancies as outlined below. We fought hard to build our union and secure a strong first contract; now we must elect the members who will be at the front line growing and defending that union. 

Departmental Union Stewards

Stewards are the most basic and vital points of communication in our union. A steward is essentially a liaison between the graduate workers in their academic/work department and UMGWU committees, leadership, and staff. They listen to people’s concerns, inform them of their rights and benefits, keep them updated on upcoming union activities and events, and encourage rank-and-file members to participate in their union. Stewards keep committees, caucuses, leadership, and staff informed of the concerns of members in their departments but also work on department level organizing and power building. 

Stewards are truly the backbone of the UMGWU. They are the union’s eyes and ears in departments, classrooms, labs, offices, and residence halls. They bring knowledge and perspective from their departments to the union at large! Stewards serve three (3) year terms, but you do not have to be able to serve the entire term to run.

A list of the steward positions can be found here. Members are eligible to run for stewards positions in the departments in which they work. Members who work in such departments (also known as jurisdictions) are able to vote for nominated stewards from such departments. For example, if you are a TA in the English department you will be able to vote for a nominated steward in the English department, but not in Physics.

Please note: stewards will be elected through all day in-person voting, with the results to be announced at the November 18th General Membership meeting.

Interim UAW Local 7650 Executive Board Positions

All executive officers meet weekly as an Executive Board to decide Local Union policy, interface with the University and make the operational decisions of the Local Union. A member may not run for or hold more than one executive office. If any member accepts nomination for more than one office, the Election Committee shall deem that the member has accepted only the last nomination acceptance it receives. Executive officers elected in this election serve a three (3) year term which will start upon swearing in after this election and end upon installation of new officers in 2029. The installation of officers will take place during the May or June Executive Board meeting. You do not need to be able to serve the entire term to hold a position, but continuity is important to the functioning of a strong Union. 

Descriptions for the available positions can be found here and here. The following are descriptions of the positions for which there are open nominations:

• Trustee (X1): Conduct semi-annual audits of the Local’s funds and property.  

• Guide: Helps preserve order at meetings and ensures all present are members in good standing. Performs other duties as assigned.  

Nominations are open starting on October 27th at 9 am and will close at 5 pm on November 2nd. Once nominations close, individuals who submitted nominations will be notified as to whether the position they’re nominated for is contested. If positions are contested, those candidates will need to submit candidate statements, which will be sent out prior voting on November 18th.

Please note: vacancy e-board elections will be run digitally, if needed. 

Eligibility Criteria

You may self-nominate or be nominated for a position on the Executive Board or as Steward if you are a UMGWU-UAW graduate worker and are a member in good standing. You are in good standing if you have signed up as a Union member (you can sign a membership card here) and are current on your dues. 

Accepting Nominations and Timeline

It is incumbent on each member to accept her or his nomination. You may send an e-mail (that includes what position you are running for) accepting your nomination to the UAW Local 7650 Elections committee at elections@umaine-gradworkers.org. If such an e-mail is not RECEIVED by November 2nd, 2026 at 5:00 pm, it will be considered late and invalid. All members in good standing are automatically nominated for all offices and steward positions for which they are eligible, but you must write to accept your nomination. 

If you nominate someone else, it is your responsibility to notify your nominee, and it is that nominee’s requirement to accept said nomination in the manner described above. All members will, at the time that nominations are closed, be notified of their nomination by e-mail and have the opportunity to accept their respective nominations, as they desire. Following the close of nominations, the Elections Committee will verify the eligibility of all nominees.

If the number of eligible nominees is equal to or less than open positions, those nominees will win by acclamation. If not, we will run an election to fill these contested positions. We will meet with nominees at the close of the nomination period to go over campaign and election rules. A campaign period will run from November 3rd through November 17th, and the election itself will be held on November 18th.

Candidate Statements

Each candidate may write and submit a candidate statement of no more than 250 words. These statements will be posted on the UMGWU-UAW website. Statements may include hyperlinks. Name and title must be included, but will not be counted toward the 250 words.

It is the responsibility of the candidate to submit the candidate statement. All candidate statements must be received by the time nominations close at 5:00 pm on November 2nd. 

Thank you for your attention and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to us (elections@umaine-gradworkers.org). Your elections committee will send further communications as the election process progresses.