Start a LCLAA Chapter

¡Organíza!

Do you want to make a difference in your community by improving conditions for Latino/a workers and bringing them into the labor movement? You can do just that by starting or joining a LCLAA chapter! In addition to advancing labor rights, LCLAA chapters engage in volunteer work, voter education and get-out-the-vote campaigns to ensure that working Latino/as are supported and represented.

Use the map on the right to find a chapter, and click on the blue marker for contact information. Don’t see a chapter in your area? Read the steps below to find out what it takes to start a chapter.

Starting a LCLAA Chapter
in 4 Easy Steps

1) Organize Members

A group of labor activists interested in forming a local LCLAA chapter should first form a pre-chapter organizing committee. Once the committee has recruited at least ten union members in good standing (including any retired union members in good standing) who represent no less than four national, international, or independent labor unions, the organizing committee may then complete the following steps in order to successfully apply to the National LCLAA Office for a charter.

2) Develop Chapter By-laws

To receive a charter, the pre-chapter organizing committee must hold a meeting at which pre-chapter members approve a proposed set of by-laws for the chapter. A set of standard by-laws are included in these application materials along with the National LCLAA Constitution and By-Laws. Chapter by-laws must not contravene any provision of the National Constitution. The organizing committee must submit minutes from the meeting at which the proposed by-laws were approved as part of their charter application packet.

3) Nominate Chapter Executive Board Members

The organizing committee must organize a meeting of its pre-chapter members to accept nominations for the executive board election, which will take place once LCLAA National has issued the chapter its charter. The list of nominated candidates must include candidates for president, vice-president, secretary-treasurer, recording secretary, and at least one at-large executive board member to represent associate or student members. Associate members are those who are not current or retired union members. Only current or retired union members may serve as officers of the chapter (meaning president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, or recording secretary). The pre-chapter must submit minutes from the meeting at which the executive board nominations were made as part of their charter application packet. Per the National LCLAA Constitution, the new chapter will be required to hold executive board elections within 45 days of the charter’s approval. The LCLAA National will oversee the new chapter’s first elections, but the election process will be governed by the new chapter’s by-laws thereafter.

4) Submit Charter Application Packet

Once the above steps have been completed, the organizing committee can now submit the following items by scanning and emailing to LCLAA headquarters (headquarters@lclaa.org). The packet should include the following documents:

  • Membership Roster

  • Membership Applications and Dues

  • List of Nominated Executive Board Candidates

  • Meeting Minutes at Which Executive Board Candidates Were Nominated

  • Proposed By-laws

  • Meeting Minutes at Which Proposed By-laws Were Approved

Submit a Charter Application HERE!

Have Questions? Feel free to contact our National Staff! — kpineda@lclaa.org, @jvargas@lclaa.org or bnakamura@lclaa.org